Scholarships

Maine Seacoast Mission’s scholarship programs help recent high school graduates and adults from Maine’s outer island and Downeast communities continue their educational paths and achieve their dreams.

Since the beginning of the program, the Mission has awarded almost $3 million to 3,692 deserving students from Maine’s outer islands and Downeast coastal communities. Each year we award about twenty-five scholarships based on students’ financial need and academic promise. Because our scholarships can be renewed for multiple years, the Mission has nearly 100 active scholars in any given year.

Over the years, the post-secondary education and workforce landscapes continued to change from a focus on four-year liberal arts education to a myriad of ways to achieve higher education and workforce readiness. The Mission Scholarship program moved towards this realization by providing scholarships for individuals entering trade, technical, two and four-year colleges.

The application period for new applicants seeking a scholarship for the 2024-2025 school year is now open.    The deadline for applications is March 29, 2024.

 

 

 

 

A group of young people standing on the bow of a boat, they are looking up and smiling for the camera

In 2023, 72% of Scholars attended a college in Maine and 46% attended a University of Maine or Maine Community College. 

EdGE Scholarships

Students who have participated in the Mission’s EdGE program for at least five years and have served as a volunteer and/or high school staff member for EdGE are eligible to apply for our EdGE Scholarships, with a total of $10,000 over four years per scholar.

Scholarships

Some of our generous donors choose to scholarships for youth in our region. One such example is the Angus MacDonald scholarship, which offers an award of $14,000 over four years to an exceptional high school graduate who has demonstrated superior academic achievement, leadership skills, integrity, and commitment to the community.

Davis Maine Scholarship

The Davis Maine Scholarship offers full, renewable, four-year scholarships at Davis Maine Partner colleges for first-generation students from eastern Hancock and Washington counties.

Downeast Exploration Fund

Building on Gigi Georges’ book, Downeast: Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America (Harper Collins, 2021), the author and her husband, Jeff Oxman, created the Downeast Exploration Fund. Celebrating the continued strength and resilience residing in the young people of the Downeast region, the Fund honors the leadership, creativity, intellectual curiosity, and passion for a range of pursuits exemplified by the five remarkable young women portrayed in the book. These five young women played a central role in developing the fund’s objective and defining its scope.

Eligible applicants may apply for grants to explore their own passions and pursue experiences not otherwise available to them. This extends to participation in camps, outdoor learning experiences, and lessons in music, art, sports, or equestrian pursuits. The Fund will award up to $5,000 annually. This amount will be dispersed to eligible 6th through 12th graders, including rising 6th graders and just-graduated seniors.

To learn more about Gigi Georges and her book, please visit the author’s website.

Our work is your work, made possible by your generous gifts.

No matter how hard times get, the Mission will be there, helping sustain and strengthen families and communities. Please join us. Your donations bring warmth when it’s cold, shed light where it’s dark, and give strength when burdens grow heavy.

Contact us to donate, volunteer, or arrange for planned giving.

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