As Georgia students head back to class on college campuses across the U.S., nearly 200 of them begin the academic year with financial assistance from Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta scholarships. Almost $600,000 in scholarships has been awarded for the 2019-2020 academic year.
 
A total of 584 students applied for scholarships this year and 85 new awards were made, totaling $256,150. In addition, 111 students received funding through renewable scholarships totaling $333,000 for the academic year.
 
This year’s Community Foundation scholarship recipients include:

·         26% are first-generation college goers in their families

·         70% are female; 30% are male

·         85% are students of color

·         15% of this year’s awards are going to students attending Spelman College, in large part through the Foundation’s George and Pearl Strickland Scholarship that benefits those attending Atlanta’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities

“Thanks to our generous donors who direct their philanthropy to education, we are able to help hundreds of students pursue their dream of a post-secondary or graduate-level degree. I’m especially pleased that one-quarter of our scholarship recipients are first-generation college goers,” said Alicia Philipp, president, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. “Yet our year-over-year trend is that demand for our scholarships far exceeds the amount we’re able to award. The success of our future economy depends on more students attaining a degree. We need to advocate for state funding for need-based scholarships that will enable more students to enroll and achieve the dream of graduation,” she added.
 
The Community Foundation manages nearly 20 different scholarship funds. Scholarships are set up by Community Foundation donors and some are specific to students from an individual school or for those in a designated field of study. Many scholarships provide financial assistance for students attending any accredited college, university or technical school.