The application period for the 2025 Marion Community Foundation Scholarship Program is open. More than $500,000 is available to students from Marion and the surrounding area.
There are 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.
“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,” said Kate McCleese, who coordinates the scholarship program.
The application process is online and starts with a visit to www.MarionCommunityFoundation.org. Visitors will find the application link on the homepage under the scholarship tab. The deadline to apply is 1 p.m. Feb. 11.
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 Scholarship Committee chair and retired educator Kathy 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 River Valley Music Honor Society Scholarship, Lo Family Scholarship, Ron & Phyllis Craycraft Scholarship, St. John Lutheran Church (Windfall) Scholarship and the Marion Rotary Club John C. Keggan Scholarship.
The application requires documentation such as personal recommendations, financial details and essays to be attached. 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.
Scholarship recipients will be decided in late April.
