Create Your Own Scholarship
Pay it forward. Sponsor an American Muslim student pursuing a degree in media, film, law, or policy.
With ISF's Create Your Own Scholarship program, you can establish a scholarship in honor of your family, company, university, or organization, without any of the heavy legal and administrative paperwork.
Was the key to your success your education and/or the support of a mentor or friend? Create a scholarship in your name and provide the same opportunity for an accomplished scholar improving the world for American Muslims and marginalized populations.
WHY WOULD I ESTABLISH A SCHOLARSHIP?
Support Education
Directly support young American Muslims who are changing the narrative about Islam.
Honor a Loved One
Gift a family member or loved one who impacted your education and career with a scholarship established in their name.
Establish a Memorial
Honor a parent, child, or loved one who was passionate about social justice, education, and paying it forward.
Involve Your Business
Show the community that your company cares. Establish a scholarship in honor of your business or organization.
Recognize a Community Member
Demonstrate your gratitude to an individual (imam, teacher, volunteer leader, etc.) who made a big impact in your life.
Establish a Sadiqa Jariya
Establish an ongoing charity for yourself or a loved one to make a lasting and significant impact in this lifetime and the next.
Build a Better Country
Do your part to ensure your children and the next generation live in a more equitable and just world.
Support Change in Policy
Fund policy students pursuing their education and career in government, law, or policy to increase American Muslim representation where it matters most.
Support Change in Film
Increase representation of American Muslims in film and television to create more accurate and less damaging portrayals of our community.
Support Change in Media
Decrease the harm created by inaccurate reporting by supporting scholars who are changing the narrative.
HOW DOES THE PROCESS WORK?
STEP ONE: SELECT AN ISF PROGRAM
Select an ISF field to sponsor: media/journalism, law, or public policy/government. Then, choose Option A. or Option B. from the following list:
A. Annual Scholarship(s)
- Sponsor an annual scholarship
- Minimum amount for scholarship sponsorship is $3,000
- Law scholarships start at $5,000
B. Endowment + Scholarship
Option 1:
During the first year, sponsor a scholarship in an amount greater than or equal to $3,000. In the second year and years following, your financial contribution will be split: 50% of the annual funds will be awarded to scholars and 50% will be invested in ISF's Endowment Fund.
Option 2:
Create your own legacy through ISF's Endowment Fund. The minimum contribution to initiate an endowment is $50,000. Your scholarship(s) will be awarded after the first year upon accumulation of investment funds.
STEP TWO: CUSTOMIZE AMOUNT
Select the amount you'd like your scholarship to be:
Scholarships range from $3,000-$10,000
Law scholarships begin at $5,000
Minimum endowment funds are $50,000
STEP THREE: NAME SCHOLARSHIP
What will you name your scholarship? Choose to name it after yourself or in honor of another person, family member, loved one, or organization. Examples include: The ISF Khan Scholarship or The ISF Masjid al-Haram Scholarship.
STEP FOUR: DEFINE CRITERIA
While ISF typically selects the field and region/school of our scholars based on our incoming applicant pool, if you'd prefer, you can help us define the following:
Scholarship Field: Donors can select a specific ISF-supported major for your sponsored scholarship (e.g. The ISF Khan Journalism Scholarship).
Scholarship Region: Donors can choose a region where you'd like to award your scholarship (e.g. The ISF-Khan Greater Boston Region Scholarship).
STEP FIVE: SELECT PAYMENT PLAN
Select from the following payment options, depending on what works best for you or your company/organization:
A. Pay in one installment
- Scholarships: Pay in full with one installment on May 1st of each year.
- Endowment: Pay as soon as you can to increase the investment funds. Please contact us for more information to set up your fund.
B. Select installment payments
We offer various payment options to make scholarship sponsorship convenient and affordable. Please contact us for more information about how to schedule your installment payments.
C. Raise donations from friends and family
ISF will collect funds from donors and provide tax deductible receipts. We can discuss this on our introductory call.
Schedule Call
I would like to schedule a meeting with ISF's Director to discuss how to create my scholarship.
Get Started
I'm ready to go! Please take me to the donation form to establish my scholarship.
Other Ways to Give
I'm not ready to create a scholarship, but would like to give to ISF.