Saginaw Promise Scholarships were first awarded to the class of 2012. Fifteen Years later…A Promise Made and Kept is changing lives and a community! Fifteen cohorts of scholars have received over $1,515,062 in scholarships and have earned 323 program certificates and degrees.

The Saginaw Promise will host its annual “Power of a Promise” Fundraiser Event on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at Horizons Conference Center, doors open at 11 AM and the program starts at 11:30 AM. The event will highlight scholar attainment numbers for 2025, programming outcomes and updates, include musical entertainment from saxophonist Jeremy Cornelius and SASA Band Instructor Jordan Edwards along with one of his students, an excellent lunch and will feature a “keynote panel” of the Presidents of Saginaw Valley State University and Central Michigan University to discuss their institution’s plans and presence in the Medical Diamond and what that will mean for our community’s health, economy and future. The “keynote panel” consists of President George Grant Jr. (SVSU), President Neil MacKinnon (CMU), Dr. Marcia Mastracci Ditmyer (SVSU), and Dr. Joshua Nosanchuk (CMU-Dean of the CMU Medical School), and is moderated by Art Lewis, longtime broadcaster and radio host on WSGW.

The Saginaw Promise is an economic initiative, inspired by the Kalamazoo Promise, and grew from the hopes, dreams, and vision of a group of volunteers to invest in the future of Saginaw, its economy, and retain and grow its population with the promise of a “residence-based” scholarship for postsecondary education. The Saginaw Promise scholarship is both a benefit and an incentive for children of families who live in, attend schools in and graduate from a high school in the Saginaw Promise Zone to earn a program certificate or degree. The Saginaw Promise Zone is comprised of the cities of Saginaw, Zilwaukee, Kochville, and the area of Buena Vista designated to the Saginaw Public School District.

Online registration!