How do you start a scholarship fund?

Question

What is the process? Is there certain paperwork that has to be done? I want it to be a scholarship fund for my family. We would basically award those students in our family that are about to go to college.

Answer 1

You would need lots and lots of money and a drivers license and social security number to start a savings account.  

I would be sure to list the savings account to say Mr. XX AND Mrs.  XX AND Mr. XYZ  so there has to be consensus (not the word OR between the names) so there has to be consensus of who the money gets distributed to and one person can't give ALL the money to their kid.

Personally I would keep any schools or foundations out of it so you and those interested parties in the family has control over the money and where it goes and to what schools they want.

Answer 2

Each scholarship provider has different requirements. Maybe you can go to

http://www.all-about-scholarship.com

it's about scholarships information.

Good luck

Answer 3

You meet with someone from the school to start the process. Depending on the school, this would be an administrator, someone from the judiciary or a Financial Aid Officer to begin with. Setting up a fund is a legal as well as financial matter.

You may endow funds, say for your children to go to school and stipulate that they would be the first to receive "scholarship." You would then have to set up criteria (even if it was "as the school deems") for future recipients.

You must set up a fund that lives on past the enrollment of your family members. You can't set up a "scholarship" fund that lasts only as long as it takes the last family member to graduate and then discontinue the fund.

The fund has to be endowed, have substance and be funded into perpetuity, generally speaking.