Opportunity Overview
The Illinois Board of Higher Education has opened the FY27 Targeted Holistic Resources to Invest in Vision, Empowerment, and Success (THRIVES) Grant, a state-funded program supporting Illinois four-year institutions in addressing student basic-needs insecurity, housing instability, homelessness, and barriers affecting degree completion.
Funding
The Illinois CSFA/NOFO lists $1.58 million in estimated total program funding, with no matching requirement. IBHE states that institutions may request the amount needed to implement eligible initiatives and anticipates a typical award of approximately $145,000, depending on proposal quality.
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants are Illinois public and nonprofit independent four-year institutions that are authorized to operate and grant degrees in Illinois, hold qualifying institutional accreditation, and comply with the Higher Education Housing and Opportunities Act.
Allowable Uses
Eligible activities include training for HOUSE liaisons and other basic-needs staff, partnerships with K-12 schools and community organizations, eligible housing support, food pantry and basic-supply expansion, student identification and tracking, outreach, wraparound services, technology and textbook assistance, transportation and food support, certain mental-health supports, targeted past-due balance assistance, and other measures serving students experiencing basic-needs insecurity.
Deadline Control
Current controlling Illinois sources now agree on the submission deadline. The current Illinois CSFA opportunity record and the IBHE FY27 THRIVES RFP both list October 19, 2026 at 12:00 PM (Noon). Neither current controlling source separately labels a time zone, so Atlas does not infer one. The prior October 12 discrepancy is superseded by the current controlling records.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 79/100. THRIVES is a significant student-support opportunity with flexible basic-needs and wraparound-service uses, but it is not primarily a clinical-technology grant.
N9+ Direct Vendor Fit: 5/100. The verified uses do not materially support physical-assessment devices or connected clinical equipment.
QC Healthcare Fit: 25/100 conditional. The program permits certain mental-health supports and wraparound services, but a QC role would require an institution-specific, allowable student-support design and procurement pathway. Atlas does not recommend forcing a clinical-services model into this grant.
Next Action
Eligible institutions should confirm HOUSE Act compliance, identify the student basic-needs problem to be addressed, define measurable persistence and completion outcomes, and prepare the required Uniform Application, proposal narrative, implementation and continuity materials, and grant budget for the October 19 deadline. Atlas will continue to monitor current program materials and any amendments.
Official sources: Illinois CSFA Uniform NOFO and Illinois CSFA THRIVES Program.