About We Have One Passion.

Every Student.

A Humble Origin

In 1958, an optometrist in Fall River, Mass., Dr. Irving Fradkin, had a simple but profound idea: if everyone in his community gave just a dollar to a scholarship fund, it would be enough to help every student in the community attend college. It worked — and now we are the nation’s largest nonprofit, private scholarship organization.

A Growing Mission

Scholarship America’s mission is to eliminate barriers to educational success so that any student can pursue their dream. Our organization works directly with students, parents, colleges, businesses and communities to help students fulfill their college dreams. Since our founding in 1958, Scholarship America has distributed $5.1 billion to 3 million students … and counting.

An Ongoing Commitment

Our vision is to empower an America where those with the most need have the opportunity to thrive through equitable pathways to education and training. We believe in a world where equity is central; where respect and inclusion are the cornerstones of our culture; where every student can access opportunities to learn, grow, succeed and thrive.

We have the power to build equity, diversity and inclusion into the fabric of our organization, and to help everyone feel like they belong. We can design meaningful solutions to address systemic inequities for students, with work that elevates and more purposefully advances social, economic and racial equity.

We believe that a student should never, ever give up on their dream because they didn’t think it was possible or because of societal barriers placed in their path. This is where the heart and legacy of our organization began. We have done so much good, and there is always room to do so much more.

Get to Know Scholarship America