About
"Bringing people together to inform and inspire”
The College Endowment Association, founded in 1890, traces its roots to a Ladies' Art and Science class organized in 1874. Mrs. William Grant Fitch proposed a permanent organization to provide an endowment to Milwaukee College of Women (later Downer College) and secure funds to perpetuate the classes providing continuing education to women. This was the beginning of the College Endowment Association (CEA).
College Endowment is both an intellectually stimulating and philanthropic organization, presenting outstanding lectures and films on diverse topics for its members, filling the founders' purpose, as well as providing scholarships for women.
CEA derives funds for programs and scholarships from donations to the endowment through dues, contributions, gifts, and bequests from members, non-members, foundations and corporations as well as stock options and direct underwriting of a program or scholarship. Because CEA is a 501(c)(3) organization, donations can be made through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) as a direct tax-free transfer from an IRA.
For information as to how to support CEA programs and scholarships through donations, underwriting, corporate or foundation support email collegeendowmentmke@gmail.com.
Donations can be sent to:
College Endowment Association
P.O. Box 1533
Brookfield, WI 53008-1533
College Endowment Scholarships
Since 1965, after Downer College was moved to Lawrence University, the College Endowment Association has provided significant financial assistance to young women at Wisconsin colleges. A gift from CEA in 1999 to Lawrence University provides for an endowed CEA scholarship and a professorial chair. Additional scholarships were funded in subsequent years to students from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The Milwaukee Downer Teschner Scholarship at MSOE was founded through a member’s bequest in the name of the College Endowment Association. Later, CEA joined with the Women's Fund of Greater Milwaukee to sponsor a HER scholarship awarded to a returning adult student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Since 2000, CEA has awarded more than $350,000 in scholarships for women in Wisconsin universities.
Scholarship Awardees
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
Major: New Studio Practice
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Major: Nursing
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Major: Architectural Engineering
UWM - Women's Fund of Greater Milwaukee
Major: Public Health
Lawrence University
Major: Psychology
During each program year, our scholarship recipients are introduced to the membership providing updates on progress toward their degrees. CEA members learn about their academic programs as well as their many academic accomplishments. The scholarships have enabled CEA to help deserving women make meaningful contributions to our city and state in a wide variety of fields such as medicine, environment, engineering, education, business, music, and art.
Students are selected by each institution. Awards are made to Wisconsin women with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 after their freshman year and may continue for three remaining years through graduation.
Please note: CEA scholarships cannot be applied for directly. The scholarships are administered through the universities listed above.
Mrs. William Grant (Martha) Fitch
Woman's Club of Wisconsin
Barb Reinke, Scholarship Chair