Scholarships and Endowments

Establish a new scholarship or endowment

If you would like to establish a scholarship or endowment fund, our Executive Director, Melissa Woinarowicz, would love to have the opportunity to sit down with you and walk you through the process.  Please contact her at any of the contact options listed below.

What are the guidelines for establishing a new scholarship or endowment?

A new scholarship or endowment may be established at the level of $5,000. A scholarship that is established and has less than $5,000 can be deposited in the Sacred Heart Scholarship Fund and given as a one-time scholarship or kept in a named fund until it reaches $5,000 after which it will be disbursed on a yearly basis according to the criteria guidelines set forth when the scholarship was established.

How do we donate to an established scholarship or endowment?

Gifts can be added to a scholarship or endowment at any time, by any person. If a gift is donated by someone other than the establishing individual/s, the donator will receive an acknowledgment.

The establishing individual/s will receive a notification each year indicating the fund balance and will also receive a thank-you letter from the student/s awarded a scholarship.

How are scholarships awarded?

Recipients are determined by Sacred Heart Administration according to IRS mandated acceptable charitable contributions. Scholarship sponsors may not specify scholarship recipients oand may not benefit from or expect to receive a benefit from any contribution to the scholarship fund. The scholarship award recipient will be notified through the mail in early summer.

Recipient criteria chosen by the establishing individual/s may include: where the student is from (parish or location), the grade level of the student, whether the scholarship is need-based or academically based and the number of recipients to receive the scholarship each year. The establishing individual/s will also indicated preference for yearly distributions: 4% of the total interest or a lump-sum amount.

The Sacred Heart Foundation will give the establishing individual/s a certificate of the scholarship indicating the name of the scholarship and the criteria determined at the time the scholarship was established.

What if I want to make changes to my scholarship or endowment? 

Changes can be made to the scholarship or endowment at any time during the life of the scholarship by submitting an Addendum Form. (ex: an addition of a name to the fund after a family member has passed, number of recipients that may receive the scholarship each year)