West Shore Aware
Background
· The West Shore AWARE Scholarship Fund was established in 2007 through the generosity of several donors and cooperative arrangements with Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in western Michigan.
· Donations for the Scholarship Fund are currently solicited separately from the annual AWARE fundraising event.
Purpose
· The Scholarship Fund provides educational support to qualified GVSU students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), or to other students who have demonstrated support for issues important to the well being of the broad LGBT community.
Objective
· The major objective is to create a $60,000 West Shore AWARE Endowment at GVSU and award two scholarships per year.
· A second objective is to create this endowment through donors’ contributions without conducting fundraising events (i.e.,100% of donations goes toward the endowment – 0% goes toward overhead).
Why GVSU?
· GVSU expressed a keen desire and willingness to work with West Shore AWARE – and the University strongly supports the efforts of AWARE.
· GVSU has a major presence in Western Michigan with 3 campuses, an affiliation with 2 community colleges and an enrollment of approximately 24,000 students.
· GVSU conducted a study in 2005 that confirmed there are comfort-level, equality and assistance problems for LGBT students. Accordingly, GVSU created a LGBT Resource Center, which is an integral part of their campus.
Accomplishments
· A partnership has been established with GVSU personnel and their need for LGBT assistance has been confirmed.
· An initial West Shore Aware Endowment of $30,000 was established at GVSU in 2010. This Endowment will fund one $1,500 scholarship per year in perpetuity. To achieve the $60,000 objective, additional funds will be added to the Endowment as funds become available.
· Until the $60,000 Endowment objective is achieved, a second $1,500 scholarship will be awarded annually and will be funded through donor contributions to the Scholarship Fund.
· Five $1,500 scholarships were awarded at GVSU for the 2008-10 school years.
· To date, approximately $32,000 has been raised for the Scholarship Fund (plus the five $1,500 scholarships that have been awarded).
Contact Information
Requests for information can be mailed to:
AWARE Scholarship Trustees, P.O. Box 33, Douglas, MI 49406
Additional Information
For a word document version of this information click here.
To apply for the West Shore Aware Scholarship click here.
Page last modified February 16, 2011
