In the News 

Amid criticism, for-profit nursing school opens in Milwaukee

Dr Michael Rosen, acting FAST Fund board member & volunteer, speaks on the concerns around the approval of a for-profit nursing school opening. Listen to more about this City of Milwaukee meeting here.

FAST Fund meets with Senator Bernie Sanders

Liz Franczyk, Elsa Lysette, Charlie Himburg, and John Williams join in a roundtable with senator Bernie Sanders to talk about the upcoming election Read and listen more here!

"FAST Fund" helping MATC Students

FOX6 Interviews Liz Franczyk, executive director of the FAST Fund. Watch them discuss the upcoming bike fundraiser and a little bit about what the FAST Fund does for MATC students. Click here to watch! 

A Woman is Ready To Ride Her Bike for 24 Hours!

TMJ4 covers Liz Franczyk, a local woman ready to ride her bike for 24 hours. On June 14th, Liz will begin riding her bike for 24 hours to raise funds for the local 212 FAST Fund. View the segment here!

Senator Tammy Baldwin delivers in funding to Southeastern Wisconsin

Senator Baldwin helps FAST Fund with $500,000 of support, “The FAST Fund at MATC is so grateful for this funding from Senator Baldwin. She clearly recognizes the realities for Wisconsin community college students and the basic needs emergencies they face," says Director Liz Franczyk. Link here.

Local 212 FAST Fund: Helps MATC Students with Emergency Basic Needs

Local 212 FAST Fund: Helps MATC students with emergency basic needs, by WIS Business. Link here.

Foster kid, teen mom, and homeless college student. Now she's making a difference, helping others.

Bria is the ultimate FAST Fund success story. Check out this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article to learn more about our Board member and how a little helping hand can make a huge difference.

Great Lakes FAST Fund Consortium Fellowship 

The first of its kind, the Great Lake FAST Fund Consortium is a regional organizing effort with student Changemaker Fellows and faculty leaders working together to develop an advocacy agenda, increase awareness about students' basic needs and advocate for policy and practice changes.

Milwaukee County Grants $100,000 in Aid for MATC Students Facing Housing Insecurity

“Milwaukee Area Technical College is the only college in Wisconsin that has a majority of its students are people of color,” Shea said during the committee meeting Thursday. “Many of them come with all kinds of economic challenges attending school; some of our students are homeless; many of our students are single parents… They’re not asking for a handout as so much as a hand-up.”

FAST Fund gives diapers, peace of mind over holidays

While being short on money has been part of college life for decades, for some students the need can force them to quit school. Liz Franczyk, Director of MATC's FAST Fund, is trying to relieve that financial stress for students. Read more here.

FOX 6 news highlights Partnership with MATC FAST Fund

Click here to watch video footage of Mayor Johnson's announcement of a $200,000 grant to the FAST Fund 

MATC FAST Fund publishes 2020-2021 Annual Report

Clink on the link to read about the struggles and triumphs MATC students endured during the 2020-21 school year, faculty testimonies; and to learn about our amazing donors!

MATC Student Stories: Tiffany Mosby learned to read as an adult before attending college

Tiffany Mosby dropped out of high school as a junior, after struggling to read for years. Read about her experiences and journey through MATC here.

MATC Student Stories: After incarceration, Troy Muns returns to school with goal to help others

Inspired by the long-running StoryCorps series, WUWM invited Milwaukee Area Technical College students to talk about these questions with someone who has helped them on their education journeys. Read more here.

MATC faculty-run emergency aid program sees increased need during pandemic

"We've seen a greater need since the pandemic, but at the same time I think all the pandemic did is exacerbated an already existing issue," Franczyk said. "That need was there, it just got worse." 

Survey Indicates Emergency Aid to Students Keeps Them in College

The most stunning finding of the report is that 93% of FAST Fund students remained enrolled, transferred to another college or university, or graduated from MATC.

Digital Bridge delivers laptops to FAST Fund

Digital Bridge, the non-profit organization that provides refurbished laptops to marginalized communities, delivered laptops for FAST Fund to provide to MATC students.

INSIDE HIGHER ED-
LATINX students

A new study argues that debt aversion and transportation problems pose major barriers to college completion for Latinx students

EDQUITY REPORT

Students receiving aid twice as likely to graduate.

BRIA BURRIS

An MATC student has overcome some challenges thanks to MATC's FAST Fund program.

FASTFund on TMJ4

FAST Fund partnership with Pete's Fruit Market

FASTFund on 89.7
WUWM

Many MATC Students Are Experiencing Homelessness, Survey Finds
By ANGELINA MOSHER SALAZAR 

FASTFund on ADELANTE

Local 212/MATC FAST Fund on MPTV’s Adelante

Students' Basic Needs Are On the Ballot

Less discussed than the cost of tuition are the ways in which life becomes more expensive when someone decides to attend college. Rogelio Regis, an MATC student himself, expands on these struggles. Read more here!

