Financial help for single parents: resources, grants, and programs

Parents in the US are facing financial pressures. Without resources like paid maternity leave, universal health care, and preschool, raising children can quickly become a financial hardship for a single parent.

According to the U.S. News & World Report, the cost to raise a child in 2025, when adjusted for inflation, is around $322,427. This number is based on information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is no surprise that single parents need financial help with both emergencies and everyday living expenses. We hope this list of resources offering financial help for single parents can help you find financial support.

If you or someone you care about is a single parent, starting a fundraiser can be a meaningful way for friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers to come together and offer support during a challenging time.

Food and nutrition programs for single parents

Food insecurity can be a significant challenge for single-parent households, but a variety of federal nutrition programs are available to help. These programs provide access to healthy meals, grocery assistance, and other food resources that can ease financial pressure and support the well-being of both parents and children.

WIC (Women, Infants, and Children)

This is a nutrition program run by the USDA. Eligibility is limited to low-income mothers and/or their children. To qualify, a mother must be pregnant, postpartum, or breastfeeding. Children are eligible up to age five.

National School Lunch Program

This program provides reduced-cost meals to children. They hand out applications to every child at the beginning of the school year, but parents can apply at any time.

Summer Food Service Program

The Summer Food Service Program ensures that low-income children continue to eat nutritious meals when school is out. Over the summer of 2024, the USDA served more than 159 million meals to children 18 years and under at approved SFSP sites.

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)

SNAP delivers benefits via a debit card system. Participants receive a SNAP card to use at grocery stores and other retailers that accept SNAP to buy healthy food.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program

Low-income single parents, families, and individuals can receive food assistance through the Emergency Food Assistance Program. To be eligible, a family’s income cannot exceed the USDA’s federal guidelines. This can be a great source of assistance for single parents.

Healthcare programs for single parents

Access to affordable healthcare is essential for single parents and their children, but medical costs can quickly become overwhelming. Fortunately, several government-funded programs help eligible families obtain health insurance coverage and access to necessary medical services.

CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program)

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides low-cost health coverage to children in families whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford private health insurance. CHIP helps cover essential healthcare services, including routine checkups, immunizations, doctor visits, prescriptions, dental care, and hospital services.

Medicare

Medicare is a health insurance program for people 65 and older, but it’s available to people under 65 in certain circumstances. To check whether you’re eligible for any one of its programs, use the Medicare Eligibility Checker Tool.

Medicaid

Through Medicaid, low-income families can get medical assistance through state-administered programs. Medicaid eligibility guidelines vary by state, so be sure to check your state’s website to see if you qualify.

Insure Kids Now

Insure Kids Now helps children and teens receive low-cost health insurance. Parents can also receive assistance. Funds come from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Single parents must prove they cannot afford health insurance to receive coverage.

Energy and housing assistance for single parents

Housing and utility costs can place a significant strain on a single parent’s budget. Programs that provide rental assistance and help with energy expenses can make it easier for families to maintain safe, stable housing while reducing financial stress.

Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8)

The Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) helps low-income families, older adults, and people with disabilities afford safe, decent housing in the private rental market by subsidizing a portion of their rent.

LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program)

LIHEAP* offers energy grants and helps to single parents and others who qualify under its eligibility criteria. This program provides funds to cover costs such as home energy bills and home repairs due to energy-related issues.

Education and childcare programs for single parents

Balancing work, school, and parenting responsibilities can be especially challenging for single parents. Education and childcare assistance programs can help reduce costs, support early childhood development, and make it easier for parents to pursue employment or educational opportunities.

Head Start / Early Head Start

Head Start provides access to preschool at no cost for children five and under. Many Head Start programs also offer Early Head Start support for pregnant women, toddlers, and infants.

Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit

This tax credit allows parents to deduct expenses (for children 13 or under) from their taxable income. Since childcare can cost a lot of money, this resource can provide single parents with help.

Cash assistance and government programs for single parents

Financial assistance programs can help single parents manage everyday expenses, pursue educational opportunities, and work toward greater financial stability. From temporary cash assistance to grants and nonprofit support, these resources are designed to help families meet immediate needs while building a stronger future.

TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)

TANF helps families achieve self-sufficiency through financial support and grants. To be eligible, recipients must show that they’re actively taking specific actions outlined in the application form.

Grants, scholarships, and non-profit support for single mothers and single parents

While government assistance programs typically have income and eligibility requirements, nonprofit organizations and grant programs can provide additional support for single parents. Some offer direct financial assistance or scholarships to individuals, while others fund community organizations or provide services in specific regions. Reviewing each program’s eligibility requirements can help you find resources that best fit your needs.

Women’s Independence Scholarship Program (WISP)

Through this program, the Sunshine Lady Foundation helps victims of domestic violence by giving them financial help as single moms in the form of money toward higher education. An applicant must be separated from the abuser for at least one year, be a US citizen, prove financial need, and be enrolled at a university or show a desire to start.

While some of the resources below provide direct financial assistance to individuals, others support nonprofits or offer services in specific communities.

Global Fund for Women

The Global Fund for Women provides grants that support and strengthen women’s groups around the world, allowing women to build creative solutions to local, regional, and transnational challenges. Grantees and donors are brought together in an international network that promotes women’s actions for social change, equality, peace, and justice, helping to provide financial help for single parents.

Single Parent Project

Unlike many single-parent assistance programs, the Single Parent Project goes beyond helping single moms and parents. In addition to providing financial support, their 6-month program aims to keep single parents on the right path.

HOPE, Inc.

From rent and childcare assistance to life skills training, HOPE, Inc. aims to empower low-income single parents to become self-sufficient. Currently, the organization is accepting applications only for the Metro Atlanta area.

Help a Mother Out

This nonprofit provides diapers for families in need. The main bank is in the San Francisco Bay Area, with other diaper bank partners located beyond Northern California.

Helping Hands for Single Moms

This organization helps low-income single moms who are pursuing their college degrees. The program offers benefits for single parents such as emergency funds, car repairs, and legal counsel. Helping Hands for Single Moms serves Dallas, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona.

Pell Grants

Pell grants are awarded to low-income college students and can provide government assistance to single mothers, for example. They award grants of up to $7,395 for 2025-26, but the amount you receive will depend on certain factors. This grant provides single parents with support so they can go back to school. And as a grant, it doesn’t have to be repaid. It’s important to note that you’ll have to complete the FAFSA form every school year to maintain the grant.

TEACH Grants

TEACH Grants help people get the education they need to become teachers. After completing a teaching program, recipients must teach in a high-need field at an elementary school, secondary school, or educational service agency serving low-income families for at least 4 years (otherwise, the grant retroactively converts to a loan). You can receive up to $4,000 a year to cover education costs.

How crowdfunding can help single mothers and fathers

Raising a family is rarely something anyone should have to do alone. When a single parent is navigating unexpected expenses or life changes, friends, family, neighbors, and local communities often want to help, they just need an easy way to do so. We know you often face difficult challenges as a single parent, dealing with everything from minor medical emergencies to medical, financial, or employment challenges. While government assistance programs and nonprofit grants can provide valuable support, they often have eligibility requirements, limited funding, or waiting lists. When expenses fall outside those programs, or financial help is needed more urgently, crowdfunding can help reduce financial pressure and provide much-needed relief.

GoFundMe makes it easy to share your fundraiser story so the people in your life, and those inspired to help, can contribute in ways that make a real difference. Every donation, message of encouragement, and share is an opportunity for your community to come together around your family.

Why GoFundMe?

GoFundMe helps people raise money for the causes and people they care about. There’s no fee to start or manage your fundraiser on GoFundMe. However, there is one small transaction fee per donation that covers all your fundraising needs. Everything else goes directly to your cause, because that’s what matters most. On GoFundMe, donations are backed by the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee. Plus, once your fundraiser is set up, you can add your bank details to start receiving transfers.

Every day, friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, and compassionate supporters use GoFundMe to rally around single parents, helping with college tuition, extracurricular programs, educational travel, medical bills, and more. We’re here to help. Along with this article, we have many more resources for single mothers, fathers, kids, and families on our blog.