Gulf Coast Community Foundation has awarded more than half-a-million dollars in scholarships to hundreds of local students for the 2019-20 academic year.

The foundation recently announced 461 scholarship awards totaling $537,719 for the upcoming school year. More than $215,000 was awarded from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation Scholarship Fund, an endowment established by the foundation’s Board in 1997 to help local students pursue meaningful higher education. A total of 188 students received the Gulf Coast Scholarship this year, with awards ranging from $1,000 to $3,000. The rest of the scholarship funding comes from more than 50 different scholarship funds established by donors and administered by the foundation on their behalf. Many of these scholarships support students pursuing specific fields of study, such as healthcare, vocational training, business or the arts, while others focus on students from particular communities or schools.

Recipients of the foundation’s scholarships may be from Sarasota County, Charlotte County or Boca Grande. Since 1997, the foundation and its donors have invested more than $8 million in students through scholarships.

Gulf Coast Community Foundation