2025 Scholarship Program Opens
The application period for the 2025 Marion Community Foundation Scholarship Program is now open. More than $500,000 is available to students from Marion and the surrounding area, including scholarships for college and university programs, trade schools, and professional programs like medical and law school, for the upcoming 2025-26 academic year. Students from high school seniors to college-level graduate students are eligible to apply.
According to Marion Community Foundation Program Manager Kate McCleese, who coordinates the Scholarship Program, “We are excited to be opening the application period extra early to allow students to use their winter break to get a jump start on their application.”
The application process is entirely online and starts at marioncommunityfoundation.org/scholarships-apply/.
The deadline to apply is 1 p.m. on February 11, 2025.
According to Scholarship Committee chair and retired educator Kathy Goodman, Marion Community Foundation’s program offers scholarships to both high school seniors and area college students. Each scholarship has its own selection criteria, based on the donor’s preferences, and one application allows students to be considered for all of the scholarships for which they are eligible.
“The scholarship page on Marion Community Foundation’s website includes a complete list of the scholarships available and their individual selection criteria,” said Goodman. “Students can review this list and match their qualifications to the requirements and get a good idea of their eligibility. Our donors have established scholarships for very personal reasons and these are reflected in each scholarship’s unique criteria.”
Many of the funds, Goodman noted, memorialize loved ones and are awarded to help students attend the donor’s alma mater or pursue a degree in the same field of study as the person the scholarship honors. Scholarships are available to reward extracurricular activities, community activities, and more, as well as academic skills.
Awarding for the first time this year are the Allen ‘Bus’ Augenstein Memorial Scholarship, Chivington Family Scholarship, Ron & Phyllis Craycraft Scholarship, Charles A. & Sue (McCoy) Huber Scholarship, Lo Family Scholarship, Marion Rotary Club John C. Keggan Scholarship, Dr. Tarlok & Amar Purewal Scholarship, River Valley Music Honor Society Scholarship, St. John Lutheran Church (Windfall) Scholarship, Kevin & Ruth Smith Scholarship, and Y-Men’s Service Club Scholarship.
The online application requires documentation such as personal recommendations, financial details, and essays to be attached. According to McCleese, students can save the application in progress while they gather the supporting documentation and return to finish the application, including making updates and corrections, before filing.
Applications are available now through February 11, 2025 at 1 p.m. This deadline is absolute. The review process continues for several weeks, culminating in the Board’s final decisions in late April.
Click here for additional information and access to the online scholarship application. Updates will be posted to Marion Community Foundation’s social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads) throughout the application period.
