Alma College receives grant to assist students from middle-income families

Alma College has received a grant in the amount of $455,000 from the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation that will support students who come from middle-income families via scholarships. Middle-income students do not qualify for federal or state needs-based grants, like Pell Grants, but still face significant financial challenges that make it difficult for them to afford college. The new scholarships are already being awarded for students who will enter Alma College with the Fall 2026 semester.

According to an article on Alma College’s website, Joseph L. Odenwald, who serves as the president of Alma College, was quoted as saying of the grant, “At Alma College, we believe a student’s opportunity should be shaped by their ability and ambition — not constrained by financial barriers. We are deeply grateful to the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation for investing in students who might otherwise feel that a private liberal arts education is out of reach. This partnership strengthens our mission and expands access in a meaningful way.”

Alma College is a private liberal arts institution, and as such, is often more expensive for students to attend than public universities or community colleges. The college states that in the Fall 2025 admissions cycle, there were 438 admitted middle-income students who ultimately chose not to enroll at Alma, with a significant portion of those students citing cost as the reason they chose not to attend.

The college’s Vice President for Enrollment Management, Doug Freed, noted, “When families consider a private liberal arts college, cost is often the first concern. There’s an assumption that private automatically means expensive. But when you look at the data, Alma tells a different story. This grant strengthens our ability to demonstrate that Alma is both an exceptional academic experience and a financially realistic choice.”

According to its website, the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation is a charitable organization founded by Mrs. Eda U. Gerstacker in 1957, in order to carry on her husband’s memory and legacy as a philanthropic individual. The Foundation gives grants to organizations and institutions that are similar to those supported by the Gerstackers during their lifetimes, such as homes for the elderly, health care and research, research institutions, colleges and universities, youth work, and general community support, throughout Michigan and Ohio.

Lisa Gerstacker and Bill Schuette, who are co-presidents of the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation, said of the organization’s grant, “The Gerstacker Foundation has a long and proud history with Alma College. We value Alma’s desire to provide financial assistance to middle-income students. Academic opportunity should not be unreachable. The partnership of the Gerstacker Foundation and Alma College is just one additional approach to ease financial pressure on young women and men hoping to build their futures.”

For more information about Alma College, visit the school’s website.