The University of Southern Maine Foundation completed a $6 million matching challenge for the Promise Scholars endowment, a program that supports Maine high school students who face significant barriers to higher education.

In October, the foundation announced a challenge issued by two anonymous donors: if it could raise $4 million for the Promise Scholars endowment before the end of the year, the donors would contribute an additional $2 million to the total, according to a press release from the university.

The final gift to complete the challenge was $1 million given by the estate of Kathleen “Kaye” Flanagan. Flanagan was a 1973 graduate of USM, an accomplished nurse and a nonprofit innovator who served Catholic Charities, the Children’s Center in Augusta, and many other Maine organizations. She died just weeks before the challenge was announced.

Her nephew, Robert Hillman, and his wife, Margie, were inspired by the lives that the Promise Scholars program has changed. Their $1 million contribution to the challenge will support a Promise Scholar seeking a career in nursing, honoring Kaye Flanagan’s lifelong calling. Flanagan was predeceased by her husband, David Flanagan, a Maine business icon and the 12th president of USM.

“My Aunt Kathleen would be delighted to know that talented nursing students will be able to pursue a career of caring as a result of this gift,” said Robert Hillman, in the release. “When you think about her life’s work, caring was at the heart of everything she did. We are so proud that her memory will live on through the Promise Scholars, who represent the best of the state she loved so much.”

Beyond financial aid, the Promise Scholar program also provides mentorship, leadership and career development, and access to a network of resources to foster academic success and personal growth.

Daniel Barton, director of the program, described the matching challenge, which totaled $6.6 million, as a “turning point.”

“These additional funds will put us closer to fully endowing 100 USM Promise Scholars and will deepen the support we provide to our scholars, ensuring that they have the tools they need to thrive academically, socially and beyond,” he said in the release.

With the $6.6 million boost, the Promise Scholars endowment is now over $12 million, more than 60% toward its $20 million goal. More information about the program can be found at usm.maine.edu/the-promise-scholarship.