Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation Receives Helios Education Foundation Grant Resulting in $1.2M Scholarship Funds

Helios Education Foundation has awarded a grant to the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation to fulfill a dollar-for-dollar US Department of Education (DOE) Title V Endowment Match Challenge, resulting in $1.2 million in newly endowed scholarships funds. 

The scholarship effort was initiated by three Maricopa Community Colleges: Estrella Mountain Community College, Glendale Community College and GateWay Community College, each a participant in a DOE Title V grant challenge. In order to maximize federal funding, Helios partnered with MCC to provide matching funds to achieve the DOE match. “Helios Education Foundation is excited to partner with the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation to establish the Hispanic Serving Institutions Scholarship Fund,” said Paul J. Luna, President and CEO. “These scholarships will help more students, particularly Latino and first-generation students, pursue and complete a postsecondary degree.”

Between the Helios grant and local fundraising, the Title V Endowment Challenge successfully achieved a match of $640,000, resulting in endowed funds totaling more than $1.2 million. Revenue generated by these endowments will provide annual support for scholarships and programs targeting low-income and underserved students.

“More than 115 students will benefit each year directly as a result of these endowed funds,” said Brian Spicker, Interim President and CEO, Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation. “It’s exciting to see how our longstanding partnership with Helios has grown over the years from a $15,000 Heroes of Education sponsorship in 2007, to an investment of nearly $5.8 million throughout multiple scholarships and programs. Their generous dollar-for-dollar match marks a new chapter in their relationship with both the Foundation and the Maricopa Community Colleges District and builds a lasting legacy creating opportunities for success in postsecondary education.”

To learn more about this program, contact Rebecca Lindgren, Vice President of Marketing, at rlindgren@helios.org  or at (602) 828-7061.