Office of Postsecondary Education: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund-Minority Serving Institutions CFDA Number 84.425L | ED GRANTS 043020 003

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 043020 003

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) grant opportunity (CFDA 84.425L), issued by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, is a mandatory CARES Act funding program created to help colleges and universities respond to the disruption and costs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific funding opportunity number tied to this program is ED-GRANTS-043020-003, and it supports eligible Minority Serving Institutions through allocations authorized under section 18004(a)(2) of the CARES Act. In practical terms, the program was designed to get emergency resources to institutions that serve large numbers of minority students so they could stabilize operations, address urgent student needs, and manage pandemic-related expenses and changes.

A major feature of this opportunity is that it is allocation-driven rather than a typical competitive grant. Institutions generally needed to be eligible under the Department of Education formula allocation approach (posted on the HEERF CARES Act website) and then submit the required application materials to receive their designated funds. The notice referenced in the opportunity materials established a deadline for institutions that did not apply during the initial window to transmit their applications. That deadline was originally set as August 1, 2020, and a later COVID-19 update dated 9/4/2020 reopened the application transmittal period for all eligible applicants through September 30, 2020. The reopening applied not only to the MSI program (84.425L) but also to several related HEERF programs across different CARES Act sections, including the student aid and institutional portions under 18004(a)(1) and other institution-focused programs under 18004(a)(2) and 18004(a)(3).

Eligible applicants for 84.425L are institutions of higher education, including both public and state-controlled institutions and private nonprofit institutions, as long as they meet the statutory eligibility requirements for Minority Serving Institution status and appear eligible under the Department of Education formula allocation listings. The opportunity emphasizes that students do not apply directly to the U.S. Department of Education for these funds. Instead, institutions receive funding and are responsible for determining how any student-directed emergency grants are distributed, how award amounts are calculated, and what instructions students must follow to receive assistance. This institutional responsibility is a central operational point of HEERF: the Department provides the funding stream and broad requirements, while campuses implement processes to get aid out to students and to cover allowable institutional costs tied to COVID-19.

For applicants and the public, the main hub for detailed program guidance, eligibility checks, and formula allocation information is the Department of Education HEERF CARES Act page at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/caresact.html. The Federal Register notice linked in the description (FR-2020-09-04, document 2020-19791) is the formal source documenting the reopened application transmission period. Questions and technical support were directed to the HEERF Call Center at (202) 377-3711 or via email at HEERF@ed.gov, with a listed Department contact (Beatriz Ceja) at the Office of Postsecondary Education. The notice also references that the application and reporting processes align with established federal information collection approvals under OMB control numbers 1801-0005, 1840-0842, and 1840-0843, which is a standard way of signaling that the required forms and submissions fall under existing federal paperwork authorizations.

In short, CFDA 84.425L is the CARES Act HEERF set-aside focused on Minority Serving Institutions, structured around formula-based allocations to help institutions and their students deal with COVID-19 impacts. The key administrative takeaway from the provided text is the timing: institutions that missed the initial application window were given a defined deadline (August 1, 2020), and that window was later reopened through September 30, 2020, to allow eligible institutions to still transmit applications and access their allocations.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Postsecondary Education: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund-Minority Serving Institutions CFDA Number 84.425L" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.425.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-04-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-01-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for ED GRANTS 043020 003

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