MENOMINEE, MI — The M&M Area Community Foundation (MMACF) has completed its 2025–2026 scholarship season, awarding 79 scholarships totaling $195,045 to students attending 14 schools across Marinette, Menominee and Oconto Counties — the foundation’s most successful scholarship year to date, and the fourth consecutive year of record-setting growth.
Just three years ago, MMACF received 136 scholarship applications. This spring, that number reached 484. The dollars awarded have grown with equal momentum: from $108,000 in 2023, to $133,000 in 2024, to $177,000 in 2025, and nearly $200,000 this year. Perhaps most telling: in 2023, 12 scholarship funds went unawarded due to a lack of qualified applicants. This year, just one did.
“These numbers tell the story of what happens when a community decides its students deserve more,” said Ashley Berken, Executive Director of MMACF. “Every one of our 56 scholarship funds was created by someone — a family, a business, a group of friends honoring a loved one — who wanted to leave something lasting here. The surge in applications tells us students are finding these opportunities. The near elimination of unawarded funds tells us they’re rising to meet them. That’s what giving looks like when it’s working.”
Menominee High School led all schools in scholarships received, with 35 awards presented to its students. Recipients attended schools across both counties, with select funds also available to students in Oconto County.
In direct response to the surge in student demand, MMACF recently secured grant funding to transition to a universal scholarship application for the 2026–2027 school year. Beginning next cycle, students will complete a single application and be automatically matched with every fund for which they qualify — eliminating the need to submit a separate application for each scholarship and making the process significantly more accessible for students and volunteer reviewers alike.
Speaking of reviewers — MMACF is actively recruiting community members to serve as volunteer scholarship reviewers for next year. It is a meaningful, behind-the-scenes role that helps ensure every application gets the thoughtful consideration it deserves. Those interested can contact Program & Operations Director Kaitlin Deschane at kaitlin.deschane@mmacf.org.
For those inspired by this season’s results, MMACF welcomes conversations about establishing a named scholarship fund. Individuals, families, and businesses can create a fund tailored to their values — a permanent legacy that puts local students on a path forward, year after year. To learn more, contact MMACF at (906) 864-3599.
The M&M Area Community Foundation — Where Giving Grows — administers more than 130 charitable funds serving Marinette, Menominee, and surrounding counties. For more information, visit mmacf.org.