We are pleased to announce a recent pledge gift of $500,000 to the Korean American Scholarship Foundation (KASF) from an anonymous donor, which is the largest gift KASF has received to date and in time to celebrate its 50th anniversary. With this gift, $300,000 will be used to award scholarships for our Northeastern Regional Chapter and $200,000 will be used to award the most qualified students from the pool of applicants from the rest of our regional chapters over the multi-year period.
Below is a personal statement from the donor regarding his decision to donate to KASF:
Why are we making a pledge to KASF?
First and foremost, it’s because my family believes in the importance of higher education and we want to help in meeting the financial needs of Korean American students seeking higher education. My family’s desire to do so is closely aligned with the mission of the Korean American Scholarship Foundation (KASF). KASF is well established and has nearly a 50-year history and an excellent reputation as the only nationally organized scholarship foundation which serves the under-resourced young Korean American students.
I had a firsthand opportunity to learn a lot more about KASF’s mission, its available resources, and scholarship allocation process by spending some time with the KASF National Board Chairman as well as NERC leadership and their young professional board members. And it is through my interactions and dialogues with them that I became impressed by their boundless passion, dedication, and service.
I realize that philanthropy is a very personal thing. Each person and each family have varied perspectives and goals on philanthropy. In case of my family, given my family’s own Korean heritage and given where we are in our life-cycles, we decided to make a lasting commitment to do what we can to help better and empower the lives of Korean Americans.
We genuinely want to see more Koreans do well, assimilate, and succeed in all professions so that over time, Koreans can become stronger as a group economically, culturally, and politically in this country. My family feels deeply honored and privileged to join the existing ranks of board of directors, volunteers, donors, and supporters of KASF, and we look forward to many years of fruitful association.