Graduate Hotels pledges $100K+ for LGBTQIA+ scholarships
Graduate Hotels has announced a partnership with Point Foundation, the nation’s largest scholarship-granting nonprofit for LGBTQIA+ students.
Rooted in the spirit of cultivating community, openness, optimism and possibility, Graduate Hotels is honored to join Point Foundation in its mission to build community and springboard a new generation of LGBTQIA+ leaders toward success. With this partnership, Graduate Hotels has committed to providing a minimum of $100,000 in scholarships and grants through the Point Flagship Scholarship program over the next four years.
Research shows that LGBTQIA+ students often face substantial obstacles in higher education, including higher-than-average student loan debt, unfair treatment from administrators, and increased mental health challenges compared to their non-LGBTQIA+ peers. For more than two decades, Point Foundation has empowered LGBTQIA+ students through financial support, mentorship, leadership development, and community.
With nearly 40 hotels located in university towns throughout the US and UK, Graduate understands the inherent value of college education in uplifting individuals and communities, as well as the necessity of eliminating barriers to access higher education. With this partnership, Graduate Hotels and Point Foundation will work to provide financial resources to LGBTQIA+ students across the United States.
The Princeton, NJ property, below will be open in the Spring.
Inspired by the dynamic collegiate communities in which they are located, Graduate Hotels is driven by an innate appreciation of lifelong learning. Since its founding in 2014, this mission has inspired many initiatives that promote equal access to higher education, including Graduate Academy, wherein Graduate provides annual tuition coverage for a range of educational programs to help employees reach their long-term education goals. This new partnership with Point Foundation will further Graduate’s mission by creating a pathway for promising LGBTQIA+ students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential.
In addition to financial support, Graduate’s Point Foundation Scholarship will offer access to leadership development programming and conferences, mentorship, and the support of Point’s scholar and alumni network. This opportunity is open to all LGBTQIA+ students who are pursuing four-year undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees at accredited colleges in the United States.
Applications will remain open through December 5, 2023. Apply or learn more at pointfoundation.org/scholarships/flagship.
About Graduate Hotels
Graduate Hotels is a hand-crafted collection of hotels that reside in dynamic university-anchored towns in the U.S. and U.K. Each hotel pays homage to the heritage of its unique town through cultural nods to the local community. Launched in 2014, there are currently 31 hotels across the U.S., two U.K. properties, and four additional hotels in development. Graduate Hotels is owned by Adventurous Journeys (AJ) Capital Partners, a Nashville-based vertically integrated real estate developer, owner and operator, founded by Ben Weprin in 2008. For more information on Graduate Hotels, please visit www.graduatehotels.com.
About Point Foundation
Founded in 2001, Point Foundation is the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students of merit. Through scholarship funding, mentorship, leadership development, and community service training, Point seeks to empower promising LGBTQ individuals to achieve their full academic and leadership potential, despite the obstacles often put before them, to make a significant impact on society. Over the past two decades, Point has invested $47 million in supporting more than 700 students with four-year, graduate and community college education and leadership development.
www.pointfoundation.org
