What We Fund

The cost of the training.

JCD helps pay the direct costs of education: tuition, room and board, books and related supplies. Awards can cover up to half of those costs, at community colleges, four-year schools, private vocational schools and other instruction-based programs.

Here’s exactly what that means.
01 · The scope

What we cover.
Where you can use it.

JCD funds the direct costs of education at schools and programs that teach in a classroom, lab or shop.

Eligible schools

Where you can use it

  • Community colleges
  • Four-year colleges and universities
  • Private vocational schools
  • Other instruction-based programs
Eligible costs

What we cover

  • Tuition and required fees.The certificate, the degree, the licensing program.
  • Room and board.School housing and meal plans, billed by your school.
  • Books.The texts your courses require, bought through your school.
  • Related supplies.Supplies your program requires for its courses, bought through your school.
02 · The three sectors

Where the money goes.

Three paths, chosen because they're the three worlds John C. Dunham actually worked in — not because a report said so. That story is here.

01 · Advanced Manufacturing

Build the things the region runs on.

Machining, welding, industrial tech, automation and the machines behind them. It's the sector we expect to need the most cultivation — the industry associations aren't yet reaching young people at all.

Machinist · CNC operator
Welder · industrial maintenance
Injection molding · automation tech
02 · Health Sciences

The clinicians your community needs.

Short credentials into real clinical careers, plus the nursing route. Our view of who carries the load: doctors are one level, but the nurses do all the work — and so do the techs who assist them.

Registered nurse
Radiology tech · dental hygiene
Phlebotomy · lab tech
03 · Building Trades

Learn a trade that lasts.

The skills that keep the region's buildings standing, wired, plumbed and heated. JCD helps pay for the classroom and shop training behind them, at community colleges and private vocational schools.

Electrician · HVAC
Plumber · pipefitter
Operating engineer · carpenter
03 · How big is an award

Up to half.
The same rules for everyone.

JCD’s assistance can’t exceed 50% of your tuition, room and board, and related educational expenses. Within that limit, every application is judged on the same criteria.

The limit
Up to 50%

Of tuition, room and board, and related educational expenses, based on the cost estimate from your school.

The criteria
How awards are set

A review committee with experience in all three fields looks at what your program costs, the other financial aid you’ve received, and your plan. Everyone hears back by March 31.

04 · How the money moves

Paid straight
to the school.

JCD is a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation. Every award is paid directly to the school, electronically.

You don’t have to pay up front and wait to be paid back. The school applies the award to your bill.

05 · What we ask back

We'll help you get there.
You've got to show up.

There's no GPA requirement, so it's worth being precise about what JCD does expect. It isn't academic. It's the stuff every employer in every one of these interviews named first.

Show up

On time. One example we heard: driving the route the day before, so a train can't be the reason you're late.

Show up prepared

With your tools, your gear and your homework done. If something is standing in the way, tell us.

Do the work of learning

“Work really hard at understanding, and not asking questions that you should already research.”

Actually try it

Deciding a path isn't for you is a fine outcome — as long as you pursued it first.

Applications open Dec 1, 2026

Tell us what you
want to do.

Three hundred words, no fee, no transcript minimum, no questions about your family's money. Applications run December 1 through February 28. Everyone hears back by March 31.

Start an application Read our story