PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — This fall at Northern Maine Community College, 16 students will benefit from the Jean and Floyd Harding Scholarship Fund, thanks to a charitable remainder trust established by the Hardings.
The 16 students who will each receive $1,000 of assistance for the fall semester are enrolled in nine different programs. The funding will assist with costs for tuition, books, and program-specific supplies or tools.
The trust was established in 2006, with a $1 million donation. When Floyd Harding passed away in the spring of 2017, the Northern Maine Community College Foundation received an additional $537,000.
Each year, approximately 4 percent of this endowed fund is designated for scholarships for graduates of SAD 1 in Presque Isle, who have financial need and are enrolled in any program of study at the college.
“We will always be indebted to the generosity shown to the college and this community by Floyd and Jean,” said NMCC President Tim Crowley. “They gave of their time and expertise. Now their endowed donation will touch hundreds of students leading them to successful futures through quality education — an opportunity appreciated and valued by the Hardings.”
A charitable remainder trust is a deferred-giving device that offers rewards to the donor and the charity and is a popular estate-planning option.
Floyd Harding was on the original committee that founded the college in the 1960s. He was a WWII veteran and prisoner of war who served three terms in the Maine State Senate, was an attorney in Presque Isle and lived an active life of civic involvement.
Jean Harding served on the Presque Isle City Council and was a strong advocate for the Sister Mary O’Donnell Homeless Shelter, the Central Aroostook Humane Society, the Opportunity Training Center, the recreation department, the Presque Isle Industrial Council and the Veteran’s Home in Caribou, to name a few.
The Harding Scholarship is an open fund capable of receiving additional contributions from any person or organization.
For further information about this or any other Foundation fund, please contact Dottie Martin at NMCC 768-2806.
Submitted by the Development and College Relations Office of Northern Maine Community College.
