2021 Annual Report

Much is at stake.

Much is at stake in the struggle to strengthen democracy, advance racial and economic equity, and shore up our communities. For the last 100-plus years, The Scholarship Foundation has worked to improve the world through education. From the first student in 1920 — a young immigrant woman who received a $15 loan to attend business school — to today’s students with an average annual cost of attendance of $30,177, The Scholarship Foundation has ensured that students are not excluded from educational opportunity due to their financial circumstances. Over time, The Scholarship Foundation’s work has grown from a loan for a single student to include direct financial support for hundreds annually, advising support to help thousands more make sound financial decisions, and student-led advocacy work to improve higher education systems for all. This three-pronged approach of awards, advising, and advocacy positions students to succeed, now and in the future.

Leadership

In 2021, Buff Buffkin completed his three-year term as President of the Board and Lauren Nash Ming was elected to the position. Their able leadership through the many challenges of 2021 has allowed The Scholarship Foundation to thrive.

Advocacy Committee

Karen O. Drake, Vice-President

Gerald Axelbaum

Jacqueline Meaders Booth

Buff Buffkin

Linda Goldstein

Janet Hendrickson

Laura Kipnis

Board Development Committee

Tom Ruwitch, Chair

Clayton M. Evans, Member-at-Large

April Mickens Jolly

Lynne Kipnis

Lainie Neiman

External Relations Committee

Debra B. Kennard, Vice-President

Azmy Azmy

James E. Crowe, III

Bill Eastman

Barbara Touchette

Beth-Anne Yakubu

Planning and Finance Committee

Jill Nowak, Treasurer

Joan Esserman

Muhammad Q. Islam

Joan Magruder

David A. Meyer

Julia Muller

Robert Schmalz, Secretary to the Board

Program Committee

Heidi Veron, Vice-President

Matt Dace

Jennifer A. Haynes

Susan Plassmeyer

Estie Pruett

Dana Romeis

Lauren J. Sagel

Honorary Life Directors

Buff Buffkin

Betsy Douglass

Joyce Follman

Linda Goldstein

Joel Iskiwitch

Nancy Kalishman

Lynne Kipnis

Donna Moog

Julia Muller

Estie Pruett

Audrey Shanfeld

Barbara Touchette

Awards

The Scholarship Foundation awards scholarship grants and interest-free loans to students of good character and academic potential from low-income families. All awards are renewable and last-dollar, meaning the awards close the remaining gap in funding and ensure that students are not forced to withdraw from school short of graduation. In 2021, the Foundation awarded $4.7 million to 489 students. Beginning with the graduating class of 2021, The Scholarship Foundation implemented a new repayment policy for its interest-free loans which replaced the one-size-fits-all repayment policy with individualized repayment plans based on the borrower’s anticipated earnings and total balance owed. The new policy increases economic equity for borrowers.

Read how awards helped
Anne Marie pursue her dreams.

Learn More about Awards

View the Key Performance Indicators

View the Program Dashboard

View the Equity Dashboard

Awards

The Scholarship Foundation awards scholarship grants and interest-free loans to students of good character and academic potential from low-income families. All awards are renewable and last-dollar, meaning the awards close the remaining gap in funding and ensure that students are not forced to withdraw from school short of graduation. In 2021, the Foundation awarded $4.7 million to 489 students. Beginning with the graduating class of 2021, The Scholarship Foundation implemented a new repayment policy for its interest-free loans which replaced the one-size-fits-all repayment policy with individualized repayment plans based on the borrower’s anticipated earnings and total balance owed. The new policy increases economic equity for borrowers.

Read how awards helped
Anne Marie pursue her dreams.

Learn More about Awards

View the Key Performance Indicators

View the Program Dashboard

View the Equity Dashboard

Advocacy

In The Scholarship Foundation’s advocacy program in 2021, 11 current and recent graduates served as paid fellows, setting policy priorities and meeting with policy makers to advocate for more just educational policies which support all students. In the fall, four fellows published the Report Card on the Scholarship Programs of the State of Missouri, which detailed the inefficiencies and inequities in the state’s scholarship programs, especially regarding black, rural, and/or low-income students. The fellows also submitted recommendations for improvement in the state’s A+ Scholarship Program to Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development which were adopted. Within the advocacy program is the League of Student Advocates, a bi-state coalition of about 100 students advocating for student-centered policy.

Read how Candice discovered
her passion for advocacy work.

