Charitable giving, in the form of supporting scholarships is one way that clubs and affiliates tie their activities and impact back to the University. Many already have a number of scholarships that they raise funds for. For details about which scholarships currently exist, it is best to visit the University’s Office of Financial Aid’s Leaders & Best site.

If a club or affiliate group would like to establish a scholarship fund, there are certain elements that must be considered before moving forward with the fund’s creation. Establishing new scholarship funds through the Office of Financial Aid requires minimum dollar amounts depending on the type of fund. At this time, the Association will not accept pledge commitments from Alumni clubs/affiliates.

If a club or affiliate has existing funds available to establish an endowment (typically $50,000-$100,000 depending on purpose) or expendable funds (typically $20,000-$40,000 depending on purpose), the club or affiliate board may request a meeting with an Alumni Association development officer to explore new fund options available at that time. For ideas on what types of scholarships other clubs or affiliates offer, please click here.

Scholarship Fund Types

Clubs/affiliates have two types of scholarship funds with U-M’s Office of Financial Aid:

• An endowed scholarship fund requires a starting minimum of $50,000 (no pledges).
• An expendable scholarship fund requires a minimum of $10,000.

An endowed fund buys into the University endowment. A club/affiliate’s endowed fund is invested in perpetuity, and only the interest from the fund is able to be used for scholarship awards. Interest earned from endowed funds is distributed quarterly to corresponding expendable scholarship funds. Donations made to a club/affiliate’s endowed fund provide a long-term impact, as only interest from the fund may be awarded to qualifying students.

An expendable fund does not buy into the University’s endowment. Donations to a club/affiliate’s expendable fund provide short-term impact, as the entire fund may be awarded immediately to qualifying students.