Garden Club Federation of Maine Scholarships

Today’s students will be the leaders of tomorrow, ensuring the preservation of our natural resources of the planet Earth. The Garden Club Federation of Maine, its districts, and local clubs support horticulture-based education with an annual scholarship of $3,000.

The GCFM Scholarship is awarded to college juniors, seniors, or graduate students who are legal residents of the state of Maine, and not related to a GCFM board member. College sophomores are eligible to apply, as they will be entering their junior year the following fall.

Applicants must be majoring in: Horticulture, Floriculture, Landscape Design, Conservation, Forestry, Botany, Agronomy, Plant Pathology, Environmental Concerns, Ecology, Land Management, or other gardening fields. The college or university attended need not be in the state of Maine. The scholarship funds are submitted directly to the college or university in August.

Each June, the scholarship recipient is invited to attend the GCFM Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon at the State Convention.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted electronically to the Scholarship Chair at scholarships@mainegardenclubs.org no later than FEBRUARY 1st. Click here for a downloadable form: GCFM Horticulture Scholarship Application Form

NOTE:  The GCFM application is NOT a fillable form.  Print, fill-out, and scan to submit

electronically.

Applications must include:

• Official Transcript
• Financial Aid Information , signed by your Financial Aid Officer
• Personal letter by applicant (limited to one page)
• List of extra-curricular activities and awards received
• Three letters of recommendation (scholarship ability, personal, work-related), each limited to one page

The winner of the GCFM Horticultural Scholarship is submitted to the National Garden Clubs for consideration for their $4,000 scholarship. The NGC application and documentation should also be submitted with the GCFM application  information.

Applicants will be judged on the following:

• Aptitude in the field of horticulture
• Academic record
• Avocational interests and vocational potential
• Character
• Financial need

The Mary Lou Marks Smith Scholarship is awarded to a community college student majoring in horticulture, floral design or other gardening related fields who is a legal resident of the State of Maine. The Scholarship, in the amount of $1,000, will be given every other year, in odd-numbered years. It is mailed to the college at the beginning of the second semester.