Establishing an Education Fund: The Brede-Wilkins Scholarship Story
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Scholarships are a powerful tool that can support students through their post-secondary education journey. As funding for tuition, scholarships, or Education Funds, lighten the financial load of attending college for many. However, scholarships can also create meaningful impact in other ways, from honoring a loved one to bridging generations to create a better future for all.
The Brede-Wilkins Scholarship Endowment Fund (BWS) at Central Florida Foundation is an excellent example of achieving multiple outcomes. With its roots deep within the Village on the Green (VOTG) retirement community in Longwood, Florida, BWS has awarded almost 2,000 scholarships totaling $3.8 million in the thirty-plus years of its existence.
Background
Scholarships, or grants that help to financially support a student’s education, have stood the test of time, with this type of funding having been around for centuries. From merit-based to needs-based awards and combinations of the two, every year, millions of students apply for this funding tool.
With scholarships, criteria for receiving an award must be established, which can manifest as broadly or narrowly as desired. The criteria set forth for BWS is niche: you must be a high-school student working as a server in the VOTG dining room. While very specific, this means that students applying for the scholarship know the residents, oftentimes the generous donors who make the scholarships possible, in one of the most intimate ways – over mealtimes at a dining room table.
It’s important to note that scholarship funds can manifest in many different ways. The BWS Fund at Central Florida Foundation is a great way to get to know and understand this type of philanthropy and the many positive outcomes that are possible.
Establishing an Education Fund: The Brede-Wilkins Scholarship Story
Getting Started
When establishing a philanthropic legacy, it’s easy to jump to desired outcomes. Those who want to give back often do so because they want to see a better life for future generations. However, we recommend starting with the why. Why are you wanting to give? What’s your motivation? That often helps steer the ship for a sustainable philanthropic journey.
Scholarships are no exception. So, why was the BWS established?
It started in the late 1980s with a brother and sister, Leonard O. Wilkins and Ellen H. Brede, and their dream of creating a meaningful bond with those who worked at their retirement community. There had been a time of discord between residents and the organization that ran the community itself. Mr. Wilkins wanted to repair any dissidence between these two sides, and “start living together as a family.”
That’s when the idea of a scholarship fund was introduced.
” [T]hat is what we want to do with this scholarship foundation, bringing us all together, working as a family, to make it possible for the hard-working, sensitive, and cheerful people who work here to be given the opportunity to further their education. The last time I addressed the Village on the Green family, I spoke of a dream. Well, believe me, dreams do come true,” shared Mr. Wilkins shortly after the establishment of the scholarship fund.
Therefore, BWS was born out of a desire to bring people together and bridge divides through the conduit of giving the gift of continuing education.
Making a Scholarship Sustainable
Oftentimes, an initial gift is what establishes a scholarship fund. In this case, Ms. Brede provided the initial gift of $200,000 and a trust was established. The trust, while being recognized as a 501(c)3, was also classified as a private foundation, with Mr. Wilkins being the trustee.
Private foundations offer the opportunity for complete control by the trustee, however, the administrative burden can be expansive, difficult, and sometimes expensive to navigate.
During this time, Mr. Wilkins developed detailed operating rules and procedures for the administration of the scholarship program. (These rules, while amended from time to time, are still in effect today.) He also recruited fellow residents to help him with the administrative burden of operating a scholarship program.
After the passing of Mr. Wilkins, trustees changed over time, including Wilkins’ family members and, eventually, a bank. The scholarship itself was carried on by a committee of dedicated residents.
A turning point didn’t happen overnight, but rather over many years. Frustrations over private foundations being subject to an excise tax, bank investment performance not meeting expectations, and a transfer to a different foundation, BWS looked elsewhere for a more sustainable, stable future that offered a personalized touch for their unique scholarship.
