Scholarships: an Investment in Storytellers

Since the earliest days of the Highlights Foundation, we’ve offered scholarships for writers and illustrators to attend our workshops and retreats. It’s a tenet of the work we do here.

While the program has certainly grown and evolved–we provided 115 scholarships in 2024–the focus on our mission remains: to positively impact children by amplifying the voices of storytellers who inform, educate, and inspire children to become their best selves.

Your support puts Highlights Foundation programs within reach for Storytellers, and their stories within reach for kids.

See an Overview of Our Scholarship Program

There are five ways you can get involved:

1

Donate to Our General Scholarship Fund

Your support, in any amount, directly influences the number of awards that the Highlights Foundation is able to provide in any given year.

Donate now.

2

Support a Special Scholarship

Does one of our special scholarships already serve a purpose you’d like to support? All of our existing funds accept donations to increase their impact and ensure their longevity.

See details about the current available scholarships, or donate now.

3

Establish a Special Scholarship

Options start at $1,500 per year with a minimum commitment of five years, and can be endowed. Our team will work with you to design a scholarship that fulfills your goals to support storytellers and inspire kids.

Contact us to discuss your options.

4

Corporate & Organizational Giving

Options are available for businesses, organizations, and groups who align with our mission. Inquire to discuss a customized plan.

Contact us to learn more.

In 1990 I won a Highlights scholarship to attend a workshop. At Highlights, I met an editor named Patti Gauch. Later, when she read my work, she told me that I had what it took to be a writer. I can’t even describe the magical feeling of those words. Her words encouraged me to dig in—and hang in. We kept in touch over the years. In 2024 I saw Patti at the Highlights Foundation, where I sometimes lead workshops and other times meet with a writing group. Coincidentally, another writer was there on a personal retreat. He re-introduced himself to me, and told me that I had told him those very same words after I read his work—that he had what it took to be a writer. I remembered him. I remembered his talent. He now has two middle grade novels published with a major trade. I think that’s the magic of the Highlights Foundation scholarship program. It does what Patti did for me and what I hope I do for others and as a reviewer for the scholarship committee. It lets writers and illustrators know that they have what it takes. Of course, the hard work is up to them, but the magic is in them.

– SUSAN CAMPBELL BARTOLETTI

Support Scholarships via Our Word Garden

Looking for a fun way to support our scholarship program? Add a rock to our Word Garden! Your donation supports our General Scholarship Fund, and your chosen word will be etched on a rock in our garden. Choose your favorite, or a word that honors a loved one. Rocks are sourced from the creek bed on our campus.

Learn More and Donate a Word

Crystal Allen hands Kent Brown a check for $1,100

“Do Something With It”

When Crystal Allen received a scholarship and attended her first workshop with the Highlights Foundation in 2005, she tried to thank Kent (our founder) when she met him. He appreciated the sentiment, but was more concerned with how she’d use her scholarship from the Foundation to inspire kids. He asked her simply to “Do something with it.”

And that she did.

Now she’s the author of more than seven books for children, and teaches on our faculty. She paid it forward with a donation to our scholarship fund in 2019.

Hear Crystal's Story