ScholarMatch is a

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

-based nonprofit organization that connects donors with prospective college students in order for them to help fund students' education.

History

ScholarMatch was launched in April 2010 by writer and philanthropist

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. His 2000 memoir, '' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'', became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is a ...

826 Valencia 826 Valencia is a non-profit organization in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, United States, dedicated to helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. It was ...

, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center in San Francisco that Eggers founded with teacher

Nínive Clements Calegari Nínive Clements Calegari is an educator in the United States. Following ten years of classroom experience in public schools, she became an author and founded a national literacy program, 826 National. She also founded The Teacher Salary Project. Cu ...

, grants four scholarships per year to local students, but each year, "the other 100 applicants would go wanting," Eggers said in a press release about ScholarMatch. Thinking that many donors are more likely to fund the college aspirations of students if they get to know those students, and if there is a way to stay connected to those students once they’re enrolled, Eggers founded ScholarMatch as a "new tool," for directing available money to students in need. , 34 scholars registered with ScholarMatch had their scholarship goals met, either entirely through ScholarMatch or in partnership with other organizations. Such celebrities as novelist

Ayelet Waldman Ayelet Waldman (; born December 11, 1964) is an Israeli-American novelist and essayist. She has written seven mystery novels in the series ''The Mommy-Track Mysteries'' and four other novels. She has also written autobiographical essays about mot ...

and actor

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-w ...

have donated to scholars, as have

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

and the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation.

Infrastructure

ScholarMatch operates a website and as a drop-in center at 849 Valencia Street. The website is geared toward students, which the organization calls "scholars," as well as potential donors. Scholars submit profiles that include information such as high school extracurricular activities, grade-point average, and the college they plan to attend. No profile is published without an edited personal statement and at least one letter of recommendation. Once a profile is published on the website, anyone registered with ScholarMatch can view it and donate. Donors are sent updates from the scholars they helped, and have the opportunity to meet them. At the drop-in center, scholars can use one of the computers to submit a profile, review their financial aid package, or ask questions about college. Just as 826 Valencia had to negotiate zoning codes during its inception, ScholarMatch needed to be a retail space in order to operate out of their building; thus, college guide books, test-preparation manuals and other educational resources are for sale. Further, the staff at ScholarMatch, including director of operations Miel Alegre, host workshops that help students apply for college, understand their financial aid packages and complete ScholarMatch profiles.Where College Dreams Find Funds
/ref>

References

{{Dave Eggers, state=expanded 826 National Mission District, San Francisco Educational organizations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area Organizations based in San Francisco 2010 establishments in California