For community college students, the federal Pell Grant remains by far the most important student aid program. The U.S. Department of education now projects that 8.74 million students will receive Pell Grants in the 2011-12 award year, with approximately one-third of them attending community colleges--nearly 3 million students. As such, the Pell Grant program remains the top legislative priority for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The Pell Grant funding was stagnant for much of the past decade, but this began to change dramatically for the better in 2007, when the College Cost Reduction and Affordability Act guaranteed annual increases in the Pell Grant maximum, using "mandatory" savings generated from the federal loan programs. This article discusses the funding trends of Pell Grant experienced by community colleges and the efforts of the AACC to maintain the strongest level of political and public support for the federal program. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)