CultureShift: Gilbert Family Foundation, CCS launch $1M scholarship fund for Detroit students

The Gilbert Family Foundation and the College for Creative Studies (CCS) launched a new $1 million scholarship fund this month exclusively for Detroit students to help expand access to arts education in the city.

The Gilbert Family Foundation Endowed Scholarship Fund, available beginning the 2024–25 academic year, will provide an annual award of $50,000 in financial support to be distributed for four years to one deserving CCS student.

This student will be recognized as a “Gilbert Family Foundation Scholar.” Eligible candidates must meet CCS criteria for support due to either economic, educational or environmental factors.

Don Tuski, president of CCS, said the college is more determined than ever to make sure money isn’t the main reason students don’t apply.

“One of our most important points of our new strategic plan is to really make sure that we’re student focused and that means providing enough financial support to our students that needed to be able to attend CCS,” he said.

The Gilbert Family Foundation has already invested $100,000 in scholarships to support the college’s pre-college summer experience program, which covered 16 students over the last two summers.

This investment will support another nine students in 2024 for a total of 25 scholars when the funding is complete. Each scholarship covers tuition and room and board, enabling students to reside on the CCS campus.

Jasmin DeForrest is the director of arts and culture for the Gilbert Family Foundation and is a native Detroiter. She says she is grateful to give back to the city and its long-time residents in a beneficial way.

“As we invest in arts and culture, that were also investing in increasing access to arts and culture programming for Detroiters and impacting Detroit neighborhoods and so it is definitely an honor that I don’t take lightly especially being a native Detroiter.”

Listen: CultureShift’s Tia Graham speaks with Don Tuski and Jamin Deforrest about the new Gilbert Family Foundation Scholarship