by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Apr 13, 2023 | CFFC News
What is the Educate Fayette Scholarship Fund?
The Community Foundation of Fayette County’s board of directors has approved the creation of a new scholarship fund, the Educate Fayette Scholarship Fund, to provide funding towards local students’ higher education. This fund will serve as an alternative to donors creating a named scholarship fund.
The Educate Fayette Scholarship Fund will award scholarships to students pursuing higher education. Applicants must be a Fayette County resident and either a student with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, or a non-traditional student.
Donors to this fund will be recognized as Silver ($100 – $4,999), Gold ($5,000 – $14,999), and Platinum ($15,000 +) Sponsors. Check donations can be made payable to CFFC with Educate Fayette Scholarship Fund on the memo line. Online donations are being accepted through CFFC’s PayPal account.
Donations to the Fund Matched by Generous Donor
The public is invited to support the Educate Fayette Scholarship Fund. To strengthen the fund in its first year, a generous donor is matching donations. A dollar-for-dollar match will be provided, up to a maximum of $25,000, for contributions to the Educate Fayette Scholarship Fund through the end of 2023.
Check donations can be made payable to CFFC with Educate Fayette Scholarship Fund on the memo line. Online donations are being accepted through CFFC’s PayPal account.
CFFC is grateful for the opportunity to invest in the future of our community by supporting local students, with the help of generous donors.
Please contact Renee M. Couser, Executive Director, with any questions at 724-437-8600 x1.
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Mar 17, 2023 | CFFC News
The foundation created the Educate Fayette Scholarship Fund to award scholarships to students pursuing higher education. Donors who wish to support post-secondary students can contribute to this fund, as an alternative to creating a named scholarship fund. Donors will be recognized as Silver ($100 – $4,999), Gold ($5,000 – $14,999), and Platinum ($15,000 +) Sponsors.
You can donate by check or online through CFFC’s PayPal donation portal. If you have questions, please contact Renee M. Couser, CFFC Executive Director, at 724-437-8600 x1.
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Jul 14, 2022 | CFFC News
On July 8, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law HB1642, a sprawling public school system bill which includes a ban on scholarship displacement at public colleges and universities. This makes Pennsylvania the fourth state in the country to eliminate the practice of colleges and universities reducing a student’s financial aid package when the student receives a private scholarship.
A statewide coalition of scholarship providers, including the Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC), initiated the call for elimination of scholarship displacement in 2018. CFFC Executive Director Renee Couser explained, “As a community foundation, our duty is to carry out our donors’ intent when they entrust us with their charitable giving. When we award a scholarship to a student on behalf of a donor, and the university then reduces that student’s financial aid package, that essentially eliminates the scholarship’s benefit to the student and defeats our donor’s purpose in awarding the scholarship.”
The coalition included members of the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association, the Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Foundation, the Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable, and Pittsburgh’s Poise Foundation. State legislature and the governor took steps to address scholarship displacement, resulting in HB1642 being signed into law and going into effect immediately.
CFFC awarded over $195,000 to local post-secondary students for the 2022-2023 school year, from 54 scholarship funds. “We shared an information sheet about scholarship displacement to help educate applicants, and we include specific wording in our award letters that request our scholarships to be stacked on top of a student’s financial aid, instead of being displaced,” said CFFC Scholarship Coordinator Lee O’Neil. Now, this practice will be banned at public colleges and universities, and the conversation will continue to educate students, school administrators, and donors.
Read the Herald-Standard article
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Jun 16, 2022 | CFFC News, Scholarships
The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) is awarding over $195,000 in post-secondary scholarships to local students. “On behalf of the CFFC Board of Directors, congratulations to the scholarship recipients! We wish you well as you continue your education and contribute to the future of Fayette County,” said Angela Braun, CFFC Scholarship Committee Chair.
Scholarship funds are created in honor or memory of a loved one, to support certain career paths, or to simply give back to the community. CFFC works with donors to determine criteria for each scholarship fund, including qualifications related to academic achievement, community service, financial need, extracurricular participation, area of study, or school preference.
CFFC extends thanks to the generous donors who support students through these funds, the guidance counselors who help promote these opportunities to students, and the volunteer CFFC Scholarship Committee members who review hundreds of applications to recommend selections.
Through the CFFC’s partnership with the Pennsylvania Access to Higher Education Program, qualifying students may have their scholarship awards matched by the state.
Visit www.cffayettepa.org and follow @cffayettepa on social media for more information.
Scroll down for a full list of awards, sorted by scholarship fund.
CFFC visited Albert Gallatin, Uniontown, Connellsville, and Laurel Highlands High Schools to congratulate the senior scholarship recipients. Students from Geibel Catholic, Frazier, Charleroi, and Brownsville High Schools also received scholarships, in addition to current post-secondary students from various institutions.
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Jun 21, 2021 | CFFC News, News Releases, Scholarships
The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) will award over $160,000 in post-secondary scholarships for the 2021-2022 school year. Congratulations to the selected students!
Watch the scholarship award slideshow here! (also posted on our Facebook page)
Scholarship funds are created in honor or memory of a loved one, to support certain career paths, or to simply give back to the community. Generous donors who create and support these funds make it possible to award a wide selection of students each school year. Each scholarship has unique criteria, including qualifications related to academic achievement, community service, financial need, extracurricular participation, area of study, or school preference.
“The CFFC Board of Directors would like to applaud all of the 2021-2022 scholarship recipients for their hard-earned accomplishments and achievements. We look forward to seeing how these students progress in their education, professions, and as members of the Fayette County community. We also want to thank the volunteers of the CFFC Scholarship Committee who reviewed hundreds of applications to select this year’s winners,” said Angela Braun, CFFC Scholarship Committee Chair.
CFFC hosted a “Snap & Go” Ice Cream Social for the scholarship recipients on May 25 at Hatfield Elementary School’s covered patio. Students “snapped” pictures to commemorate their accomplishment and took an ice cream treat “to go”.
Through the CFFC’s partnership with the Pennsylvania Access to Higher Education Program, qualifying students will have the opportunity to have their scholarship awards matched by the state.
Please visit the website at www.cffayettepa.org and follow CFFC on social media @cffayettepa to stay updated with the scholarship program and much more.