Our story and FaQ's
About the Scholarship
Our Story
The Gift that Keeps on Giving Scholarship was initially founded in 2016 as an annual scholarship by Angie Barrington-Jeter , C"1991, during her 25th class reunion to financially assist Spelman students either just beginning or currently matriculating thru Spelman. As a result of the generous donations from so many Spelman Alumnae, family and friends, we have raised over $100,000 and have been able to provide $5,000 annually to phenomenal Spelman students for the past 8 years (along with mentorship) and will continue to do so.
Because the annual scholarship was a huge success, we decided to establish an additional scholarship entitled The Gift that Keeps on Giving II Endowed Scholarship to leave an eternal legacy of educating Spelman women who will graduate and then go out to change the world.
While funds are being raised for the endowment, we are still able to provide $5,000 per year to a deserving student from the annual scholarship.
However, all funds currently raised are now going towards The Gift that Keeps on Giving II Endowed Scholarship as the goal is that with the endowment we can offer a minimum of $5,000 per year to Spelman students for eternity. Therefore, your donations are crucial for leaving this important legacy.
What was the inspiration to begin the scholarship(s)?
When I was at Spelman, my father passed away the summer before my Senior year. It was such a blessing that I was financially able to finish school my senior year as it was hard enough to be grieving over the death of my dad. Additionally, I was so incredibly fortunate that my parents had the abilities to pay for my entire education which allowed me to graduate debt free. I will forever be grateful for my mom and dad for this gift which provided me with an incredible financial head start in life. I had classmates who were not as fortunate and either had to leave during a hardship or graduated with an enormous amount of debt. Therefore, when I graduated from Spelman, it became one of my missions to afford Spelman students some of the opportunities that I had to be able to attend Spelman and reduce their debt as much as possible upon graduation. In my 20's, I began giving book scholarships. Next, I established the annual and now I am so excited to be raising funds for the endowment.
Spelman truly has been "the gift that keeps on giving" in so many ways including the lifetime sisterhood, love and unwavering support that I have received from a group of multifaceted phenomenal women who inspire me everyday. Little did I know that this same love and support would extend to my family. Therefore, I am passionate about passing on this gift of a lifetime to other young women.
Who is eligible to apply for the scholarship(s)?
The Gift that Keeps on Giving II Endowed Scholarship is a merit scholarship, therefore anyone can apply who has a 3.0 GPA or higher.
What I discovered by listening to other Spelman Alum and parents applying for funding is that there are very few merit scholarships at Spelman or other colleges period. Therefore, there are many students in need who are what I call "stuck in the middle." In other words, their families make too much money to qualify for the "need based" scholarships but not enough to pay the full tuition and other expenses out of pocket. There are plenty of students with "student need" who do not qualify for "need based" scholarships. It absolutely breaks my heart when I hear the stories of so many who have been accepted but can't afford to attend, especially when those stories are coming from my Spelman sisters.
Thus, The Gift that Keeps on Giving Endowed II Scholarship (as well as the annual) was established to help eradicate this problem and fulfill dreams of young phenomenal women who wish to attend Spelman and deserve the be there.
How do you apply?
A rising freshman who plans to attend Spelman or a current student can apply thru the financial aid office. They take all applications and make the decision as to who receives the scholarships on a yearly basis. As soon as I am able to discover thru Spelman who has received the award, I offer to mentor the student in any way I can which gives me great joy. I also mentor others students because it is genuinely what I love to do.
Please join me in leaving a legacy and lifetime gift of a Spelman education by donating to The Gift that Keeps on Giving II Endowed Scholarship.
Thanks to everyone who has so generously donated. Spelman is The Gift that Keeps on Giving!
With gratitude,
Angie Barrington-Jeter C'1991
www.spelmanlane.org/gifthatkeepsongiving