The Beginnings of the Scholarship Program

Scholarships proved to be the permanent legacy of the Woman’s Auxiliary, [later, just the Auxiliary, still later, the Alliance] continuing unabated within the general structure of the Baltimore City Medical Society until the Baltimore City Medical Society Foundation was formed in 1972. The amounts grew to $1,000 in 1972, when a Hopkins-bound student was chosen by a committee of the Baltimore City Public Schools. The need to raise funds for scholarships made necessary the creation of a 501 © (3) non-profit legal entity that could accept tax-deductible donations for the purpose, and in September 1974 the first call went out for contributions to get the Foundation started. “The BCMS Foundation is a philanthropic organization formed to support scholarships, special post-graduate educational activities, public health programs and other worthwhile medically-oriented projects,” the call for donations explained.

By 1975, there were sufficient funds to begin a search for the Foundation’s first scholarship recipients. A letter went out to financial aid offices at medical schools across the country. Prospective recipients needed a permanent Baltimore City address, and had to be enrolled in an accredited medical or osteopathy school. The first two recipients, a student at Howard University and another at Johns Hopkins, received grants totaling $1,500 in 1976. As the fund grew, so did the awards. In 1977, five students shared a total of $4,000 and in 1981 scholarships spread among four students reached $5,000. Eight students benefitted from the Foundation’s programs in 1990, when a total of $12,000 was granted.