CVEF: Scholarship Applicants, Donations Hit Record
A record number of Castro Valley students applied for scholarships this school year, and donations to support those scholarships also hit a milestone, according to the Castro Valley Education Foundation (CVEF).
The non-profit group received around 225 applications eager to access CVEF’s long list of scholarships. Additionally, CVEF received $130,000 in funds from various foundations and individual contributors to help students with their post high-school education goals. CVEF president Suresh Bhat says he is grateful for the outpouring of community interest and support for student education programs.
“One of the unique parts of our scholarship program is that we have something for everyone… the mix is really broad,” Bhat told the Forum. “We have scholarships for sports, arts, and academics. We have scholarships that celebrate students’ cultural heritage. But we also have career-focused awards for students with career aspirations in science, healthcare, and teaching.”
CVEF assists with 75 scholarships and funds a few of them. The organization’s primary scholarship is the Dr. Mary Jane Stamm Scholarships, which were endowed with a $750,000 bequest by her years ago. CVEF has managed that for all that time, given many $20,000 scholarships, and grown the endowment considerably.
CVEF also makes it simple for many other organizations and individuals to sponsor scholarships, thanks to local dentist Neal Fong, who passed away in 2014.
Fong put together an automated system for CVEF that allows individuals, businesses, and foundations to establish a scholarship online in a few minutes. In addition, students only have to apply once and are automatically considered for many scholarships for which they meet the criteria. For example, the Castro Valley Rotary Club now receives twice as many qualified applicants for its scholarships than it did before Dr. Fong’s system.
As importantly, CVEF acts as the “banker” for all these scholarships. Since it is a 501c3 organization, donations to it are tax-exempt. CVEF keeps track of every scholarship at no charge.
The Foundation is holding its annual “Spring for Education” fundraiser next month. Visit the CVEF website to order Spring for Education tickets and more information about the foundation (https://www.cvef.org/events-2/spring-for-education/).