MINERVA SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Established in 1991, the Minerva Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to women whose formal education has been interrupted for at least one year and who live or work within the boundaries of Peninsula School District #401.

​

​

The Minerva Scholarship Fund was founded in 1991 through the vision and generosity of Colonel Sybil Mercer, Dr. Florence Casey and Ruth Taylor. Together, they believed that education has the power to transform lives and that women whose educational journeys had been interrupted deserve the opportunity to pursue their dreams.

Inspired by the opportunities education had provided in her own life, Colonel Mercer—a World War II Army nurse and later a hospital administrator—used a modest inheritance as the seed for a scholarship fund to help other women return to school. She invited her friends, Dr. Florence Casey, a Ph.D. economist with the federal government, and Ruth Taylor, a dedicated Peninsula school librarian and lifelong advocate for learning, to join her in bringing that vision to life.

Today, the Minerva Scholarship Fund, a fund of the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation, continues to honor that vision by opening doors to education, opportunity, and brighter futures for women throughout our community. More than three decades later, the founders' legacy lives on through every scholarship awarded and every dream realized.

​​​

The Foundation’s role in providing professional fund management, regulatory reporting, bookkeeping, insurance, and other essential support services has been central to ensuring a sustainable long‑term legacy for the Minerva Scholarship Fund. Staff expertise has also expanded the fund’s capacity to accept a wide range of charitable contributions, including gifts of securities, IRA-qualified charitable distributions, testamentary gifts, and more—strengthening Minerva’s ability to grow and steward donor intent in perpetuity.