Plano Community Forum

The Plano Community Forum was established by a small group of concerned citizens who thought they could make a difference in their community during the early 80's. PCF was established in 1981 and is celebrating 45 years of providing scholarships to minority students graduating from Plano Public schools. The Forum has two other pillars which is community involvement and cultural enrichment. The organization focuses on partnerships and collaborations that enable us to join efforts with other community organizations to broaden our impact believing that "two are better than one". 

Over the past 45 years PCF has been fortunate to impact the lives of 350 students awarding $350,250 in scholarships toward furthering their education. Many of those students have gone on to become successful in a wide range of professions including the NFL and a Grammy Award winning Gospel artist. We don't underestimate the impact that our scholarships can have in the life of a student. In some cases, it has made the difference in allowing a student to attend the college of his or her dreams or simply furthering their education at all. Our scholarships are awarded based on academics but also takes into consideration the financial need and supporting a student's potential evidenced in our "Shining Star" award. We believe no student should have to abandon his or her dreams because of a lack of funds, whether it's helping with tuition and books or supplementing room and board. We are there.

Because we can only provide scholarships for a limited number of students, PCF has hosted a scholarship bootcamp for the past 7 years that has experienced exponential growth with 450 in attendance. This bootcamp walks students and their parents through the process of establishing a scholarship system. This system identifies potential funding sources, helps with application preparation, provides guidance on dealing with college financial aid office and any current legislation effecting financial aid, Pell grants and scholarships.

The Forum coordinated the first MLK parade in Plano and started the MLK Breakfast. Currently the MLK Power Leadership Breakfast is hosted by Collin College. The first breakfasts were held at the Douglass Center in Plano where Charlie O'Reily, McDonald's owner, would donate sausage biscuits for all attendees. Now, the Forum continues to host the MLK Program, sponsored in part by the City of Plano, to unite the community for a collective celebration and to promote unity. PCF has been a stable group of leaders whose voices have made an impact on the City of Plano when called to step up and serve 

Our Needs

Donations will be used to grant scholarships to minority students who would like to further their education at a college, university or trade school. A small portion of the donations will be used to fund the Forum's Legacy scholarship presented annually to a Collin College student in need, selected by the College during the Power Leadership Breakfast. Additionally, the Forum would benefit from sponsors, both financial and in-kind, for our upcoming gala where we raise the money for our scholarships and if anyone knows an incredible host that would be willing to donate their time, PCF will benefit from their volunteer support.