An initiative to give Roanoke public high school graduates a free community college education got a $100,000 boost from the Roanoke Women's Foundation on Tuesday.

The foundation's money will get the Roanoke Community College Access Program off the ground for the 2009-10 school year. Seniors at Patrick Henry and William Fleming high schools who have lived in Roanoke for the past two years and who maintain a 2.0 grade-point average will be able to get a two-year degree from Virginia Western Community College for free rather than pay the school's $2,500 annual tuition.

The grant, awarded at a foundation luncheon, is the highest ever awarded in the group's four-year history.

"It's going to help so many young people in our valley and will encourage young people to stay in high school," said Ginny Jarrett, one of the foundation's co-founders.

School and college officials have been working on the college access program for months. They've found money from the school system for the project and have lobbied businesses for contributions. The school system estimates the program could help 130 to 150 students in its first year, and twice as many within a few years.

In making the award, the women's group cited the school system's efforts to raise the graduation rate, which this year stands at about 52 percent.

Making college free for high school graduates could motivate students to stay in school, Superintendent Rita Bishop said.

"It's going to enable us to give our students hope," she said. "College now becomes available for everyone, regardless of money."

Eighty-one women are members of the foundation. They pay $2,100 a year for membership, of which all but $100 is used for grants.

This year, the group received 45 grant applications. After narrowing them down to seven finalists, members voted for three final recipients: the college access program, the Bradley Free Clinic ($32,000) and DePaul Family Services ($30,000). In its four-year existence, the foundation has given away $482,136.

"Here are 81 women in town trying to make a difference," said Kandy Elliott, another co-founder. "It's just pretty thoughtful giving."

The foundation's gift will completely fund the college access program's first year, said Roanoke School Board member Jason Bingham. When fully implemented, the program will cost about $400,000 a year to run, he added, and will be funded jointly by the city, the school system, foundations and businesses.

Bingham already has gotten commitments of about $75,000 a year from area businesses and expects that number to grow to $100,000 before the summer. The women's foundation grant will make it much easier to pitch the project to businesses, he said.

"You can look them in the eye and say, 'This thing's going to happen and we need your help to do it,' " he said.

Roanoke's program is modeled on a similar college access program in Salem, which this year has enrolled 64 Salem High School graduates at Virginia Western. To Virginia Western President Robert Sandel, the college access program will build a "pipeline" between high schools and Roanoke Valley employers in need of workers with a two-year degree.

"We're fulfilling the industry and business demand," he said. "They're really putting heavy pressure on us to fill the jobs."

Students who want to pursue a four-year degree once they complete Virginia Western can earn guaranteed admission into roughly 25 Virginia colleges and universities if their grades are good enough.

Applications will be due by April 30, said Kay Strickland, who is director of the community college's foundation and one of the people behind the program. Students will have to apply for federal need-based aid, she added. That way, the program will be able to use federal money to complement its own fundraising and make the program more widely available.

"We don't want people to be intimidated by that process; we'll have counselors who will be available to help," she said. She expects to start visiting high schools and distributing information to students and their parents in January.