In 2019 the Foundation created the Robert Jensen Dau Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is meant to help students graduating from Petoskey High School reach their highest scholastic potential. Students are considered based on their strong academic record, work experience, community service, demonstration of good character and a personal recommendation. This scholarship is renewable for up to a total of four years. The scholarship is administered through the Petoskey-Harbor Spring Area Community Foundation.
The Robert Jensen Dau Foundation believes strongly in the importance of the written word. Our Founder, Robert, sought to create the Dau Prize to encourage future writers throughout the world. In addition to the Prize, winners are invited to Petoskey, Michigan to participate in the Michigan Hemingway Society fall conference.
Artistic expression has always been important to the Dau family. From chamber music and spiritual music, to performances geared for children, the arts are an underfunded area that the Foundation seeks to encourage. Our largest contribution goes toward providing quality experience for school children and their families at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts.
The Foundation also provides funds to support music programs of the Bay View Association. Bay View hosts renowned teachers and aspiring musicians for an eight-week summer session each year; providing Broadway musicals, operas and pops concerts for all ages.
Perhaps it came from a life growing up in northern Michigan or maybe it was his decades of working with wood products, but Robert's love of gardens and gardening lasted throughout his life. The Dau family and the Foundation have given and supported gardens at the Chicago Botanic Gardens and The Living Desert. No patch of dirt was too small or too challenging for Robert to tackle. This love of gardening continues on in his daughter today.