FUTURE [CONTINUED FROM PAGE 59]
Loan recipients automatically are considered for the Designated Scholar Program. This program replaces the $5,500 interest-free loan with a $5,000 interest-free loan and a $500 grant.
Current loan recipients in their final year of college are eligible for senior grants. General John Paul Ratay Educational Fund Grants are $4,000 grants limited to children of a surviving spouse of a retired officer. (Students cannot receive both a MOAA Scholarship Fund interest-free loan and a Ratay grant.)
Success by the numbers
For the 2012-13 academic year, the MOAA Scholarship Fund provided more than $9 million in assistance to 1,600 students.
“Those who receive interest-free loans pay them back with less than a 1-percent default rate, enabling that money to be used again for other students, in a true cycle of financial life support,” says O’Brien. However, he says, “the last couple of years have been economically challenging for everyone, and the MOAA Scholarship Fund is no exception. Though bequests have been up, our donations are lagging behind. We could definitely use a boost in that area.… Donations of $15, $25, or $50 add up quickly and make a big difference, and those donations are greatly appreciated.”
There are many reasons to contribute to the MOAA Scholarship Fund. Here are a few to consider:
■ Your contributions are tax-deductible. Talk to your financial advisor for details. Your donation helps children of all ranks, officer and enlisted.
■ Your donation goes to students and not toward operational costs. MOAA pays the overhead costs with other monies.
■ Your personal information is never given or sold to other charities.
■ Your donation, regardless of its size, makes a big difference.
■ Your donation is one way you can show the military community takes care of its own, even in trying times.
“The MOAA Scholarship Fund has assisted a lot of students thanks to member support, but there is real need to do more,” O’Brien says. “We are only able to assist about 30 to 50 percent of those who apply for educational assistance.”
The bottom line: the MOAA Scholarship Fund wants to help more students, and we need your help to make that happen. Please visit
www.moaa.org/donatenow.
MO
— Janet Farley is the author of The Military Spouse’s Guide to Employment: Smart Job Choices for Mobile Lifestyles (Impact Pubs, 2012) and Quick Military Transition Guide: Seven Steps to Landing a Civilian Job (Jist Inc., 2012).
Additional Resources
The MOAA Scholarship Fund web-site,
www.moaa.org/scholarshipfund, includes links on how to donate.
Apply to the scholarship fund’s educational assistance program online from Nov. 1 to March 1 at
www.moaa.org/education.
Find additional sources of funding using the scholarship search engine at
www.moaa.org/scholarshipfinder.
You Can Make a Difference
Make a positive difference today by donating to the MOAA Scholarship Fund at
www.moaa.org/donatenow. To discuss your donation or set up a scholarship in someone’s name, please contact Scholarship Program Development Director Rose McDermott at
rosem@moaa.org or (800) 234-6622, ext. 169.
74 MILITARY OFFICER DECEMBER 2012
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