FAITH Scholarships get $800K boost from Woodward Hines foundation ...Middle East

The Woodward Hines Education Foundation will provide $800,000 for FAITH scholarships, which the state awards to former foster youths who are attending colleges in Mississippi, officials announced Wednesday. The announcement comes a week after the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid notified applicants that the scholarships were not being funded for 2026-27. 

The foundation stepped up to cover the awards in response to news about the lack of funding, President and CEO Jim McHale said Wednesday during a news conference. The scholarships will go to about 170 students.

“We are going to make sure that every one of these students has the opportunity to take advantage of the scholarship,” said Nicole Boyd, a Republican from Oxford who is chair of the Senate Universities and Colleges Committee. “That is the thing about Mississippi. In a time like this, everybody is going to work together to make sure that we get things covered.”

READ MORE: Mississippi financial aid programs face a $7.3 million shortfall, putting college grants at risk for more than 27K students

The office had requested $6.5 million — enough to cover the FAITH scholarships and Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program — but the Legislature approved appropriations for less than half that amount. Officials at the financial aid office applied the money they received to the scholarships, but that was not enough to cover awards for all of the eligible students. 

The loan repayment program will not award money this year for the first time since it was created in 2021.

The FAITH scholarships and the funding loss for the loan repayment program are part of a broader funding crisis for the state financial aid office. Mississippi financial aid officials have said almost 27,000 college students could receive less state financial aid because of a $7.3 million budget shortfall, a gap between the funding request and legislators’ appropriation. 

The funding gap could force the financial aid office to cut programs that help low-income students, as well as hundreds of foster youths and future teachers, pay for college.

The Woodward Hines foundation’s gift is a one-time boost for the FAITH scholarships. Future funding for the awards is uncertain.

On Friday, the foundation will publish information on its website for anyone who wants to donate to the FAITH scholarships. 

Bill Kinkade, a Republican from Byhalia and the FAITH scholarship’s namesake, vowed to work with other legislators before January to address any anticipated funding shortfalls for the financial aid office. In 2022, the Legislature created the State Representative Bill Kinkade Fostering Access & Inspiring True Hope Scholarship, which covers expenses such as  tuition, housing, books and living costs that remain after other financial aid is applied.

“This program has such a broad impact for our most needed youth because I’ve received so much input,” Kinkade said. “We need to continue funding it because it is vital.”

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