Mann Educational Opportunity Fund, Inc.

Mann Educational Opportunity Fund, Inc. (Mann Fund), is a non-profit endowment honoring the late Bernard and Kathlyn Mann, long-time Madison residents who deeply valued and were strong advocates of public education, especially for students of color. They actively partnered with Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) to ensure that each of their five children would receive an education that prepared them to be responsible, creative, contributing members of society. Bernard and Kathlyn Mann, were able to celebrate the graduation of each of their children from MMSD, but both, sadly, lost their lives to cancer before seeing their children earn college degrees. Through Mann Fund, the Mann Scholar Program was created to provide mentoring, educational tools, and a scholarship, primarily, but not exclusively, to students of color who attend Madison public schools. Each year, the Mann Scholar Program awards 3 to 4 rising MMSD 9th graders, participation in the program. The scholars chosen, are students who show potential for academic achievement, but face significant economic and personal challenges in reaching their full potential. The Mann Scholar Program, over its more than 25 years, has had 100% of participating scholars graduated from high school, producing 78 high school graduates, 7 associate degrees, 26 bachelor's degrees, 4 master's degrees, and one doctorate degree.