Ensuring the post-secondary education of Charlottesville and Albemarle County public high school graduates by providing financial and academic assistance, all in support of meaningful careers and a high quality of life.
A Legacy of Education
The Rives C. Minor and Asalie M. Preston Educational Fund was founded 35 years ago to honor the exemplary lives and legacies of two African-American educators, father and daughter, who combined taught for over six decades in the public schools of Albemarle County, most of those years in segregated schools.
Learn More about the Minor-Preston Family
The mission of the Minor Preston Fund is to ensure the post-secondary education of Charlottesville and Albemarle County public high school graduates by providing financial and academic assistance, all in support of meaningful careers and a high quality of life.
$3 million
financial assistance awarded since 1983
nearly 1,000
local students assisted
35 years
helping educate students & improve our community
Since its founding, the Minor Preston Fund has awarded over $3 million in college scholarships to nearly 1,000 local students. In addition to scholarships, the Minor Preston Fund has provided funding for innovative educational programs, including the Imani Project, begun at Venable Elementary School, and the Learning Lab at Walker Upper Elementary School. To ensure access to public education, the Minor Preston Fund for several years supported the JustChildren Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center.
The central initiative of the Minor Preston Fund today is the Minor Preston Scholars Program, which provides four years of college support that includes financial assistance and an academic advisor.
Change a life, improve our community.
Beyond changing individual lives, the programs of the Minor Preston Educational Fund have enhanced the local community over the decades. A significant number of the 1,000 students awarded through the Fund’s original program have settled in the local area and are employed throughout the private and public sectors, especially in the local public schools and at the University of Virginia. An equally sizable percentage of students in the Scholars Program express a strong interest in settling in the local area and establishing their careers here, particularly in the fields of education and nursing/health care. By its very nature, the Scholars Program reinforces this interest through the durable, years-long bond it creates between Scholar and Advisor.
Leadership
Board of Directors
Raymond Carey, President
Margaret Littlepage
Kendall Carter
Ronica Turner, Secretary
Kathy Johnson Harris (not pictured)
Executive & Program Director
Brian Menard