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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.
Overview: Providing Assistance Now—And
For The Future
The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund was established, and continues, to provide scholarship assistance for even the youngest dependents of 9/11 victims—the last of whom will be attending college in 2030. Through sound management and consistently updated actuarial information, we anticipate that 95% of all these students' need for the next two decades will be covered through the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund.

The initial fundraising goal of $100 million was intended to cover about 65% of the estimated financial need for all eligible students through 2030. However, due to greater-than-expected generosity, good investment returns and other factors, the Fund is currently covering almost all need. The percentage awarded may fluctuate depending on the actual number of eligible individuals registered, cost of higher education, investment earnings, and the amount of funds available over time, but our goal remains to cover as much need as possible and to award 100% of the funds raised by 2030.

To ensure that this happens, Scholarship America checks our estimates through the Stanton Group, an independent actuarial firm, every year. By annually calculating and estimating family needs, student ages, educational costs and eligible recipients—both registered and unregistered—we can maximize aid at any given time while also ensuring that the entire Fund reaches financially needy students by the end of 2030.

It is, in part, because of our updated estimates that the Fund's donors permitted us to distribute $1,000 annual honoraria to eligible students who did not demonstrate financial need.

Looking Ahead
The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund is available for victims' dependents, including children born after September 11, 2001, who enroll in college by age 24. As seen in the chart below, this means many students will not reach college age for some time—two-thirds of registered students are currently 15 and under.

Because of this "bubble"—from 2009 to 2020, nearly 400 students per year will be receiving aid, and between 2018 and 2022, we anticipate need to reach nearly $80 million—it is crucial to accurately calculate our assessments so as to serve those students just now starting elementary school. By reviewing our actuarial information each year, we can be both reactive and proactive: reactive to the immediate past and current conditions; and proactive in assuring sufficient resources will remain for the educational needs of all eligible students over the life of the fund.

To find out more, please read our most current actuarial information.
Amanda Costello is a junior at Marymount Manhattan College majoring in communication arts. Her father worked at Thyssen Krupp Elevator near the World Trade Center; he entered the building to try to help others. The year before 9/11 he had realized his dream when Amanda became the first in her family to attend college. Read more




 
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