Spread the Word:
It’s Scholarship Season!

Do you know someone who might benefit from a scholarship for secondary education? Last year, MaineCF awarded more than $3.5 million in scholarships from over 625 funds.

Here’s a link you can share to our scholarship listings by county, along with descriptions of support for specific areas of study, graduate studies, adult education, and more. Applying is easy online through www.mainecf.org.  

Throughout the year, people approach MaineCF to start scholarship funds in memory or honor of a loved one, or for an alma mater, or a certain type of student. In 2021, we opened 69 new scholarship funds of all types.

A new scholarship this year will support LGBTQ+ youth and allies in pursuit of post-secondary studies. The Parsons Scholarship Fund for LGBTQ+ Youth and Allies honors the late Betsy Parsons, a longtime Portland teacher and a fierce advocate of LGBTQ+ rights.

Parsons taught English for 30 years and was one of the earliest teachers in Maine to publicly identify as a lesbian. She helped found the Southern Maine Chapter of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network), which fights to ensure safe schools and spaces for all students regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. She led the way in establishing approximately 90 student gender and sexuality clubs statewide, recruited student leaders and advisors and provided continued support.

To learn more about scholarships, contact Liz Fickett, MaineCF director of grants and scholarships, at lfickett@mainecf.org.

Photo: Betsy Parsons, courtesy Parsons family

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 Maine Community Foundation, 245 Main Street, Ellsworth ME 04605
(877) 700-6800 | www.facebook/mainecf | info@mainecf.org