Welcome to The Charles B. Keesee Educational Fund, Inc.
PLEASE NOTE: Applications for the 2025-26 academic year will be open after January 1st.
Be mindful of the following due dates:
• Repeat Applicant enrolled in a Master's program due March 1st
• New Applicant enrolled in a Master's program due April 1st
• New and Repeat Applicant enrolled in a Doctoral program due May 1st
Application approvals/denials do not rest on a single factor, but on the strength of the entire application. Final decisions are at the discretion of the Board of Trustees. Students will be notified by e-mail after all applications are processed during the application period whether a grant has been approved or denied.
The Founding of the Charles B. Keesee Educational Fund
In 1893 an ambitious young man, born and reared in Caswell County, North Carolina, came to Martinsville, Virginia to seek his fortune. That young man was Charles B. Keesee. In 1896 Mr. Keesee was married to Miss Olivia Helms Simmons of Floyd, Virginia. Having no children of their own, it was their desire to help worthy young men and women obtain an education at Baptist institutions. Mr. Keesee provided in his will for the establishment of an educational fund, and after his death in 1940, the Charles B. Keesee Educational Fund was established in 1941. Mrs. Keesee shared her husband’s interest in assisting young people toward greater educational opportunities. At her death in 1944, she left the major part of her estate to the Charles B. Keesee Educational Fund, Inc. Since its inception, the Fund assisted thousands of qualified students in paying their educational expenses.
