View Map of Jeannette Rankin Foundation Scholarship Recipients (PDF)
History
The Jeannette Rankin Foundation honors the name and legacy of an American woman of incredible spirit and determination by providing much needed aid to women with the same attributes. Jeannette Rankin was a proponent of women's rights and was the first woman to be elected to the United States Congress in 1916.
Upon her death, Rankin left a portion of her Georgia estate to assist "mature, unemployed women workers." Rankin's personal assistant, Reita Rivers, along with friends Sue Bailey, Gail Dendy, Margaret Holt, and Heather Kleiner, decided to establish a foundation to help adult women who face difficulties when returning to school. The $16,000 from Rankin's estate was the seed money for the Jeannette Rankin Foundation, which has been helping mature, low-income women succeed through education since it was chartered in 1976.
In 1978, the Jeannette Rankin Foundation awarded one scholarship in the amount of $500. In 2006, the Jeannette Rankin Foundation awarded 78 scholarships in the amount of $2,000 each.