Learn More about Advocacy

Advocacy

In The Scholarship Foundation’s advocacy program in 2021, 11 current and recent graduates served as paid fellows, setting policy priorities and meeting with policy makers to advocate for more just educational policies which support all students. In the fall, four fellows published the Report Card on the Scholarship Programs of the State of Missouri, which detailed the inefficiencies and inequities in the state’s scholarship programs, especially regarding black, rural, and/or low-income students. The fellows also submitted recommendations for improvement in the state’s A+ Scholarship Program to Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development which were adopted. Within the advocacy program is the League of Student Advocates, a bi-state coalition of about 100 students advocating for student-centered policy.

Read how Candice discovered
her passion for advocacy work.

Learn More about Advocacy

Advising

Scholarship Foundation advisors provide accurate, timely information so that students and families can make the best decisions for themselves and their futures. From high school to college graduation and beyond, advisors serve as resources, building relationships of trust with students and assisting with persistence to graduation. Advisors also provide professional development for peers and colleagues at schools and other college-access organizations. In 2021, with the pandemic preventing much of their in-person work in schools, Scholarship Foundation advisors worked with 2,000 students and family members through virtual meetings, workshops, and individual guidance.

Learn More about Advising

Read the 2021 Advising Report

Advising

Scholarship Foundation advisors provide accurate, timely information so that students and families can make the best decisions for themselves and their futures. From high school to college graduation and beyond, advisors serve as resources, building relationships of trust with students and assisting with persistence to graduation. In 2021, with the pandemic preventing much of their in-person work in schools, Scholarship Foundation advisors worked with 2,000 students and family members through virtual meetings, workshops, and individual guidance. Advisors also provided professional development for peers and colleagues at schools and other college-access organizations.

Learn More about Advising

Read the 2021 Advising Report

Financials

Loan dollars in the
hands of students*

*Total student loan recievables before allowance for doubtful accounts

Allocation of foundation
resources by function

Programs

91.2%

including program
services, student loans,
and grants awarded

Fundraising

5.5%

General and
administrative

3.3%

Program
expenditures

Loans

$1,931,185

Grants

$2,774,971

Program
services

$2,857,832

Sources
of support

Public support

Student loan repayments

Interest and investment

View Complete Financial Statements and review report

Reviewed by UHY LLP, Certified Public Accountants (including Net Assets)

2021 Board of Directors

Our Mission Statement

Special Thanks to Our Donors

Donors trust The Scholarship Foundation to put students first and to make sure that the opportunity to succeed is extended to all students. The Scholarship Foundation is grateful for the support of donors, whether through the total trust of an unrestricted gift or the targeted impact of gifts restricted for specific purposes.

The following donors have chosen to respond to current conditions by seeking to build a better world through increased educational access. Contributions made between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 are accumulated in the giving categories below. Such contributions include gifts and pledges to the Foundation’s annual campaign, gifts to support student grant programs, bequests and planned gifts, gifts given to special projects, and tribute gifts.

Donors wishing to make contributions can give online or mail a check payable to “The Scholarship Foundation” to 6825 Clayton Avenue, Suite 100, St. Louis, MO 63139. More information on other giving options (including planned gifts, bequests, and gifts of stock) is available by contacting Development Coordinator Jamie Wilger at 314-932-6943 or jamie@sfstl.org, or by viewing the Case for Support.

*deceased

Benefactor ($50,000+)

Major Gift ($25,000+)

Special Gift ($10,000+)

Provost ($7,500+)

Dean ($5,000+)

Scholar ($2,500+)

Sponsor ($1,000+)

Sustainer ($500+)

Supporter ($250+)

Friend ($100+)

Designated Scholar Loans

1981-2021

The Designated Scholar Loan Program was created by then Foundation President Nancy Kalishman in December, 1981. Of the program, she said “This kind of giving and caring, we hope, will engender giving and caring in the loan recipients themselves another day.” Every Designated Scholar Loan has a story, and DSLs were established by donors wishing to connect with students, honor special occasions, encourage specific fields of study, or remember or honor loved ones. DSLs were established by a variety of people, including current and former board members, former Foundation students, and members of the community.

Over its lifetime, the DSL program raised over $5 million, which are recycled through the loan program as borrowers repay and new students are awarded, providing future stability for the Foundation. The program ran for 40 years until December, 2021. During that time, almost 200 donors established 317 Designated Scholar Loans, which will be listed in perpetuity. Many were established by former students, proving that Mrs. Kalishman showed great foresight in hoping that the funds would engender giving and caring in those who were awarded from them.

For information on giving opportunities to honor or memorialize loved ones, connect to students, or increase impact through targeted giving, please see the Case for Support, or contact Development Coordinator Jamie Wilger at 314-932-6943 or jamie@sfstl.org.

If bolded, a named loan was established since January 1, 2021. If italicized, a named loan was fortified since January 1, 2021 with a gift which strengthened the loan’s power to support today’s students.

Nancy Kalishman created the Designated Scholar Loan Program in 1981.

Overview

Financials

Donors

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