Lancaster County Community Foundation Scholarship Program
Scholarship programs were established at the Lancaster County Community Foundation through the generosity of local community members to assist residents of Lancaster County who plan to continue their education at a college or vocational school.
Lancaster County Community Foundation Scholarship Program
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Scholarship Funds
Students who have previously received the Lykins, Hess, McKibbin, Frankhouser, Shoff, or Groff Scholarship and wish to renew will receive an invitation to renew their scholarship in January 2025 and do not need to complete a new application.
Applicants will complete one application for consideration for all the scholarship funds under the Lancaster County Foundation Scholarship Program.
Scholarship funds included in the Lancaster County Foundation Scholarship Program Application:
- Tina Bresnahan College Scholarship Fund
- Tina Bresnahan College Honorarium Fund
- Jack and Ginny Lykins Scholarship Fund
- Joseph and Claudine Hess Scholarship Fund
- George W. McKibbin Scholarship Fund
- Charles W. Shoff Scholarship Fund
- McKonly & Asbury Scholarship Fund for Future Public Accounting Leaders
- Albert S. Rosman Scholarship Fund
- Nathan Schaeffer Scholarship Fund
- James R. Buescher Scholarship Fund
- Jason M. Truitt Memorial Scholarship Fund
- Rick Frankhouser Scholarship
- Richard Groff Scholarship
Scholarship Fund Eligibility
Applicants applying to the Lancaster County Community Scholarship Programs will use one common application to apply to the funds below. Applicants must meet the following criteria and the criteria of one or more of the scholarships listed:
- Be a high school senior at any Lancaster County High School OR a current undergraduate who graduated from a Lancaster County High School, OR be a current resident of Lancaster County (except for the McKonly & Asbury Scholarship, applicants can graduate from any United States high school OR be residents from anywhere outside of Lancaster County, so long as they are enrolled in any of the designated colleges).
- Plan to enroll in full-time at an accredited two- or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school in the United States for the entire upcoming academic year (exceptions as noted below).
- Have a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale of equivalent (exceptions as noted below).
- A student can be a recipient/renewal student of one award per year.
Jack and Ginny Lykins Scholarship: One (1) $3,000 scholarship
- Interest in STEM or Healthcare curricula.
- The applicant can attend either a two- or four-year program.
- Students must have attended high school in Lancaster County.
Richard Groff Scholarship Fund: One(1) $2,500 Scholarship
- Student must be pursuing a degree in HVAC or Plumbing
- Student must be enrolled at Thaddeus Stevens College starting in the Fall of 2025
- Student must have attended high school in Lancaster County
Joseph and Claudine Hess Scholarship: Five (5) $2,000 scholarships
- Students must have attended high school in Lancaster County.
George W. McKibbin Scholarship Fund: One (1) $2,000 scholarship
- Student must identify as African American.
- Students must have attended high school in Lancaster County.
Rick Frankhouser Scholarship Fund: One (1) $1,000 Scholarship
- Student must be majoring in music or linguistics
- Student must have a GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
- Student must have graduated from McCaskey High School
<!--Charles W. Shoff Scholarship Fund: Three (3) $1,000 scholarships
- Student must be planning on studying geology, medicine (health-related), agriculture, mechanical engineering, or mechanical drafting.
- Students must have attended high school in Lancaster County.
The Lykins, Hess, McKibbin, Frankhouser, and Shoff Scholarships are renewable up to three times or until the recipient earns a bachelor’s degree whichever comes first. The Groff Scholarship is only renewable once. All recipients must enrolled full-time and maintain a 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale, except for the Frankhouser Scholarship which requires a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. If a renewal student changes their major, they may not be eligible to renew their scholarship (applies to the Lykins, Frankhouser, Shoff, and Groff Scholarships).
Tina Bresnahan College Scholarship: There will be up to three(3) one-time full in-state tuition and fees scholarships
- Students must attend Millersville University, Harrisburg Area Community College-Lancaster Campus, or Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. There will be one recipient for each school.
