Scholarship America
Encyclopedia
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
-based American philanthropic organization
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
that assists communities, corporations, foundations and individuals with fundraising, managing and awarding scholarships to students. Scholarship America's two main divisions are Dollars for Scholars, a coalition of local scholarship organizations in communities across the United States, and Scholarship Management Services, which designs, administers and manages corporate and foundation scholarship programs.
Scholarship America also administers several special scholarship initiatives, including the Dreamkeepers Emergency Financial Aid program for community college students, and the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, which has to date distributed $36 million to dependents of those killed or disabled during the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, and will provide financial assistance to dependents in need through the 2030 academic year.
Dollars for Scholars was founded in 1958 by Dr. Irving Fradkin, an optometrist in Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
, and Scholarship America was officially chartered under the name "Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America" on May 15, 1961. Scholarship America appointed Mim Schreck, former chair of its board, as interim president in July 2009 upon the resignation of Dr. Clifford L. Stanley, Major General, USMC (Retired). http://scholarshipamerica.org/about_us.php
In fiscal year 2007, Scholarship America distributed a total of $207 million to 114,000 students through its programs. (Scholarship America Annual Report, 2007).
Timeline
Dollars for Scholars, the initial program that would become Scholarship America, was originally conceived by Dr. Irving Fradkin during a campaign for the Fall River, MA, school board in 1957, as a way of ensuring that community members could contribute to a city-wide scholarship fund through small donations. Fradkin lost the election, but began fundraising for Dollars for Scholars, starting the Fall River chapter in 1958.Dollars for Scholars incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization in May 1961, under the name of Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America (CSFA). During its early years, CSFA's headquarters moved from Fall River to Boston; to Concord, NH; and opened its first regional office in St. Peter, MN, in 1976, thanks to a grant from the Bush Foundation
Bush Foundation
The Bush Foundation was created in 1953 by Archibald Granville Bush an American businessman primarily involved with 3M and his wife, Edyth Bassler Bush. The organization awards $40 million a year to philanthropic organizations, primarily located in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest....
.
Also in 1976, CSFA expanded from its community-based Dollars for Scholars roots with the establishment of Scholarship Management Services (SMS), a branch of the organization designed to manage corporate scholarships. The Toro
Toro (company)
The Toro Company is an American manufacturer of turf maintenance equipment , snow removal equipment and water-saving irrigation systems for golf courses, sports fields, public green spaces, commercial and residential lawns, and agricultural fields...
company of Minnesota became SMS's first client.
In 1984, the organization's board voted to move CSFA's headquarters to St. Peter, MN, where they remain today. That year, CSFA reached the $5 million mark in terms of scholarship funds distributed. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the organization grew rapidly and launched its Collegiate Partner initiative (in which colleges agreed to maximize CSFA-related aid to students on their campuses) and ScholarShop program (a junior high and high school college-readiness curriculum.)
Between 1994 and 2001, CSFA's Dollars for Scholars program established nine regional offices across the country, seven of which remain open. In fiscal year 2000, the organization recorded its first year of distributing more than $100 million to students.
In September 2001, CSFA created the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund after the attacks on New York City and Washington, DC. With President Bill Clinton and Senator Bob Dole as co-chairs of the fundraising campaign, the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund raised more than $100 million, which it continues to distribute to the dependents of those killed or permanently disabled in the attacks, rescue and cleanup efforts. http://www.familiesoffreedom.org
On January 1, 2003, CSFA officially changed its name to Scholarship America; in the spring of that year, the organization surpassed the $1 billion mark in terms of funds distributed to students. As of the end of fiscal year 2007, Scholarship America had distributed $1.7 billion dollars to approximately 1.5 million students. (Scholarship America Annual Report, 2007).
Programs
Dollars for Scholars, Scholarship America's first program, is a nationwide coalition of local, community-based scholarship organizations.Scholarship Management Services designs, manages and administers scholarship, tuition assistance, loan management and other education programs for corporations, foundations and individuals.
ScholarShop is a college-readiness curriculum available to schools and consisting of four separate parts: ScholarShop Jr., designed for 4th-6th grade students; ScholarShop Options for Kids, an online companion to ScholarShop Jr. featuring interactive games starring Garfield
Garfield
Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
; ScholarShop Sr., designed for 7th-12th grade students, and ParentShop, designed for parents of students planning on college.
Collegiate Partners are a nationwide network of colleges, universities and vocational schools whose financial aid departments have agreed to maximize the impact of Scholarship America-related aid for their students, either by matching these funds or discounting them from students' self-help calculations.
Recognition
Scholarship America has been recognized by Charity NavigatorCharity Navigator
Charity Navigator is an independent, non-profit organization that evaluates American charities. Its stated goal is "to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America's largest charities."-About:...
as a Four-Star Charity for fiscal responsibility seven years in a row (2001–2008). View Scholarship America's listing on charitynavigator.org.
Smart Money magazine recognized Scholarship America as one of America's top charities for six years running. http://scholarshipamerica.org/fact_sheets_brochures.php
The Chronicle of Philanthropy routinely lists Scholarship America in their top-100 lists of American nonprofits, and as one of the largest charities in Minnesota.