🚀 Message from our CEO

😎 Year in Review

We had an incredible year at Scholar Fund! Our impact was felt nationwide, from meaningful community engagement to exciting new opportunities. This year, we remained dedicated to the three pillars of our mission: Community, Cash, and College. Take a look at some of the highlights from our year:

Scholarship Junkies Relaunch

This relaunch brings exciting updates! Our scholarship bank is now filled with hundreds of opportunities tailored just for you. With monthly newsletters and essay review support, you'll have everything you need to confidently navigate your educational journey—backed by your biggest supporters! Don’t forget to follow Scholarship Junkies on Instagram and X for #MoneyMondays!

AmeriCorps

This partnership helps ensure financial hardships don’t prevent members from completing community service nationwide. Since launching in January 2024 with four state commissions, Scholar Fund has expanded support to include eight states and aims to reach 20 by July 2026. Scholar Fund standardizes application, payment distribution, and customer support processes for seamless assistance.

Cultural Leadership Fellowship

Our fellowship program traveled to 11 countries this year, taking over 200 DACA professionals abroad! It has been an incredible experience to witness healing, community, and joy. In collaboration with Erick Arredondo this year, we filmed and screened Journey Abroad: An Undocu Story, a film following our CLF Japan cohort. The premiere was a huge success with hundreds of attendees! You can support CLF by purchasing some of their new swag.

Working Families Tax Credit

We’ve been supporting outreach for the Working Families Tax Credit, helping Washington workers file for up to $1,200 cash back! We held our first in-person event, the Undocu Resource Fair and Film Screening of El Digno Reterno by Jose Eduardo Aguilar, a powerful film exploring the nuances of return migration in Mexico. Various organizations collaborated to share important resources and information including the tax credit. Our outreach has extended to multiple tabling efforts and even a partnership with Alimentado el Pueblo Food Bank, Rainer Beach Coalition, Therapy Fund Foundation, and more!

Victim Compensation Fund

The goal of the Victim Compensation Fund is to offer restitution to Seattle-based individuals and small businesses that have been impacted by misdemeanor crimes. This partnership with the City of Seattle helps to reduce the financial burden of crime victims.

Community-Based Organization Public Participation

We’re finding ways to engage community members in the Comprehensive Planning process, particularly in Whatcom County. Through collaborations with the county and community members to reach more people in equitable ways. We’re expanding our reach and hoping to build more connections along the way!

Education Team’s systems grants

Our team has started to work with four different regional intermediaries in Washington through Horizon's network, providing technical assistance on continuous improvement and youth, family, and community voice! We are partnering with each region to launch the “College and Career Ecosystem” bringing together regional high school teams to support their students from rural and low-income communities, as well as Black, Latino, and Indigenous students. We look forward to working with each region to make system changes for the next three years!

New collaborations and partnerships

We are happy to welcome our new fiscal sponsee, the NAACP of Portland, to the Scholar Fund community!

We continue to make the impossible possible for people across the nation. We’ve been able to reach new measures by continuing to lead with community care. We know so much more is in store for Scholar Fund in 2025!