The Texas Hill Country Higher Education Development Foundation (dba Hill Country University Center Foundation) was formed as a nonprofit 501(c)3 in 2003. Its mission was to provide local, affordable higher educational opportunities in the Texas Hill Country. In 2010, the Foundation built the Hill Country University Center (HCUC) on 17 acres of land leased from the City of Fredericksburg. The Foundation owned and operated the 24,000 square foot academic facility which served as a teaching site for Texas Tech University-Fredericksburg (TTU). Our academic partner, TTU, provides the student classes while HCUC provides the academic facility.
HCUC’s goal was to provide an opportunity for Texas Hill Country students to overcome the three biggest barriers to the pursuit of higher education: availability, proximity to home, and cost. Students can pursue associate and higher education degrees without leaving the communities in which they reside in the Texas Hill Country.
Due to cost of living, the after math of COVID, and increasing costs of maintenance, HCUCF sold the building to the City of Fredericksburg and changed its name to the Forging Futures Education Fund (FFEF) in August of 2024. FFEF will continue to provide an expanded scholarship program for Gillespie County students and residents. While the HCUCF has always provided some scholarship help for local students, FFEF new mission will expand to include scholarships so long as they are offered by accredited institutions of higher learning. Eligible applicants will include graduating seniors, those students in the middle of their graduating school class, as well as people returning to school or vocational programs to improve their work skills.
Scholarships will be awarded to high school seniors enrolling in universities and vocational schools; students currently attending universities and vocational schools whose home residence is Gillespie County; currently employed workers obtaining higher certifications; and non-traditional and older students attending college for the first time or completing a degree interrupted by employment, illness or family needs. These scholarships will be funded by the investment earnings from an endowment funded by the sale of the Hill Country University Center to the City of Fredericksburg for a new City Hall. Proceeds of the sale were invested in the endowment which may only be used to fund educational scholarships for Gillespie County residents. The fund is projected to provide about $400,000 annually for scholarships. A volunteer scholarship committee is currently developing scholarship guidelines and application forms. Scholarship applications will be launched in Fall 2025.