Students' basic needs include nutritious and sufficient food; safe, stable, and affordable housing; healthcare that supports mental and physical well-being; reliable transportation and technology; personal hygiene resources; and childcare and family support services.
For many SMC students—many of whom are the first in their families to attend college and come from low-income households—meeting these essential needs can be a daily challenge. Unexpected hardships, rising living costs, and financial insecurity can place a student's education at risk, forcing them to choose between paying rent, buying groceries, or continuing their studies.
The SMC Basic Needs Program exists to ensure that no student has to face these challenges alone. Through food assistance, emergency grants, housing resources, case management, and connections to campus and community services, we help students overcome barriers and remain on the path toward graduation and economic mobility.
Your support makes this work possible. Every gift helps provide critical resources that allow students to stay enrolled, focus on their education, and build brighter futures for themselves and their families. By investing in students' basic needs, you are investing in their ability to persist, graduate, transfer, and ultimately transform their lives—and our community—for generations to come.
Donate Now
For donations by check, please make your check payable to:
Santa Monica College Foundation
1900 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
On the memo line, please write SMC Basic Needs
For additional ways to give — such as stock transfers, donor-advised funds, and estate gifts — visit our Ways to Give page for forms and detailed instructions.
Donations to Santa Monica College Foundation are tax-deductible.
SMC Foundation is an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) organization, ID# 95-6047779