Margaret McNamara, founder of the educational philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, always preached “when you educate women, you help uplift families and whole communities.”

According to their website, Margaret McNamara Education Grants “is a nonprofit, public charity whose mission is to improve the lives of women and children by supporting the higher education of exceptional women,” often from underprivileged or underserved backgrounds in an effort to “catalyze change.” Starting in 2016 as a local chapter, MMEG’s Trinity Washington University Program has provided grants of up to $7500 to 22 women over ten years.

Applications are open from September 15 to January 15 to women 25 years or older who are registered full or part-time at Trinity.

“I’d been looking for grants and scholarships that fit my criteria,” De’Mia Harrington Artis, a fourth generation native of Washington D.C., who completed her bachelor’s of Public Health in January, and one of the 2025 MMEG Trinity grantees, told the TrinityDC Times Enlightened Exchanges podcast last week.

“I am not a conventional student–I’m forty-plus and proud–so there wasn’t anything that I could apply to that resonated for me. And then when I found [MMEG] I said, ‘this is for me. it’s for me.'”

Vesna De La Borde, president of the MMEG board, told the podcast that Trinity is “an incredible fit,” with the organization; and that “we have shared core values.”

“In your Mission Statement, for example, you talk about your commitment to women’s education here at Trinity, and also to women’s leadership development, which are really at the core of what MMEG is doing.”

“We also saw that Trinity provides educational opportunities for women and other students who come from underserved communities and who need financial assistance,” De La Borde continued, and “has a high proportion of D.C. residents.”

“We realized that Trinity leadership were very very strong at building partnerships and collaborations with lots of institutions and foundations that help to make women’s education possible here in D.C.”

Listen to the full podcast from the TrinityDC Times here!