Muskegon – With the close of the 2016 school year, the Community Foundation for Muskegon County (CFMC) announces it has awarded 491 scholarships totaling in $1,646,242 to graduating seniors from Muskegon County schools.

Twenty nine percent of the scholarships awarded were to “first generation college students,” the first person in their family to pursue post-secondary education.

“Together with the Muskegon Promise, we are excited that we’re able to offer more Muskegon County students access to higher education,” said Janelle Mair, CFMC director of grant making. “This is a significant investment in our community and we hope that many of these young adults return to Muskegon to live, work, and give back to the community that invested in them.”

Students will be using these scholarships at colleges and universities across the country. The top five schools scholarship recipients selected are: Muskegon Community College, Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, and University of Michigan.

Foundation scholarships are funded by generous donors, bequests, businesses, and corporations. Each year new donors step forward to create new scholarship funds at the Foundation, helping to increase access to higher education and creating hope and opportunity for graduating seniors.