Apply for 2021 Yawkey Scholars Program for First-Generation College Students

Scholarship awards of $35,000 per year for first-generation students attending private Massachusetts colleges, plus mentoring & enrichment funding

The Yawkey Foundation today announced the opening of applications for its Yawkey Scholars Program, designed to make college affordable for talented, motivated, low-income, first-generation college-bound high school seniors from Massachusetts to complete bachelor’s degrees at private colleges in Massachusetts. On the program’s 15-year anniversary, the Yawkey Scholars Program has updated its scholarship award beginning with the 2021 Cohort by increasing the four-year renewable tuition scholarship to $35,000 per year.

In addition to the tuition scholarship, all Yawkey Scholars will continue to benefit from advisors for mentoring and guidance, as well as supplemental “Opportunity Funds” to offset the costs for enrichment such as experiential learning, summer abroad programs, and related opportunities that help Scholars achieve their academic and career goals.

“Our Foundation’s founders, Tom and Jean Yawkey, valued the importance of equitable access to education because they understood its ability to change lives – how academic achievement can provide pathways to economic mobility and improved outcomes across many fronts,” said Maureen H. Bleday, Chief Executive Officer of the Yawkey Foundation. “Nowhere is that better exemplified than through the impact and achievements of the hundreds of current and alumni Yawkey Scholars who are investing their expertise and passion to make their communities better.”

Since 2005, the Yawkey Scholars Program has provided more than $13 million in scholarships and supplemental support to more than 300 Scholars as they pursue a college education.

To be eligible for the Massachusetts Yawkey Scholars Program, applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• be a U.S. citizen and permanent resident of Massachusetts
• plan to attend a private, competitive college in Massachusetts
• have a family Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $125,000 or less and/or an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $25,000 or less
• have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (unweighted) on a 4.0 scale
• be among the first generation in their immediate family to complete a 4-year college/university degree

The deadline for applications is Friday, February 12, 2021 at 5pm. Application materials can be found at tpi.org/scholarship/yawkey-scholars-program.

About the Yawkey Foundation

The Yawkey Foundation perpetuates Tom and Jean Yawkey’s commitment to educational opportunity for underserved young people in the communities closest to their hearts – Massachusetts and Georgetown, South Carolina – through the development of unique scholarship and internship programs that provide pathways to academic success and economic mobility. Through the Yawkey Scholars Program, several Yawkey Nonprofit Internship Programs at colleges and universities, and a longstanding relationship with the Jackie Robinson Foundation, the Yawkey Foundation has helped hundreds of young people as they pursue their academic and professional development aspirations.

Having awarded more than $500 million to-date in charitable grants to organizations focused on Health Care, Education, Human Services, Youth and Amateur Athletics, Arts and Culture, and Conservation and Wildlife, the Yawkey Foundation is committed to preserving and sustaining the charitable values of the Yawkeys by investing in impactful nonprofits providing resources, opportunity, and dignity to the vulnerable and underserved.

For more information about the Yawkeys’ commitment to education, the Yawkey Scholars Program, and the Yawkey Foundation, please visit yawkeyfoundation.org.