Establishing A Scholarship Fund | Alumni Association of the University of Michigan                       

The Association recommends that club scholarship funds with more than  $10,000 be administered by U-M's Office of Financial Aid (OFA). If your club wishes to establish a scholarship fund with OFA, please contact Samantha Sugiyama, AAUM’s Development Generalist & Club Leader Liaison, at [email protected].

Endowed vs. Expendable Accounts

Clubs may establish two types of scholarship funds with U-M's Office of Financial Aid:

• An endowed scholarship fund, which requires a minimum of $50,000.
• An expendable scholarship fund, which requires a minimum of $10,000.

An endowed fund buys into the University endowment. A club'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 are distributed quarterly to corresponding expendable scholarship funds. Donations made to a club'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 endowment. Donations to a club's expendable fund provide short-term impact, as the entire fund may be awarded immediately to qualifying students.