Critical Shifts:
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Record Program Expansion: The Piston Foundation doubled its scholarship program, awarding 60 scholarships totaling $160,000 for the upcoming academic year—its largest investment to date.
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High Demand & Scale: Selected from hundreds of applicants across dozens of states, recipients will attend technical colleges nationwide, with nearly half enrolled at McPherson College.
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Funding Drivers: Expansion was fueled by a major foundation grant, individual donors, and collector car auction partnerships with Bring a Trailer and 1600Veloce.
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Cumulative Impact: Since launching in 2022, the foundation has awarded over 140 scholarships totaling $425,000 to train collector car technicians.
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Next Step (Career Placement): Launching Piston Jobs, a new initiative directly connecting graduates with employment at restoration shops, museums, auction houses, and private collections.
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The Piston Foundation announced it has doubled its annual scholarship program, awarding 60 scholarships totaling $160,000 for the 2026–27 academic year. The milestone represents the foundation’s largest investment to date in future collector car technicians and reflects growing national demand for skilled careers preserving automotive heritage.
The 2026 scholarship class was selected from 365 participants representing 41 states and 100 schools, making it the foundation’s largest and most competitive applicant pool to date. Scholarship recipients represent 19 states and will attend 15 colleges and technical schools across the United States.
The expansion was made possible through increased philanthropic investment, including a $75,000 grant from the LuLuMa Foundation, growing support from individual donors through the Foundation’s Sponsor a Piston Scholar campaign, and record proceeds from donated collector car auctions conducted in partnership with Bring a Trailer and 1600Veloce.
“One of the biggest misconceptions we’ve challenged over the past five years is that young people aren’t interested in classic and collector cars,” said Jeff Mason, president of the Piston Foundation. “We’ve found exactly the opposite. Across the country, we’ve met extraordinary young enthusiasts who are passionate about preserving automotive history and building careers around the cars they love. They didn’t need convincing – they needed a pathway.
“The collector car community is responding by investing in these talented young people because they understand that preserving great cars begins with developing great technicians.”
Since launching its scholarship program in 2022, the Piston Foundation has awarded 144 scholarships totaling $425,000, supporting students pursuing careers as collector car technicians. Graduates of the program are already working at restoration shops, specialty automotive businesses, museums, private collections, auction companies, and other organizations dedicated to preserving automotive history.
Nearly half of the 2026 Piston Scholars will attend McPherson College, home to the nation’s only bachelor’s degree program in Automotive Restoration Technology. The foundation’s close relationship with McPherson and other leading automotive technology schools continues to strengthen the talent pipeline connecting aspiring technicians with careers in the collector car community.
The organization is now expanding its focus to career placement through Piston Jobs, a new initiative that will connect graduating Piston Scholars with employment opportunities at leading restoration shops, museums, private collections, auction companies, and specialty automotive businesses nationwide.
“We’re not simply funding education – we’re building the talent pipeline that will preserve automotive heritage for generations to come,” Mason added.
The Piston Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that empowers young car enthusiasts to discover rewarding careers as collector car technicians
