Establishing a scholarship that benefits Melrose High School students for decades to come is a way to create a permanent memory of a loved one or a special event. There are three options for establishing a named scholarship:

One-Time Award
An award is defined to be given one time and is funded before the award is made. The deadline for defining and funding a one-time award is February 10th for the following June graduation. All of the funds are given for that year’s scholarship and no funds are held back. This option does not earn any interest or dividends.

Defined Annual Fund
An amount is delivered to the scholarship fund by February 10th with instructions on how the funds are to be dispersed over a 2 to 3-year period. At the end of the defined period, no funds will remain unless new funding is received. This option does not earn any interest or dividends.

Permanently Endowed Named Fund
The minimum for a permanent fund is $10,000 and this type of fund will earn interest and dividends that are designed to fund an annual award in perpetuity.  The donations given to underwrite a Permanent Scholarship Fund are permanently invested in the Scholarship Fund’s financial portfolio. Annual earned interest, dividends, and calculated asses gains are allocated on a prorated basis back to the permanent scholarship funds, after expenses, to help determine the amount available for annual awards.  Any earnings in excess of the award are kept with individual permanent scholarships to fund growth. At times the Fund may elect to adjust the allocation ratios based on expectations of the future performance of its financial portfolio.