About The Scholarship:

Daniel put his heart and soul into all he did. His ultimate goal in life was to be like some of his philanthropic aunts and uncles who made him know that there were no financial barriers to anything he could ever desire to achieve if -He put his mind to it -Surrounded himself with supportive, loving, encouraging people who believed in him -He trusted in himself and if -He would be willing to do the hard work others were not willing to do. 

The 6 of us children were raised by incredible parents who gave us the gift of Faith, demonstrated commitment to God, each other and our family. Our aunts and uncles filled the space where our minds wandered when we wanted to do those things we thought 'we'd never be able to do'.  They reminded us, by example, that there is always a pathway to our dreams.  They would make a way to help us earn money for trips, adventures, etc. through ways [we didn't even realize at the time] were growing us into more educated, dynamic, creative, solution-centered human beings. Daniel knew he wanted to be a FUNcle too someday; and he surely was!

Daniel matured into a very endearing gentleman as he grew appreciation for our parents realizing the sacrifices they made and how fortunate we were as children. He wanted to give back to them as he grew in his career (and he did) and he desired to pay it forward in all that he did through regular acts of service to all around him and most notably, he had wished to be able to educate his nieces and nephews with college education.

This scholarship is designed to do what we can as a family each year to maintain a sustainable contribution annually to help open up an opportunity to those who have a need and may have unconventional circumstances.  The hope is that any community contributions/donations made by Graff Realty, Inc. raise awareness of this scholarship and that Daniel's incredible, generous spirit and legacy can live on in a way that continues to make a difference in the lives of others and maybe we can even raise enough money to award larger scholarships down the road with that money. The most important thing though is to keep the funding available -and to all.  

Name of Scholarship: Daniel Graff Memorial Scholarship

Monetary Award: $1,000 Annually

First Scholarship Was Awarded in: Spring 2022

Criteria for Application: Graduating Grant Community High School senior with a strong work ethic, positive attitude, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Seniors may be entering the work force, military, trade school, 2-year or 4-year colleges and universities, no set GPA minimum

Application Requirements: General scholarship application

Scholarship Selection: The family will select the winner

Donation checks should be made out to the “Grant Community High School Foundation” with “Graff Memorial Scholarship” written on the memo line and either mailed to Grant Community High School (285 E. Grand Avenue Fox Lake, Illinois 60020) OR they may be dropped off at the Front Desk with “Attn: Nathan Miller” written on the envelope. He will ensure that it gets routed correctly.

Click here to get to know a little more about Daniel.

Beautiful Mark & Daniel Memorial Artwork by, Heather Buchanan.