Blue Mountain Community Foundation: Homer & Persephone Watts Scholarship Grant

Blue Mountain Community Foundation: Homer & Persephone Watts Scholarship Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Blue Mountain Community Foundation
Last Updated: October 21, 2025

Summary

The Blue Mountain Community Foundation's Homer & Persephone Watts Scholarship provides financial assistance to graduates of Weston-McEwen High School or residents of the Athena, OR school district with at least one year of post-high school education. Established in 1968, this scholarship honors Homer I. and Persephone B. Watts, who aimed to support higher education. Recipients are encouraged to contribute to the Trust if financially able in the future, promoting a cycle of generosity within the community.

Overview

Who We Are Blue Mountain Community Foundation (BMCF) started in 1984 based on the idea that the area needed a place for donors who cared about the community to make long-term charitable investments. Joining the community foundation movement, which began over 100 years ago, BMCF became one of over 750 community foundations in the United States. Community foundations are generally tied to a specific geographic area or community, and seek major gifts that are invested for the long-term, to benefit our community in perpetuity. A group of 36 local leaders and citizens, under the guidance of Pete Peery and John Reese, met and resolved to form a community foundation. Too many endowment gifts from people who cared deeply about their communities were lost to local control for lack of a community foundation. Since 1984, BMCF has received and grown assets to exceed $115 million in more than 440 charitable funds which benefit the entire community! Mission Be the catalyst that transforms the Blue Mountain region by growing generosity and connecting people, charitable causes, and community needs. Vision Our vision is a more thriving, engaged, and caring Blue Mountain community. Blue Mountain Community Foundation: Homer & Persephone Watts Scholarship Homer I. and Persephone B. Watts were longtime residents of Athena, and the Watts Memorial Trust for civic and educational purposes in the Athena, OR area was created in 1968. Homer was Umatilla County Circuit Court Judge for many years. Persephone was a former schoolteacher with the desire to provide students the opportunity and assistance for higher education. Although these scholarships are made without any requirement, it was Mrs. Watts’ hope that the scholarship recipients might make a donation to the Trust, if, in later life they are financially able to do so.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Graduates of Weston-McEwen High School or those having lived in the Athena, OR school district for at least three years; AND who have at least one year (including the upcoming term) of post high school education who are enrolled in a college or trade school.