- The Tina Bresnahan College Scholarship is intended to provide last dollar assistance for the student. The recipient will be required to provide their college financial aid award letter. Based on the school’s cost of attendance, Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and other financial aid (gift aid only) listed on the award letter, Scholarship America will determine the appropriate award amount for the initial year. For more information on this award, please go to: Tina Bresnahan College Scholarship Fund.
- Must provide a copy of the parents most recent 1040 tax return.
- Students must be current seniors or graduates of a Lancaster County High School.
- The applicant must be under 25 years old.
- All applicants of the Tina Bresnahan College Scholarship must submit a response to the following essay, “What challenges or difficulties – including family, work, personal, social, physical, financial – will this scholarship help you overcome? How will receiving this scholarship help you achieve your educational and career goals?”
Tina Bresnahan College Honorarium: Three (3) $1,000 one-time tuition and fees honorarium
- Students must attend Millersville University, Harrisburg Area Community College-Lancaster Campus, or Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. There can be more than one recipient for a school.
- Students must be current seniors or graduates of a Lancaster County High School.
- The applicant must be under 25 years old.
- All applicants of the Tina Bresnahan College Honorarium must submit a response to the following essay, “What challenges or difficulties – including family, work, personal, social, physical, financial – will this scholarship help you overcome? How will receiving this scholarship help you achieve your educational and career goals?”
McKonly & Asbury Scholarship Fund for Future Public Accounting Leaders: Eight (8), one-time $10,000 scholarships
- Students who are rising juniors, seniors, or 5th year college students pursing CPA exam.
- Be enrolled at Messiah University (1 award), Penn State University – Harrisburg (1 award), Shippensburg University (2 awards), Millersville University (2 awards), or Commonwealth University – Bloomsburg (2 awards).
- Majoring in accounting or equivalent that have a desire for a career in public accounting.
- Must have a minimum GPA of 3.0.
- Students are NOT required to have graduated from a Lancaster County High School or be residents of Lancaster County.
Albert S. Rosman Scholarship Fund: One (1), one-time $1,500 scholarship
- Student must be a current Conestoga Valley High School senior.
Nathan Schaeffer Scholarship: One (1) $750 scholarship
- Student must attend Millersville University.
- Students must be current seniors or graduates of a Lancaster County High School.
- Students must be majoring/minoring in Education.
- Can can be either full- or part-time, undergraduate or graduate student.
James R. Buescher Scholarship Fund: One (1), one-time $500 scholarship
- Student must be pursuing Creative Writing, Journalism, Marketing, Mass Communication, or Media Studies.
- Student’s participation in creative writing-related school and community activities will be considered.
- Students must have attended high school in Lancaster County.
Jason M. Truitt Memorial Scholarship Fund: One (1), one-time $400 scholarship
- Must be or have been a Big or Little (with Big Brothers/Big Sisters).
- Students must have attended high school in Lancaster County.
Awards Information
Distribution amount and number of awards for each fund is determined annually by The Lancaster County Community Foundation. Funds that have monies available to issue scholarships will be listed each year.
Notification
All applicants will be notified in late March.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address as safe senders in your email contact list.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of The Lancaster County Community Foundation. Payment is made in mid-August.
Selection of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
- Academic record
- Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
- Work experience
- A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
- Unusual personal or family circumstances
Financial need, as calculated by Scholarship America, must be demonstrated for the student to receive an award.
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer, employee, or fund donor at the Lancaster County Community Foundation play a part in the selection of the recipients. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. Students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
- A current, complete transcript of grades. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
- Student name
- School name
- Grades
- Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.
- If applying for the Tina Bresnahan Scholarship you will need to supply a copy of the first two pages of the most recently filed IRS Form 1040 on which the applicant was claimed as a dependent for tax purposes to verify the information submitted on your application.
NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload an official copy of those test scores separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
