Ms Ida Mae’s College Bound Scholarship
Ms. Ida Mae was a beloved mother and grandmother who always placed a high value on the power of education.
Ms. Ida Mae’s children lived in a home filled with books and magazines, including a full set (or two) of encyclopedias and an exceptionally strong collection of books by African American writers. In 1956 during the Great Migration out of the Jim Crow segregated South, Ms. Ida Mae left a harvest in Michigan where her family was working and travelled to Seattle to join her older sister Gracie who had migrated there several years earlier. Ms. Ida Mae arrived in Seattle with a ninth-grade education and later in life attended Seattle Central Community College to study for her high school equivalency certificate while raising seven children. Ms. Ida Mae was a community activist in Seattle and participated in numerous political actions for change in Seattle, including the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP), MiniTran (community transportation), National Welfare Rights Organization, Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center (SOIC), Model Cities, the Black Panther Party Free Breakfast Program, the Black Community Festival, to name just a few. All of her children completed high school or high school equivalency, including one child who had special needs.
This scholarship seeks to honor the memory of Ms. Ida Mae Foster Whittaker by providing financial assistance and community support to students from historically underrepresented populations in the United States.
Any high school senior in Washington (priority given to students in the Seattle metropolitan area) who is a member of an underrepresented population that has been historically excluded may apply for this scholarship opportunity. Applicants need to have at least a 2.8 cumulative GPA and must be admitted to an accredited not-for-profit post-secondary school, college, or university.
To apply, write an essay addressing your academic interests and how you plan to use your education for positive social change and equal justice.
Write an essay addressing your academic interests and how you plan to use your education for positive social change and equal justice.
Winning Application
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FAQ
The application deadline is May 6, 2026. Winners will be announced on Jun 6, 2026.
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Award amounts per winner are designated by the donor. Check the award amount for a detailed breakdown.
The winner will be publicly announced on Jun 6, 2026. Prior to the announcement date, we may contact finalists with additional questions about their application. We will work with donors to review all applications according to the scholarship criteria. Winners will be chosen based on the merit of their application.
Award checks will be sent to the financial aid office of the winner's academic institution or future academic institution in their name to be applied to their tuition, and in the name of their institution (depending on the school's requirements). If the award is for a qualified educational non-tuition expense, we will work with the winner directly to distribute the award and make sure it goes towards qualified expenses.
Before we award the scholarship, the winner will be required to confirm their academic enrollment status. Depending on the circumstances, verification of Student ID and/or their most recent transcript will be required.
If you have any questions about this scholarship or the Bold.org platform, just email contact@bold.org and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.
Yes. The terms and conditions for this scholarship can be found here.
