Michigan Colleges Alliance

About Michigan Colleges Alliance

Michigan Colleges Alliance concentrates its grantmaking on a defined group of Michigan independent colleges and universities, with the largest recent awards going to Kalamazoo College and Hope College. That pattern points to a funder organized around institutional support rather than broad one-off philanthropy. The alliance’s giving is tied to higher education access, scholarships, and student outcomes, including full-ride support for children and spouses of fallen or disabled veterans, monthly scholarships for high school juniors and seniors, and scholarship competitions that blend entrepreneurship with applied learning. The organization also uses donor-supported scholarship funds to reach specific student populations. One example is the Michigan Hispanic Collaborative Scholarship Fund, which was established with a $75,000 initial capitalization to support freshman and sophomore Hispanic students from selected Detroit high schools attending MCA member institutions. Another is the Dr. Jerrold M. Jung Memorial Fund, which supports MCA initiatives connected to school choice, underserved urban schools, outdoor science immersion, and links between higher education and business. Across these efforts, the alliance works through member schools and named scholarship programs rather than direct aid to individuals.

What Michigan Colleges Alliance Funds

Michigan Colleges Alliance funds several connected cause areas within Michigan higher education. In college affordability, it awarded $1,833,492 to Kalamazoo College in 2024 and $614,032 to Hope College in 2024, showing the scale of support directed to member institutions. In scholarship access, the alliance administers the We Are The Independents Scholarship, which gives four $2,000 scholarships each month from November through May to high school juniors and seniors for use at one of the 14 MCA member colleges and universities. It also supports veteran-family education through the Folds of Honor Scholarship, a full-ride program for children or spouses of fallen and disabled service members. In student innovation, the MCA Campus Community Challenge awards scholarships and stipends through a project-based competition that brings together student-faculty teams. The Michigan Hispanic Collaborative Scholarship Fund extends the alliance’s reach to Hispanic students from selected Detroit high schools attending MCA member institutions.

How Michigan Colleges Alliance Gives