Dream. Achieve. Succeed.

Over A Century Of Academic progress

In 2018, the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation celebrated 100 years of assisting area students to continue their education. It was started as a stipend program created by prominent citizens who were concerned about the number of promising students of working age who were leaving school for economic reasons. The Scholarship Committee was formed and was composed of guidance counselors, members of the staff of the Vocational Bureau, and “instructed women from the community at large”. Stipends were granted to students who were “gifted”, based on their IQ and lived in “disadvantaged areas”. Mrs. William Semple was the first Chairperson of the Scholarship Committee and her tenure would last 34 years. In 1946, The Scholarship Committee was incorporated in the State of Ohio as the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation to be overseen by a volunteer Board of Trustees. In 1952, Mrs. Irvin Westheimer succeeded Mrs. Semple as Board Chairperson. Yvonne Crittendon (Mrs. Oscar Robertson) would be awarded a PTA Scholarship to attend the University of Cincinnati. This began the college scholarship program, expanding its mission to close the gap to pay for a college education. In 1962, The CSF begins its endowment with a bequest from Mrs. Rebecca Van Ham Dale. The Board of Trustees approves funding for full-time clerical support in 1967. The following year, the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation celebrated its golden anniversary with a banquet.

Pivotal Moments In Our History

1918 - Our Founding

During World War II, prominent citizens became concerned that a number of students of working age were leaving school for economic reasons.  William Cooper Procter, Chairman of the War Chest, and Helen Thompson Woolley, Director of the Vocation Bureau of the Cincinnati Board of Education established, The Scholarship Committee.

The Committee was composed of High School Counselors, members of the staff of the Vocational Bureau and “instructed women from the community at large”.   Mrs. William T. Semple was its first President. 

1946

The Scholarship Committee was incorporated in the State of Ohio as the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation (CSF).

1966

Dwight Tillery, future Foundation Trustee and future mayor of Cincinnati, is awarded a scholarship.

1968

The Golden Anniversary (1918 - 1968) is celebrated.

1988

The Foundation joins the Chamber of Commerce.

2008

90th Anniversary is celebrated at Music Hall on October 9th.

A Stroll Down Memory Lane

Removing Financial Barriers to Education

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