What resources are available for setting up a scholarship fund?

You may want to start by contacting the Council on Foundations, a national nonprofit membership association of grantmaking foundations and corporations.

The Council on Foundations has a number of FAQs related to starting a scholarship fund, including:

• What are the advantages, disadvantages and likely costs of scholarship programs?

• Can a community foundation make scholarship grants to individuals?

• What rules or procedures govern community foundation scholarship programs?

• Does a community foundation need to notify the IRS before starting a scholarship program?

• May a community foundation give a scholarship to a student attending a for-profit school, such as a vocational school?

• What are the community foundation’s tax reporting requirements in connection with scholarship assistance? What are the tax consequences to the student who receives scholarship aid?

• May a scholarship fund be established through a donor-advised fund?

• To whom should the community foundation make out the scholarship check, the student or the school?

• What constitutes a charitable class in establishing a scholarship program?

You can also refer the following publications for information about setting up a scholarship fund:

• Peckham, Virginia. "Setting Up Scholarship Funds." Foundation News & Commentary 39 (January-February 1998) p. 39-43.

• Fischer, Jeri L. (ed.) Establishing and Administering a Scholarship Program. 3rd ed. Grand Haven, MI: Council of Michigan Foundations, 1998. A practical guide to designing a scholarship program utilizing the general criteria established by the Internal Revenue Service. Sample forms are included.

• Hopkins, Bruce R., Jerome P. Walsh Skelly, and Edward J. Beckwith. A Guide to the Making of Grants to Individuals by Private Foundations. Washington, DC: Council on Foundations, 1987. Provides a summary of the federal tax law governing the granting of scholarships and similar payments to individuals by private foundations, in addition to practical guidance for the establishment and maintenance of a private foundation individual grant program that will "avoid the difficulities (and taxes) lurking in the compliance requirements." Includes a sample statement of procedures for awarding grants to individuals.

• Tarnacki, Duane L. Community Foundation Scholarship Program Guidelines for Membership Clubs, Corporations, and Associations. Grand Haven, MI: Council of Michigan Foundations, 1992. Provides guidelines for community foundations serving membership organizations such as bowling leagues, realtor associations and other clubs, in establishing scholarship funds for the children of their members.

To find other resources that can help answer your questions, try searching the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature (CNL), the Center's bibliographic database, for books and articles. You could start by searching on the subject "Scholarships, fellowships and loans".

Please see our "How to Search the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature" for hints on how to conduct the most efficient search.

Many of the books and articles found through CNL can be located in Center Libraries and some Cooperating Collections. It is best to call ahead to verify a specific library's holdings. All articles, but not books, can be obtained through interlibrary loan at your local Cooperating Collection.

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