Our scholarships are given to assist adult women in completing their education and pursuing career aspirations. The recipients must be 25 years of age or older, in their senior year at Hudson Valley Community College or Schenectady County Community College, and have at least a 2.5 GPA, coupled with a strong determination to succeed academically. They also must demonstrate financial need and be residents of Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady or Schoharie counties. Recipients were selected through a competitive application process that included the submission of a compelling 300-word essay.

Since starting our education initiative in 2010, the Women's Fund has awarded:

• Almost $500,000 in scholarships to over 90 women attending Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) and SUNY Schenectady County Community College (SCCC)
• $14,200 in funding for an Emergency Fund at SCCC that is available to assist non-traditional female students who are experiencing unusual or severe financial strain due to a sudden unforeseen crisis outside of their control.

The Women’s Fund is the single largest scholarship donor at both HVCC and SCCC. An article from the SCCC Summer 2014 Alum News details our partnership with SCCC.

Thanks From Our Scholars 

Statia M wrote this in 2022. "Thanks to you and your help, I am now at a better point in life to not only help myself but my special needs daughter as well."

Here's an article about a 2020 scholar who graduated. "The scholarship provided the support I needed to focus on my education and family, in one of the most trying times in history!"(She's in the photo below with her children.)

Here is a note from a 2017 SCCC scholarship recipient. "This scholarship is a backbone upon which I plan to build my future."

A past scholar wrote us: “I am attending St. Peter’s Nursing School. I love it and definitely would not be where I am right now if I didn’t receive help and support from The Women’s Fund!”