Fund For Wisconsin Scholars

Information About the Grant:

Fund For Wisconsin Scholars (FFWS) was founded by John and Tashia Morgridge in 2007 with the vision to help Wisconsin students with financial needs have the opportunity to attend Wisconsin universities. The grant was designed to help reduce the financial barrier for students who wished to attend college and lighten the overall debt that many Wisconsin students would incur during their college years. Fund for Wisconsin Scholars wanted to provide grants that open the door to a better world, helping ensure that higher education is accessible and affordable, and that degree completion is achieved. More information on the grant can be found at www.ffws.org.

Vision

The FFWS grant helps provide the opportunity for graduates of Wisconsin high schools to further their education. They are committed to helping ensure that higher education is more accessible and affordable and that degree completion is realized with greater frequency. Because FFWS believes that increasing the number of citizens who complete post-secondary education will improve the quality of life for Wisconsin citizens by benefiting both the individual and society, offering the FFWS grant will help address these critical challenges facing Wisconsin:

  • Creating well-paying jobs
  • Increasing financial resources for Wisconsin students to attend college
  • Increasing educational opportunity for Wisconsin citizens
  • Increasing the number of Wisconsin citizens completing bachelor’s degrees
  • Improving the college preparedness of all Wisconsin students

Who is eligible to receive this grant?

FFWS provides need-based grants to randomly selected, recent graduates of Wisconsin public high schools who are starting their first year of attendance at a UW four year institution to earn an undergraduate degree. Grants are gifted aid; they do not have to be repaid. There is no application process; eligibility is determined using data from the Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA). Once a list of eligible students is provided to the University of Wisconsin System Offices, recipients are randomly selected to receive the grant.

To be initially eligible, one must:

  • be a resident of Wisconsin
  • have been a full-time, resident student in a Wisconsin public school for four semesters prior to graduation
  • have received a Wisconsin public high school diploma or HSED within the past three years
  • be under the age of 21 years at initial eligibility
  • be in a first degree program or be enrolled full time in a UW System university based in Wisconsin
  • be a PELL recipient at initial eligibility
  • have remaining unmet financial need

FFWS at UW-Milwaukee

The grant recipients of this program are assigned a Peer Mentor and Success Coach to aid in their transition into college life by developing life skills and addressing academic, social, extracurricular, and professional concerns. Mentors are also able to offer support, answer questions, and connect students to the campus community and academic resources so that students feel connected to their school and persist with their education. FFWS students are also encouraged to participate in free monthly programming events to meet and enjoy the company of fellow grant recipients. By dovetailing financial support and access to on-campus mentors and coaches, FFWS believes that these actions will increase the graduation rate among Wisconsin colleges which will provide the state with more educated citizens.

 

The Grant Acceptance Process:

A PDF outlining the process for accepting your award can be found here.

The text of the PDF document is also shown below.

Congratulations on receiving a grant through the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars (FFWS)! This short guide will walk you through the acceptance process. If you have any questions after following these steps, please reach out to Sierra Slaughter (slaugh22@uwm.edu).

  1. You will receive an email from Ruth Schulze (rschulze@uwm.edu) informing you that you have been awarded a grant through FFWS. She will let you know to keep an eye out for a second email containing your password, so that you can access the online Student Response Form.
  2. The second email containing your password will be from Mary Gulbrandsen (mgulbran@wisc.edu). You may need to check your spam/junk folder.
  3. Once you have received your password, visit the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars website at https://ffws.org/. Click on “Student Login” in the upper right corner.
  4. You will be directed to the login portal, as shown on the next page. Enter your UWM email as your username. Copy the password you received in the 2nd email and paste it in its respective box.
  5. After logging in, you should be able to access the Student Response Form. Once you have filled it out, you will have officially accepted the FFWS grant and you will see it reflected in your PAWS account within a few days.