The James W. Faulkner Memorial Fund is a scholarship fund held by The Columbus Foundation on behalf of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. It was founded to perpetuate the name, works and ideals of James W. Faulkner (1864-1923), Statehouse correspondent for The Cincinnati Enquirer, founder of the Ohio Legislative Correspondents Association, and dean of political writers during his lifetime. According to a published history of the fund, Faulkner arrived in Columbus in 1890 to cover the Ohio General Assembly and was astonished by what he found. Lobbyists roamed the floors of the legislature even as sessions were held, trying to influence the lawmakers. Political “correspondents” sent reports to Ohio newspapers that were little more than propaganda paid for by the lobbyists. With fellow journalists, Faulkner proposed to legislative leaders that all but working newspapermen be banned from legislative sessions. The journalists then formally organized the group that would become the Ohio Legislative Correspondents Association and elected Faulkner its president. The General Assembly in 1893 gave this organization the role of determining who would have floor privileges as legitimate working journalists, a role that continues to this day. Faulkner served as the group's president for 24 years, and became known for loaning money to needy college students seeking to become journalists. After his death, friends and colleagues collected money for a memorial fund to continue that financial aid. By 1931 the group had raised $13,000 and formed a board to oversee the fund. For the last 50 years it has provided scholarships to journalism students. This fund grants scholarships to deserving journalism students at colleges and universities in the State of Ohio.

The Fishel Scholarship assists children of Teammates in paying for college expenses. All sons and daughters of active Teammates are eligible.

This scholarship is to support full-time OSU students who are enrolled in the School of Business and are members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

This scholarship was established by the Will family to assist nursing students at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing.

The scholarship was created by a generous donor who wanted to support post-secondary education for student with a physical or developmental disability in Columbus, OH.

The scholarship endowment was created with a bequest from the estate of James R. Burgoon. He was a lifelong resident of Westerville, graduating from Westerville High School in 1948. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and went on to receive a degree from Franklin University in 1959. He worked at Franklin for 30 plus years and became Vice President of Finance. He was active in Masonry and at the First Presbyterian Church of Westerville. He and his wife, Joanne, married in 1953. Joanne died in 2017, and James died in June, 2019.

The Girls on the Run of Central Ohio (GOTRCO) alumni scholarship supports alumni of the GOTR Central Ohio program who are graduating from high school and plan to pursue post-secondary education. The scholarship was created by the Board of Directors of BOTRCO to celebrate the accomplishments of GOTRCO alumni and to recognize, in part, the lifelong impact of the GOTR mission on its participants. To create the world, we envision where each girl recognizes their limitless potential, we are working to remove barriers places on girls and our volunteers of Color by societal and systemic racism. GOTRCO has accelerated our efforts to understand the detrimental effects of racism as a public health crisis in our community and how our platform as a nonprofit serving thousands of girls and volunteer coaches has the ability to cultivate anti-racism culture, while eliminating barriers to more equitably serve youth through physical activity and positive youth development programming.

In honor of Brett’s love and passion for the game, his family has lovingly created the Brett Candela Lacrosse Scholarship to support a central Ohio lacrosse player to further their education. Brett was a sports lover from the very beginning and excelled at all sports. He was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio and played varsity lacrosse and basketball at the Wellington School. Brett was well known for being a leader on and off the field. During his lacrosse career, he was a four-year letter winner, winner of the Outstanding Freshman, Sophomore and Junior Awards, Top Midfielder Award, First Team All-State 2000, Second Team All-State 1999, 2001 and Wellington Male Athlete of the Year 2002. From his high school coach, “His tenacity and competitive nature have made him into one of the elite players in Wellington lacrosse history. His groundball and goal in a season records will stand for some time.” Brett served as a Captain of the team and his leadership in the “heat of the battle” was admired by all that knew him and played against him. He was a true competitor in all aspects of life. He played through injuries his senior year and went on to coach and officiate lacrosse after his playing career ended. Sadly, Brett was taken from all of us too soon. We know he would be proud to support another young lacrosse player in fulfilling their dreams. Brett was one of a kind, gutsy, and a force to reckon with and he was loved by all who knew him. He would have been an amazing mentor to so many future players and we are honored to carry on his legacy through his established scholarship.

The scholarship fund was established by a bequest from Dorothy “Dottie” Redfern and will provide educational assistance to students in the Southern Local School District of Perry County. Dottie graduated from Columbus South High School in 1954 and from The Ohio State University College of Education in 1958. Following a 35-year career as an editor and writer of biomedical and education publications, she retired as Editorial Manager at Ross Products Division/Abbott Nutrition. Dottie passed away in 2019.

The Ken Hammond and Jeff Prestel Scholarship Fund was created in 2026 in collaboration with the Kerr Family YMCA in Raleigh, NC. The fund’s purpose is to provide educational support for teens and young adults in the Kerr Family YMCA’s service area.  The fund prioritizes students and families who face obstacles in pursuing post-secondary education.     The Kerr Family YMCA is a leading nonprofit organization serving youth and families in the North Raleigh/Wake Forest community in Wake County, North Carolina.  The Y is committed to strengthening community by connecting all people to their potential, purpose and each other.  The scholarship fund’s creators, Ken Hammond and Jeff Prestel, have a strong connection to this community and the Kerr Family YMCA.