The Leitalift Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in the Atlanta metro area, has established an endowed scholarship at Brenau University for female undergraduate students.
“On behalf of the university, I appreciate this extraordinary gift from the Leitalift Foundation to create a scholarship that will provide ongoing financial assistance for undergraduate women at Brenau,” Brenau President David L. Barnett, Ph.D., said. “The foundation’s mission to support women striving to achieve professional goals and contribute to their communities aligns well with our university mission to challenge students to lead extraordinary lives of professional and personal fulfillment.”
The foundation was established in 1956 by Leita Thompson with the intention of using the foundation to help working women “lead a fuller life.” The mission of the foundation is to continue Thompson’s dream by offering financial assistance to women who are striving to achieve professional goals and contribute to their communities. Today, the foundation provides funds for deserving women to pursue rewarding careers and opportunities through 415 scholarships and grants.
“The Leitalift Foundation is pleased to support deserving Brenau students,” Foundation President Kimberly Gauger said. “It is an honor to continue the mission of Leita Thompson in a meaningful way by helping women reach their fullest potential.”
The initial gift will be invested, and once the fund is fully endowed, scholarships will be awarded to female undergraduate students at Brenau who demonstrate financial need, are in good academic standing, and are from Georgia.
Born in 1894, Thompson taught for a number of years in Clayton County, Georgia, and then had a 40-year career at Atlanta National Bank as one of the first women in an executive banking position. Because of her struggles as a single working woman, Thompson wished to help other working women have a fuller life and established the Leitalift Foundation; she remained its president until her death in 1978.
In 2021, the foundation donated Thompson’s 107-acre estate to the city of Roswell to establish the Leita Thompson Memorial Park.
