Education: The Key To St. Louis’ Future

Access to and completion of a post-secondary degree or certificate are vital elements of economic success. In fact, the recent St. Louis Graduates study titled Degrees with Less Debt found two-thirds of all jobs today require these after high school credentials.

Even more stunning, the study also found St. Louis area adults with bachelor’s degrees earn 77 percent more than adults with a high school diploma.

However, for low-income students and students of color, significant barriers can prevent them from extending their education beyond high school. That’s one reason why the St. Louis Community Foundation and St. Louis Graduates, a component fund of the Foundation, created the St. Louis Graduates Scholarship, which is now known as the Investing for the Future Scholarship.

 The program gives a $1,000 stipend to a deserving student attending college and can be renewed for three additional years. Already, seven students have benefited from the scholarships, which are funded with donor gifts that range from $10 to $10,000.

In addition, St. Louis Graduates operates Scholarship Central, an online database of 125 local and regional scholarships. The database includes information about scholarship criteria, the application process, and applicable deadlines. Last year, the St. Louis Community Foundation and its donors awarded $1.6 million in scholarship dollars to 686 students across the area in conjunction with Scholarship Central.

To learn more about St Louis Graduates or the St. Louis Community Foundation, visit stlouisgraduates.org or stlouisgives.org, respectively. If you would like to contribute to the Investing for the Future Scholarship, visit stlgives.org/give-today.