P.E.O. PROJECTS

P.E.O. HISTORY and PROJECTS:  
Originally founded as a college sorority at Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on January 21, 1869, the P.E.O. Sisterhood has grown to an international women's organization with chapters in the United States and Canada.

P.E.O. is a philanthropic and educational organization interested in bringing to women increased opportunities for higher education.

P.E.O.'s philanthropies are listed below:

Educational Loan Fund
(ELF)

A loan fund established in 1907 to lend money to qualified women students to assist them in securing a higher education.

Cottey College 

A nationally ranked, full accredited, independent, liberal arts and sciences college for women located in Nevada, Missouri, has been owned and supported by P.E.O. since 1927 and offers baccalaureate and associate degrees in a variety of majors.  Cottey College, a debt-free institution, welcomes women from around the world.

International Peace Scholarship Fund (IPS)

A fund established in 1949 to provide scholarships for women from other countries for graduate study in the U.S. or Canada.

Program for Continuing Edcucation

Established in 1973 to provide need-based grants to women in the U.S. and Canada whose education has been interrupted and who find it necessary to return to school to complete a degree or certification that will improve their marketable skills for employment to support themselves and/or their families.

Scholar Awards (PSA)

Established in 1991 to provide substantial merit-based awards for women of the U.S. and Canada who are pursuing a doctoral-level degree at an accredited college or university.

Star Scholarship (STAR)

Established in 2009 to provide scholarships for exceptional women in their final year of high school to attend an accredited post-secondary educational institution in the U.S. or Canada in the next academic year.

Foundation

The P.E.O. Foundation is a non-profit corporation established in 1961 to encouage tax-deductible giving to the educational and charitable projects of the P.E.O. Sisterhood.