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Facts About
Scholarship America


• Charity Navigator, the nation's premier evaluator of non-profit organizations, has put Scholarship America in its top-ten list of "Slam-Dunk Charities," for fiscal health and responsibility to donors.

• Scholarship America has raised more than $108 million for this fund. Approximately $20 million more has been committed by major donors.

• As of November 2007, a total of 1,352 families had registered with the fund, representing 4,792 individuals.

•As of the same date, Scholarship America had distributed scholarships to nearly 900 people, totaling more than $23 million.

• Scholarship America has kept administrative expenses for family registration, evaluation and issuing awards to 4 percent of total disbursements since 2001. Our expenses for support and fundraising since inception have been $1,589,000 for this $108 million fund, or 1.5% in an industry where administrative costs of 20% are well within the norm.
Fund Declaration
With respect for donor intent, all funds received are to be distributed as stated in the Families of Freedom Fund® Declaration.

(Note: Scholarship America® was known as Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of America (CSFA) when it founded Families of Freedom. CSFA became Scholarship America on January 1, 2003.)

CITIZENS’ SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION OF AMERICA
Declaration Establishing the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund

Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of America (“CSFA”), a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation, hereby establishes a separate fund of CSFA that shall be known and designated as the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund (the “Fund”). The Fund shall be held and administered on the following terms:

  1. The purpose of the Fund is to provide education assistance for post-secondary study to financially needy dependents of those people killed or permanently disabled as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and during the rescue activities relating to those attacks.
      
  2. As parts of the Fund and in addition to the general Fund, CSFA shall maintain separate sub-funds primarily to benefit dependents of the following groups of victims for the purpose described in paragraph 1: (a) airplane crew and passengers, (b) World Trade Center workers and visitors, (c) Pentagon workers and visitors, and (d) rescue workers, including firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and law enforcement personnel. In granting assistance from each such sub-fund, CSFA shall give preference to dependents of the group of victims for which that sub-fund is named. CSFA may establish additional sub-funds from time to time.
      
  3. All determinations of compliance with eligibility criteria, financial need, and award amounts shall be made by CSFA in its discretion. CSFA may develop such additional criteria, limitations and administrative procedures for the Fund as it determines are desirable and consistent with the purpose set forth in paragraph 1.
      
  4. Assistance from the Fund must be used to defray costs of undergraduate education at accredited two- or four-year colleges, universities, or vocational-technical schools based in the United States.
      
  5. The assets of the Fund, including income and principal, shall be used for the purposes described in paragraphs 1, 2, and 8.
      
  6. CSFA may in its discretion accept contributions to the Fund from any individual, corporation, or other source.
      
  7. Assets of the Fund may be commingled for purpose of investment with other assets of CSFA.
      
  8. CSFA may from time to time make a charge to income of the Fund in an amount reasonably calculated to reimburse CSFA’s direct and indirect costs incurred in the administration of the Fund.
      
  9. The Board of Directors of CSFA may redirect any excess assets of the Fund or any sub-fund to support other post-secondary education scholarship programs of CSFA, upon the good faith determination of at least two-thirds of the directors that the need for the type of assistance described in paragraphs 1 and 2 above has been met, or can with reasonable certainty be met, with less than all of the assets of the Fund or sub-fund. In any event, any assets remaining in the Fund as of December 31, 2030, may thereafter be used by CSFA to support other post-secondary education scholarship programs.

 

Dated as of the 17th day of September, 2001.
CITIZENS’ SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION OF AMERICA

William C. Nelsen
By William C. Nelsen, President

 



“I think Michael is looking down from heaven smiling in approval of the new career that I am pursuing,” said Loisanne Diehl of her husband, who was in his office at Fiduciary Trust Company International at the World Trade Center when it fell. Read more