These Milwaukee college students helped fix an issue on campus — and say others can, too

Read about how Changemaker fellows John Williams & Marz Ezeji worked with the FAST Fund to address one of MATC's biggest issues around student housing. Read more here! 

FAST Fund executive director will ride bike for 24 hours to fundraise for emergency assistance for MATC students by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

When John Williams decided to enroll at Milwaukee Area Technical College, he didn’t anticipate the support he would receive from a faculty member outside his major. On June 14, that instructor — Liz Franczyk — will mount her bike for a 24-hour ride, with the goal of raising money for MATC students like Williams. Read more here! 

FAST Fund adds Spanish Language Application

The FAST Fund at MATC, a non-profit organization that provides quick, emergency assistance to Milwaukee Area Technical College students, is excited to announce that its online application is now available in Spanish by WisPolitics. Link

Emergency Support, with a Human Touch

How FAST Funds Meet Students’ Needs, by AFT. Link here

Emily Files of WUWM talks with FAST Fund ED Liz Franczyk and MATC student Reggie Leslie

Outstanding debt can prevent MATC scholarship recipients from enrolling at the school. Listen more here! 

48 Hours Inside a Student Emergency-Aid Experiment

Eric Hoover, a journalist at The Chronicle of Higher Ed,  recently flew to Milwaukee from his home in Washington D.C. to learn more about the FAST Fund, how we work, and why we do what we do. The article, 48 Hours Inside a Student Emergency-Aid Experiment: A small-grant program in Milwaukee offers hope, $275 at a time, against a torrent of needs, is excellent and we are excited to share it with you all. Read more here!

MATC FAST Fund publishes its
2021-22 Annual Report

Click here to learn more about FAST Fund during the 2021-22 academic year including total number of students helped, donor profiles, and student success stories.

As Student Need Rises, More College Faculty Set Up Emergency Aid Funds

Even as FAST Funds help to fill gaps in social services today, labor leaders think that in the future, the movement has the potential to organize faculty and staff around advocacy for campus policies that actually close those gaps for low-income students and educators.

AFT's Randi Weingarten visits Milwaukee to support MATC union-run financial aid program

The president of the nation’s second-largest teachers' union was in Milwaukee Thursday to throw support behind a pioneering college affordability program at MATC. Read more here.

FAST Fund to receive $200,000 from Milwaukee for MATC students' basic needs costs

The Faculty and Students Together (FAST) Fund is partnering with the city of Milwaukee and Mayor Cavalier Johnson as the city approved a $200,000 grant to the FAST Fund which will go students of MATC to help cover basic needs costs.

MATC Student Stories: Corey Lee went back to college to set example for his kids

In the last installment of the StoryCorps-inspired series, we hear from Corey Lee. He’s a father of two who graduated with a business management degree in December.

During his time at MATC, Corey turned to the faculty-run FAST Fund for emergency financial aid. Read more here.

MATC Student Stories: Liana Howard was inspired by grandmother as she juggled school, work and kids

Liana Howard, 29, is a hospital critical care technician, college student and mother. She took classes at MATC over the past couple years with the goal of enrolling in the nursing program. Read more about her success here.

When Attending College Means Losing Your Home

Nearly 60 percent of college students report struggling to access basic necessities, including food and housing. A national program is providing emergency funds to change that.

The FAST Fund keeps students in school

AFT Local 212’s FAST Fund has helped 1,426 students with basic needs costs over the last five years

Wisconsin Examiner

When government and colleges come up short in meeting student needs, faculty unions step up

INSIDE HIGHER ED - Food Insecurity

Millions of college students face food insecurity and it’s time for the federal government to step in.

THE HOPE CENTER

Advancing a federal agenda for #RealCollege students.

EVERYDAY HEROES

Natalie's Everyday Heroes: Dr. Michael Rosen, director of MATC's FAST Fund. Listen to more by clicking on the image!

GWEN MOORE

US Congresswoman for the FAST Fund Gala held on February 21, 2020.

KRISTINE TEROUNZO 

MATC students living on economic margins rely on emergency funding to avoid homelessness, hunger
BY MARGARET CANNON 

NOU THAO on 89.7
WUWM

A View From The Front Lines Of The COVID-19 Pandemic 

By JOY POWERS 

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THE PLIGHT OF HIDDEN HOMELESSNESS

Meet five people willing to share the stories of their homelessness –

BY BARBARA MINER