Over $60 million Committed to Kansas City Area Students

Kansas City, MO. (June 19, 2023) — KC Scholars, the region's preeminent scholarship program, is pleased to announce the addition of two university partners to its roster: Northwest Missouri State University and the University of Saint Mary.

• Northwest Missouri State University has committed $17,500,000 to provide fifty scholarships worth $50,000 each annually for the next seven years.
   
• The University of Saint Mary has committed $50,000,000 to provide fifty scholarships worth $100,000 each annually for the next 10 years.

Students interested in applying for these or any of KC Scholars’ scholarships should visit https://salesforce.123formbuilder.com/sf.php?s=123formbuilder-6287721&control104422391=.

The expansion of the KC Scholars post-secondary network is vital to the organization’s commitment to not only expand opportunities for their current scholars, but also increase the number of scholarships to eligible applicants that would have otherwise gone unawarded, said Natalie Lewis, KC Scholars’ chief operations officer, in making the announcement.

“At KC Scholars, we believe in the impact of education on the financial stability of the next generation,” Lewis said. “Helping to support the dreams of so many through their partnership and investment shows the commitment of Northwest Missouri State University and the University of Saint Mary to the community. Those are the types of partnerships we strive to build.”

Allison Hoffmann, assistant vice president of admissions and student success at Northwest Missouri State University, talked about the university’s commitment to supporting students on their journeys.

“Northwest is committed to creating pathways for students to access higher education, and this partnership speaks to our commitment,” Hoffmann said. “With our focus on student success, we remain deeply committed to supporting students through post-secondary completion.”

For Sr. Diane Steele, president of the University of Saint Mary, the partnership with KC Scholars is significant both professionally and personally.

“As a first-generation college graduate myself, I am most pleased that Saint Mary can, through this partnership, expand our support of such deserving students,” Steele said. “This partnership is a wonderful fit for USM, as the university believes that it is a primary mission to ensure that education is affordable, accessible, and, ultimately, successful for all students. What's more, over the past few years, USM has expanded its focus on serving and supporting first-generation students—a group also heavily served by KC Scholars.”

This year, KC Scholars awarded $50,000 scholarships to more than 775 students and adults to be used within their post-secondary network. With the addition of Northwest Missouri State University and the University of Saint Mary, KC Scholars now partners with a total of 19 colleges and universities in the Kansas City area. 

About Kansas City Scholars

Kansas City Scholars (www.kcscholars.org) was designed to change thousands of individual lives and transform the region by preparing our future workforce and contributing to the regional economy. It is a 501(c)(3) college scholarship, persistence, and support organization designed to increase the college completion rate for low- and modest- income students and adult learners across the six-county, bi-state service region. KC Scholars awards traditional college scholarships to high school juniors, adult learner scholarships to adults 18 years and older, and college savings match awards to high school freshman. KC Scholars supports all its awardees throughout the process and during college. 

KC Scholars’ newest program, Great Jobs KC, provides tuition assistance to approved job training programs in high paying and high-demand industries such as construction, healthcare, information technology, and manufacturing. With the support of Great Jobs KC, adults 18 and older can learn the skills needed in one year or less to earn between $45,000-$85,000. 

Launched in September 2016, KC Scholars has experienced widespread community engagement and rapid scaling. KC Scholars has more than 6,000 scholars, with over 2,000 scholarship recipients currently in college.