Posted on Sat, Jun. 09, 2012

uAspire, a nonprofit organization that promotes awareness of college affordability, will be awarded a $25,000 grant by The Miami Foundation at the foundation’s Bridging Generosity, Leadership and Grantmaking luncheon on Monday.

The event, which took place for the first time last year, recognizes organizations that dedicate themselves to a greater Miami by providing helpful services, such as providing healthcare to underserved communities, and supporting the arts and education.

This year, the foundation will award $1 million in grants to 62 nonprofit organizations. Five of those 62 were selected to receive the largest grant of $25,000: Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida, Single Stop USA, National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, Kristi House and uAspire.

uAspire, formerly known as ACCESS, helps students prepare for college and find funding.

The organization has been based in Boston since it was founded in 1985, but it plans to add a program in Miami this fall.

“We hear employers say that it’s not only important to prepare students for college, but to also prepare them for the right degree and help them graduate from college,” uAspire CEO Bob Giannino-Racine said. “A lot of our growth has been driven by employers who depend on higher education to produce more talent for them.”

uAspire’s Miami program will place college affordability counselors in five high schools across Miami-Dade County.

They are Miami Southridge Senior High School, John A. Ferguson Senior High School, Miami Lakes Education Center, Miami Sunset Senior High School and American Senior High School.

The counselors will provide one-on-one consulting for students and their families throughout the financial aid process.

The Miami Foundation reviewed 300 grant applications and decided to give awards to 62 organizations. Over its 45-year history, the Miami Foundation has award more than $150 million in grants and scholarships. The foundation acts as an administrator and clearing house for individual philanthropists. “They created their family’s foundation with us and will forever help those in our community who are most in need and meet Miami’s emerging need in ways the donor never envisioned,” said Javier Alberto Soto, president and CEO of The Miami Foundation, via a statement.