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ScholarMatch is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that connects donors with prospective college students in order for them to help fund students' education. [1]
ScholarMatch was launched in April 2010 by writer and philanthropist Dave Eggers. 826 Valencia, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center in San Francisco that Eggers founded with teacher Nínive Clements Calegari, grants four scholarships per year to local students, [2] but each year, "the other 100 applicants would go wanting," Eggers said in a press release about ScholarMatch. [3] Thinking that many donors are more likely to fund the college aspirations of students if they get to know those students, and if there is a way to stay connected to those students once they’re enrolled, [4] Eggers founded ScholarMatch as a "new tool," for directing available money to students in need. [5] As of June 2011 [update] , 34 scholars registered with ScholarMatch had their scholarship goals met, either entirely through ScholarMatch or in partnership with other organizations. Such celebrities as novelist Ayelet Waldman [6] and actor John Krasinski [7] have donated to scholars, as have Microsoft and the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation. [8]
ScholarMatch operates a website and as a drop-in center at 849 Valencia Street. [8] The website is geared toward students, which the organization calls "scholars," as well as potential donors. Scholars submit profiles that include information such as high school extracurricular activities, grade-point average, and the college they plan to attend. [9] No profile is published without an edited personal statement and at least one letter of recommendation. Once a profile is published on the website, anyone registered with ScholarMatch can view it and donate. Donors are sent updates from the scholars they helped, and have the opportunity to meet them. [10]
At the drop-in center, scholars can use one of the computers to submit a profile, review their financial aid package, or ask questions about college. Just as 826 Valencia had to negotiate zoning codes [11] during its inception, ScholarMatch needed to be a retail space in order to operate out of their building; thus, college guide books, test-preparation manuals and other educational resources are for sale. Further, the staff at ScholarMatch, including director of operations Miel Alegre, host workshops that help students apply for college, understand their financial aid packages and complete ScholarMatch profiles. [12]
UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. UNCF was incorporated on April 25, 1944 by Frederick D. Patterson, Mary McLeod Bethune, and others. UNCF is headquartered at 1805 7th Street, NW in Washington, D.C. In 2005, UNCF supported approximately 65,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities with approximately $113 million in grants and scholarships. About 60% of these students are the first in their families to attend college, and 62% have annual family incomes of less than $25,000. UNCF also administers over 450 named scholarships.
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further their education at a private elementary or secondary school, or a private or public post-secondary college, university, or other academic institution. Scholarships are awarded based upon various criteria, such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, financial need, among others. Or some combination of these criteria. Scholarship criteria usually reflect the values and goals of the donor or founder of the award. While scholarship recipients are not required to repay scholarships, the awards may require that the recipient continue to meet certain requirements during their period of support, such maintaining a minimum grade point average or engaging in a certain activity. Scholarships may provide a monetary award, an in-kind award, or a combination.
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is married to writer Vendela Vida with whom he has two children. He wrote the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Eggers is also the founder of McSweeney's, a literary journal, a co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia and the human rights nonprofit Voice of Witness, and the founder of ScholarMatch, a program that matches donors with students needing funds for college tuition. His writing has appeared in several magazines.
The Koch family foundations are a group of charitable foundations in the United States associated with the family of Fred C. Koch. The most prominent of these are the Charles Koch Foundation and the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, created by Charles Koch and David Koch, two sons of Fred C. Koch who own the majority of Koch Industries, an oil, gas, paper, and chemical conglomerate which is the US's second-largest privately held company. Charles' and David's foundations have provided millions of dollars to a variety of organizations, including libertarian and conservative think tanks. Areas of funding include think tanks, political advocacy, climate change skepticism, higher education scholarships, cancer research, arts, and science.
The College Board is an American not-for-profit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a membership association of institutions, including over 6,000 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations.
McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers in 1998, headquartered in San Francisco. McSweeney's initially published only the literary journal Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, but has grown to publish novels, books of poetry, and other periodicals.
A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are often structured so that the principal value is kept intact, while the investment income or a small part of the principal is available for use each year.
Matching funds are funds that are set to be paid in proportion to funds available from other sources. Matching fund payments usually arise in situations of charity or public good. The terms cost sharing, in-kind, and matching can be used interchangeably but refer to different types of donations.
Vendela Vida is an American novelist, journalist, editor and educator. She is the author of multiple books, a writing teacher, and an editor of The Believer magazine. In 2017, Vida was a Lurie Author-in-Residence and instructor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at San Jose State University. She is married to author Dave Eggers, has two children, and lives in the Bay Area.
826 National is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, ages 6–18, improve their expository and creative writing skills at eight locations across the United States. The chapters include 826 Valencia in San Francisco, 826NYC in Brooklyn, 826LA in Los Angeles, 826CHI in Chicago, 826Michigan, 826 Boston in Boston, 826DC in Washington, DC, and 826 New Orleans.
Nínive Clements Calegari is an educator in the United States. Following ten years of classroom experience in public schools, she became an author and founded a national literacy program, 826 National. She also founded The Teacher Salary Project. Currently she is the CEO of Enterprise for Youth, an organization that empowers young people to prepare for and discover career opportunities in the San Francisco area through a three-phase program model of job-readiness training, paid internships with college credit, and ongoing career development and networking support.
The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a South Carolina–based charitable organization serving K-12 aged students in Micronesia. Habele's initial geographic focus was the so-called "Outer Islands" of Yap State as well as lagoon and outer islands in neighboring Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia. It now serves students of all backgrounds throughout the Freely Associated States.
Scholarship America is a Minnesota-based American philanthropic organization that assists communities, corporations, foundations and individuals with fundraising, managing and awarding scholarships to students. The organization designs, administers and manages corporate and foundation scholarship programs; it also operates Dollars for Scholars, a coalition of local scholarship organizations in communities across the United States.
826 Valencia is a non-profit organization in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, United States, dedicated to helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. It was the basis for the 826 National organization, which has centers on the United States with the same goal.
QuestBridge is a national nonprofit based in Palo Alto, California that connects the nation's most exceptional students from low-income backgrounds with leading institutions of higher education and further life opportunities. By recruiting, developing, and motivating these students — beginning in high school through college to their early career — QuestBridge aims to help these students attend the nations’ best colleges and to support them to achieve success in their respective careers and communities.
Jon Lloyd Stryker is an American architect, philanthropist and activist for social and environmental causes. He is a billionaire stockholder and heir to the Stryker Corporation medical supply company fortune of grandfather Homer Stryker alongside sisters Pat and Ronda. In 2018, his net worth was estimated at $2.9 billion.
Bermudez Foundation Organization(BSF) is an organization dedicated in helping high school students achieve success in their future careers. The organization is committed to help students find the necessary resources to achieve success in college careers. The foundation awards money every month to high school students who show leadership in academics and in the community. In addition, it also provides help to those students who seek advice for high school, college, and life success.
The Evans Scholars Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Glenview, Illinois that provides full tuition and housing college scholarships to golf caddies. Operated by the Western Golf Association, the Evans Scholars Foundation has helped more than 11,300 caddies graduate from college since its creation in 1930.
Irving A. Fradkin was an optometrist and founder and president emeritus of Scholarship America.
Young Eisner Scholars (YES) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying underserved students and providing them with resources and support to facilitate their success in high school, college, and beyond.