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. Since that time, JRF has awarded over $1.3 million in scholarships to over 600 women.
In 2008, Jeannette Rankin Foundation registered the trade name Jeanette Rankin Women's Scholarship Fund to better reflect the organization's mission.
Mission
The Jeannette Rankin Women's Scholarship Fund raises funds and awards scholarships annually to low-income women thirty five years of age and older who are in an undergraduate or vocational training program and have a vision of how their education will benefit themselves, their families and their communities. In working towards these ends, JRF continues the legacy of Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress and a proponent of peace and women's rights.
Nondiscrimination policy
It is the policy of the Jeannette Rankin Women's Scholarship Fund to make financial awards without regard to race, creed, religion, color, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, or physical disability.
