Grand Rapids Community Foundation awards $871,850 in scholarships to Kent County students

'Tis the season of generosity. Grand Rapids Community Foundation, 185 Oakes St. SW, recently awarded and distributed $871,850 through 552 different scholarship funds. The scholarships range from $300 to $10,000 with over 500 awards of $1,000 or more. GRCF processed over 1,777 scholarship program applications for the 2013-14 academic year.

Get ready for some more impressive statistics:

Of the 552 scholarship recipients, 63 percent are female and 37 percent are male. This year, 53 percent of scholarship recipients are first-generation college students. And 16 percent of the scholarships were awarded to current or former graduates of Grand Rapids Public Schools.

Michigan colleges received 76 percent of all the awards, which is $662,550 of the total $871,850 available funds. The top awarded Michigan colleges include: Grand Valley State University with $142,700, Grand Rapids Community College with $71,300, Michigan State University with $63,000, and the University of Michigan with $46,700.

"We appreciate the good work of the community volunteers who make up the 21 scholarship selection committees,” says Ruth Bishop, the organization's Education Program Officer. "The committees are very thoughtful in carrying out the wishes of the donors who have established scholarship funds at the Foundation."

New scholarships awarded this year include the Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids Minority Scholarship Fund. This award was established to provide undergraduate scholarships to Kent County students of color attending a nonprofit public or private college/university majoring in Fine Arts including all visual and performing art forms. Also new is the Darooge Family Scholarship Fund, which was established to provide scholarships to full-time undergraduate students majoring in a construction-related field at any accredited two- or four-year college/university/trade school in Michigan.

Get involved:

- Visit GRCF's website.
- Donate to GRCF.
- Consider planned giving.

Source: Roberta F. King, Vice President, Public Relations and Marketing, GRCF
Writer: Victoria Mullen, Do Good Editor

Images: Courtesy of Grand Rapids Community Foundation's website