Helen M. McLoraine

Who is Helen M. McLoraine?

Helen Myers McLoraine was the founder of The Pioneer Fund, a philanthropic organization "with a focus on figure skating, higher education assistance and medical research". She was a private investor in the gas and oil industry since the 1950s and became an early female figure in business leadership. After its establishment in the 1960s, she has maintained The Pioneer Fund through her own estate and from private donations.

The Helen M. McLoraine Figure Skating Scholarship Program provides $150,000 per year in undergraduate university scholarships to students who have competed in a USFS qualifying competition. Olympic medalist Scott Hamilton was a benefactor of The Pioneer Fund's support of figure skating and currently serves on its board of directors.

Ongoing scholarships have been funded at Regis University, The Denver Foundation, and Girls Inc. In addition, The Pioneer Fund supports the Helen McLoraine Developmental Chair in Neurobiology at the Salk Institute and has provided continued research and postdoctoral grants. According to IRS returns, The Pioneer Fund provided $8.3 million in donations in 2009.