About
The FAST Fund is a seven-year-old non-profit organization that provides quick, financial assistance to Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) students experiencing economic emergencies, so they stay enrolled and graduate.
An alarming 20% of MATC’s students are homeless during the year, and close to 50% are food insecure. While most MATC students work, most are employed in low-wage, part-time occupations. As a result, almost 70% qualify for Pell Grants.
When Pell Grants were established, they covered 100% of the cost of attendance at a two- year college like MATC. Today, they cover barely 60%. When students are laid off, work hours are reduced, or a vehicle breaks down, they struggle to remain enrolled. The pandemic has only increased the challenges.
The FAST Fund helped Nou, a first-generation American, in the Respiratory Therapy program. She wrote, “I would not have graduated without the FAST Fund’s support.” She recently returned to Milwaukee after volunteering on the front lines fighting the COVID pandemic in Newark, New Jersey, Miami, and Brownville, Texas.
The FAST Fund helped twenty-six students its first year of operations. One of them was Angel Vega. Not only did he graduate, but he was hired as an educational assistant at the very MPS grade school he attended as a child. He continues to work there as a substitute teacher while MPS is paying for him to pursue his teaching degree.
Success
Last year the FAST Fund assisted 1688 students, a staggering 120% increase over the previous year’s 765.
The FAST Fund is run mostly by a volunteer staff of MATC retirees. We employee one full-time Executive Director and have 4 part-time staff members.
The FAST Fund is a non-profit organization funded entirely through voluntary contributions. All donations to the FAST Fund are tax-deductible.
Of last year’s FAST Fund students, 18% (287) were needed help with housing. We also provided students with food, gas cards, textbooks, eyeglasses, diapers, and helped pay utility, childcare, and car repair bills. We provided 335 students with laptops, books and exam fees.
It's Who We Are
Our Mission
The Local FAST Fund mission: To provide Milwaukee Area Technical College students experiencing economic emergencies with rapid financial support and to promote public and MATC policies on issues impacting MATC students so they remain enrolled and achieve academic success.
Our Board
President: Barbara Toles, State Representative District 17 (retired),
SDC Board of Directors
Vice President: Michael Rosen, PhD, MATC Instructor and Local 212 President (retired)
Treasurer: Trent Muller, Financial Consultant, Morgan Stanley
Secretary: Bria Burris, MATC Board Member
Board Members:
Abdulhamid Ali, Chairman and CEP, D.A.A.R Engineering
Karen Bauer, Attorney, US Department of Education
Lisa Conley, Phd, Natural Science faculty and AFT Local 212 President
Lynda Conyers, President The Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper Printing and Publishing
Main Masri, Business Consultant
Maria Lara, Country Financial
Charlie Dee, English and History faculty, MATC (Retired)
Jasmine Mercado, VP Commercial Lender, Spring Bank
Sandy Pasch, Psychiatric nurse and State Representative, District 10 (retired)
Latoya Sykes, CEO, Our Next Generation
Ann Wilson, MATC District Board and Milwaukee Fire and
Police Commission
*Organizations listed for identification purposes only