The Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation recently awarded 277 scholarships, totaling $509,728, to 223 high school seniors, college students, and trade school students across the five-county region.

“The variety of scholarships we have provide opportunities for students pursuing diverse post-secondary pathways,” said Gina Thornbury, senior community impact manager of the Community Foundation, says in a statement. “Supporting access to education and learning beyond high school is an essential part of building healthy, resilient, thriving communities.”

As part of this year’s scholarship awards, the Community Foundation supported:

· $77,462 to 24 students from Antrim County.

· $173,397 to 38 students from Benzie County.

· $214,763 to 139 students from Grand Traverse County.

· $17,272 to six students from Kalkaska County.

· $13,204 to eight students from Leelanau County.

· $13,630 to eight students from outside the region through partnerships with national and state-wide organizations.

In addition to these scholarships, the Community Foundation granted $110,000 earlier this year to 10 local schools and school districts to support student scholarships, including Benzie Central Schools, Buckley Community Schools, Elk Rapids Senior High School, Forest Area Community Schools, Frankfort Elberta Area Schools, Kalkaska High School, Kingsley Area Schools, Leland Public Schools, Mancelona Public Schools, and Suttons Bay Public Schools. These grants came from the Community Foundation’s Wilfred and Joan Larson Endowment and bring the Foundation’s total support for post-secondary education opportunities to $619,728.

For more information about Community Foundation scholarships, click here. To view a full list of 2025 scholarship recipients, click here.