Scholarship Donor Guide
ABOUT THE AMARILLO AREA FOUNDATION’S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The Amarillo Area Foundation manages scholarship funds designed to serve aspiring students in the top 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle to receive a postsecondary degree. The Foundation’s staff can help you set up a scholarship fund to best suit your philanthropic goals. Since establishing the first scholarship fund in 1980, the Foundation has awarded nearly $5 million in scholarships.
FUND TYPES
Scholarship funds may be established as endowed or non-endowed.
Endowed Funds
may be established with a minimum contribution of $50,000. With an endowed fund, only the interest income earned may be used to award scholarships annually.
non Endowed Funds
may be established with a minimum contribution of $25,000. With a non-endowed scholarship, both the interest and principal can be used to award scholarships annually.
The first scholarship award from any newly established scholarship fund will be made no earlier than one year following establishment and full funding of the fund. The minimum scholarship award from any scholarship fund is $2,000 per year. Scholarship awards are paid directly to the institution where the student is enrolled and may be used for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for courses that comprise a specified program of study or degree plan, or for room and board expenses not to exceed the student’s cost of attendance, which is determined by the institution’s financial aid office.
Fund
Administration
1. The Scholarship Fund shall maintain a minimum balance not less than $5,000 for non-endowed scholarship fund (for funds opened after October 26, 2022). Scholarships will not be awarded in any year that the Fund balance falls below the amount needed to maintain the minimum balance plus the annual award(s).
2. Except where the Board directs otherwise, the Foundation will close a Scholarship Fund and transfer the fund balance to its General Scholarship Fund under the following circumstances:
a. When the Fund Balance falls below the minimum required balance ($5,000 for non-endowed scholarship funds) and there is no intent to contribute a new or planned gift to maintain the minimum required balance except for situations where the low balance is due to market conditions, or the intent is to spend down the fund and close the scholarship fund. For non-endowed funds whose balance falls below $5,000, Fund Advisors will be given six months to restore the balance of the fund.
b. When funds have been received but a Fund Agreement has not been fully executed and repeated attempts to reach the donor are unsuccessful.
c. When circumstances prevent the fulfillment of the donor’s charitable intent for three consecutive years and the donor (or the Board) elects not to amend the selection criteria to allow a broader pool of applicants.
Scholarship
Administration
The Foundation has an online general application form, which all newly established funds must use. The form is accessible through the Foundation’s website at www.amarilloareafoundation.org from mid-November through the application deadline, which is generally mid-February of each year.
Applicants are not required to be U.S. Citizens or Legal Permanent Residents, however, if you are a U.S. Citizen or Legal Permanent resident, you will be eligible for a larger range of scholarships. Applicants must also reside within the Foundation’s service area or the geographic area specified by the Scholarship Fund Agreement. Recipients will be selected on an objective and nondiscriminatory basis.