Central Florida Foundation (CFF) was selected by the BWS board in 2018 to be the new home of their scholarship fund. Initially, the Fund was non-endowed, meaning that it wasn’t a “forever” fund that would live with CFF in perpetuity. This was due to the board’s desire to evaluate the community foundation’s performance over a period of time. The next year, the BWS board made the decision to create an endowed scholarship fund.
In terms of philanthropic sustainability, endowment is the ultimate goal because an endowed fund lasts forever. Funds are conservatively invested while an annual payout amount is available for scholarships, therefore never depleting the fund. This approach allows an endowed Education Fund to continue to fuel the Fund’s founders’ mission for generations to come.
The Impact
With higher education tuition costs continuing to rise, scholarships are an impactful way to champion both education and future generations.
The BWS has been able to consistently award scholarships to hardworking students who have served the residents of VOTG in their dining room. One particular scholarship recipient, Naej Jean, is graduating from the University of Central Florida this spring and plans to continue her education in the field of geriatric medicine, in part inspired by her time working at the VOTG dining room.
While the Brede Wilkins scholarship has funded a part of her undergraduate tuition, the impact goes far deeper than dollars.
“I witnessed firsthand the effects of COVID on the most vulnerable population while working at Village on the Green retirement community center. This experience has fueled my passion in pursuing a degree in Medicine and specializing in Geriatrics. I want to follow in the footsteps of our leaders and invest my time, energy, and financial resources into making our community a better place,” said Ms. Jean during a recent Central Florida Foundation 30th Anniversary Celebration.
“I witnessed firsthand the effects of COVID on the most vulnerable population while working at Village on the Green retirement community center. This experience has fueled my passion in pursuing a degree in Medicine and specializing in Geriatrics. I want to follow in the footsteps of our leaders and invest my time, energy, and financial resources into making our community a better place,” said Ms. Jean during a recent Central Florida Foundation 30th Anniversary Celebration.
As Mr. Wilkins had dreamed about more than 35 years ago, a family has been established at this retirement community well beyond the residents. The experience of being a VOTG server while in high school not only opened up the opportunity for a scholarship to further Ms. Jean’s education, but also created a meaningful experience that has shaped what her future will hold.
Additionally, the BWS board has welcomed its very first member who was also a BWS recipient, again showcasing the family that has been created that transcends generations.
The Role of the Community Foundation
For the past six years, Central Florida Foundation has been the steward of the Brede Wilkins Scholarship Fund. In that time, CFF and the BWS board developed a partnership that reflects the unique scholarship program and the people who are a part of it. From finding ways to engage existing and new donors and providing administrative support, to providing the board with charitable giving advice, CFF prides itself on offering a personalized and professional partnership in the Brede Wilkins Scholarship program.
Just this past year, the Brede Wilkins Scholarship Fund was able to award $94,500 in scholarships to VOTG high school team members.
The Takeaway
Looking at the Brede Wilkins Scholarship story, scholarships can be understood on a deeper level than dollars. While funding tuition is a direct positive outcome, it’s not the only one.
Creating a scholarship starts with a why. Why are you thinking of establishing an education fund? For Mr. Wilkins, it came from a place of a desire for connection in his retirement community. He hoped for a family-like environment, and through his and his sister’s generous contributions and a resolve to achieve this desire, he was able to see their dream come true.
While Mr. Wilkins and Ms. Brede are no longer with us, their dream stays alive with people like Naej Jean, who will never meet these two philanthropists, but carry their spirit into her budding medical career and belief in giving back.
“I urge you to consider the importance of investing in the generations to come,” shares Ms. Jean. “Just as the past invested in us, we must pay it forward, ensuring that the cycle of support and opportunity remains unbroken. We are the future, but we should also recognize that one day, we too will become part of the past.”
Through a scholarship, a younger generation is being inspired to consider and care for not only future generations but also those who came before them.
Scholarships pay tuition, but maybe we can also look at this type of philanthropy as a bridge builder. Bridging together generations, walks of life, and ways of thinking to help us remember that we are more alike than different.
Now that is a powerful giving tool.
For more information on CFF scholarships, click here.
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