Since 1932, the Scholarship Fund has helped thousands of children from Foreign Service families finance their college education.  AFSA accepts individual donations of any amount but also has a named scholarship program for those donors who prefer to make larger contributions.   Once named scholarships have been established additional gifts, in any amount, can be further donated to the named fund.   There are two ways to establish named scholarships.    

Annual Named Scholarships are established on a yearly basis and can be renewed.   Annual gifts of $1,000 - $11,999 are bestowed to entering freshman or current undergraduate college students under AFSA’s Merit Award Program or Financial Aid Scholarship Program.

Perpetual Named Scholarships are established by a donation which guarantees that a person's contribution will live on in perpetuity because the sum is protected and only the interest is used to fund yearly scholarships and awards.  Donors can specify which AFSA Scholarship Award Program the award should be used for:  Academic or Art Merit Awards which reward academic and art excellence for Foreign Service high school seniors or Financial Aid Scholarships for need-based college undergraduate awards.  A minimum gift of $12,000 is needed and these monies are added to the AFSA’s scholarship endowment.

In addition to providing needed financial assistance to Foreign Service dependents, the named scholarships are an effective way of preserving Foreign Service history.   When AFSA bestows awards to students, biographical data is provided about the person for whom the scholarship has been named.  Students are given an opportunity to learn about the contributions of those who have served their country abroad and are encouraged to correspond with the individual who established the award, or a member of his/her family at least once a year and many form a stronger tie.  It is totally up to the donor and student how much contact they would like with one another.

All named scholarships are publicized in the Foreign Service Journal.  Restrictions can be placed on a Financial Aid Scholarship although it may make it more difficult for AFSA to bestow the award.

Scholarships have been established in a number of ways.  Beside an outright cash donation(s), donors have remembered AFSA in their wills or contributed stock/securities, while others have established trusts in which the "AFSA Scholarship Fund" is named as a beneficiary. Before making a planned gift, we recommend that you meet with your attorney or tax advisor to discuss the financial and tax implications of your charitable contribution. 

The AFSA Scholarship Fund endowment is invested in stocks, bonds and cash.  The stocks are segmented into: large capitalization stocks (managed by Rittenhouse Financial Services), small capitalization stocks (managed by Trust Company of the West [TCW] and Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management), and global (managed by Lazard Freres) stocks.  The bond manager is Madison Investment Management.  Smith Barney Shearson acts as a consultant providing oversight of the various investment managers used by the AFSA Scholarship Fund.  The AFSA Governing Board oversees the investment portfolio through regular review, and the AFSA Committee on Education oversees the AFSA Scholarship Program administration.  Contributions to the AFSA Scholarship Fund are tax-deductible.  Checks should be made to the "AFSA Scholarship Fund" and a cover letter should accompany any gift.

If you have any questions, please contact Lori Dec, AFSA Scholarship Director, at 202-944-5504 or 1-800-704-2372 ext. 504 (phone) or dec@afsa.org (email).  Our address is AFSA, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, DC  20037 and our website is www.afsa.org.