Washburn Women’s Alliance

Mission Statement

The Washburn Women’s Alliance (WWA) was originally established to provide scholarship assistance for nontraditional female students enrolled at Washburn University. The organization now honors the founders by continuing to work to raise money to help assure that single parents will be afforded the opportunity to continue their education.

Note: Preference is given to undergraduate, single parents (regardless of gender), with dependent children residing with them, who are properly enrolled in a minimum of six credit hours (two for-credit courses) at Washburn University.

Background

In 1995, Washburn University recognized a need to support this group of female students who often did not qualify for typical scholarships. Responding to this need, Ruth and John Stauffer set up an endowed scholarship for single mothers at Washburn. Following the Stauffers’ lead, a group of community women organized to establish the Washburn Women’s Alliance, and the first scholarship of $856 was given in the fall of 1996.

In 2021, $99,000 was distributed to 27 students/parents. Proceeds from the annual May reception further support the scholarship fund. For more information, please contact us or read more about the impact of WWA. 

How You Can Help

Current gift scholarships received by Jan. 31 of each year will be awarded at the spring event. Donors present their scholarships to the students each year at the reception. A gift of $1,000 will create a current gift scholarship and a minimum gift of $25,000 (payable over five years) creates a permanent scholarship fund whose interest earnings are used for future scholarships. 

For more information about how you can get involved, please contact us.

Scholarship Application Process

Scholarship Application - NOTE: The due date is Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. Before filling out the application, you should DOWNLOAD it, save the file on your computer and then begin filling it out. 

Reference Form for Applicants - will download as a Word document. 

25th Anniversary Video in 2020