Aug 21, 2014 11:57 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Two organizations based in Madison, Wis. have joined forces to raise money to send Michael Brown's siblings to college at no expense to their parents.

According to WISC-TV, the Wisconsin Hope Lab and the Dane County Boys and Girls Club are accepting donations through a crowd funding campaign. The "Mike Brown College Scholarship" is about halfway to its goal of $50,000.

Before a police officer shot and killed the 18-year-old in his hometown of Ferguson, Mo., Brown was set to attend Vatterott College, a for-profit career-training institute. Lesley McSpadden, Brown's mother, told CNN her son had aspirations beyond college and that he was excited to begin his education.

"He looked forward to it so much. You didn't have to tell him, 'Make sure you get to school.' He was ready," she said.

Brown's father said his siblings looked up to him, so the college scholarship was aimed at giving them the opportunity of a post-secondary education.

"I traveled here from Madison," Dane Boys and Girls CEO Michael Johnson told a group of about 2,000 people at a local church in Ferguson, according to WISC-TV.  "Today we're going to announce that all three kids of the Brown family will receive a free scholarship to go to college.

"A university president, who sent us a letter who wanted to remain anonymous, said they only wanted the parents to know that they would offer a free, all-expenses-paid, tuition-free education for all of his siblings."

The Wisconsin Hope Lab is a program that works to decrease the roadblocks in the way of all kinds of prospective students who wish to further their education beyond high school. An anonymous college president has also created full-ride scholarships for Brown's siblings, but only for that specific school.

"The three scholarships are for the siblings if they attend one specific university," Wisconsin Hope Lab Director Sara Goldrick-Rab told WISC-TV. "The fund is for the siblings too - regardless of where they attend college. Mike's mom deserves to see her other children cross the finish line and receive their diplomas- I want to support her doing that."

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