By Anne Pryor
Margaret’s Fund

Northside residents are invited to apply for this year’s Margaret’s Fund: A Northside Scholarship. The 2023 scholarship will go to an adult returning to school in a degree- or certificate-program in fall 2023. The award is $1,000.

Applicants must be a Northside resident; have an accepted or pending application at an accredited post-secondary school, college or university; and plan to enroll or continue in the 2023-24 academic year. Preference will be given to applicants who actively participate or volunteer in Northside organizations, are among the first in their family to pursue higher education, or have overcome substantial obstacles or challenges to success.

College is expensive in many ways beyond tuition and books, the two areas covered by most scholarships. Margaret’s Fund is unrestricted so the recipient can use the award to pay for some of the often-forgotten extra costs of college, such as childcare, computers, transportation, supplies or special fees.

Since 2007, Margaret’s Fund has supported residents of Northside Madison neighborhoods who are pursuing higher education, alternating between a graduating high school senior and a returning adult. After years of growth at the Madison Community Foundation, the annual scholarship award is now $1,000.

Margaret’s Fund has awarded 13 scholarships to date:

Tara Hoffman (2009)

Nicole Tackes (2010)

Stacey Yang (2011)

Omobolanle Kikelomo Olumbi (2012)

Chekwube Obieze (2013)

Melissa Marie Alexander (2014)

Aminata Bojang (2015)

Felicia Jones (2016)

Vanessa Kana (2017)

Terri Hatchett (2018)

René Bedolla (2019)

Josselin Ceballos De Santiago (2019)

Abubacarr Darboe (2022).

Margaret’s Fund: A Northside Scholarship is professionally managed by the Madison Community Foundation. Donations are tax deductible and very much appreciated.

Find the application and full guidelines at https://tinyurl.com/NorthApply. The application deadline is May 31, 2023.