Program Structure

With a generous grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gates Millennium Scholars program was established in 1999. It partnered up with four different organizations which includes the American Indian Gradute Center Scholars (AIGCS), Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF), Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). With these four groups, the GMS program is able to extend their reach out to many more students.

The GMS program is administered by the UNCF, which is based in Fairfax, VA; the AIGCS is based in Alburquerque, NM; the APIASF is based in Washington DC; while the HSF is based in San Francisco, CA. Each of the four organizations have their own scholarships and resources as well. Below is more information on each of these fantastic groups.

United Negro College Fund (UNCF)
As the nation’s oldest and most successful minority higher education assistance organization, the United Negro College Fund’s mission is to provide financial support to its 39 member institutions and increase minority degree attainment by reducing financial barriers to college. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 25 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 300 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship programs, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 65,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country.

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF)
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) is the nation's leading organization supporting Hispanic higher education. HSF was founded in 1975 with a vision of strengthening the country by advancing college education among Hispanic Americans-the largest minority segment of the U.S. population. In support of its mission to double the rate of Hispanics earning college degrees, HSF provides the Latino community with more college scholarships and educational outreach support than any other organization in the country. Headquartered in San Francisco, HSF has opened regional offices in Southern California, the Southwest, the Southeast, the Northeast and the Midwest. In addition, HSF launched the Washington, D.C.-based Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute to create public partnerships in support of its work. During its 31-year history, HSF has awarded more than 78,000 scholarships totaling $195 million to Latinos from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. HSF scholars have attended more than 1,700 colleges and universities.

The American Indian Graduate Center Scholars (AIGC)
The American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC), a non-profit organization, was established in 1969. Founders Robert L. Bennett (Wisconsin Oneida) and John C. Rainer (Taos Pueblo) created a program to assist American Indian college graduates to continue their education at the masters, doctorate and professional degree level. AIGC was founded to help open doors to graduate education for American Indians and to help tribes obtain the educated Indian professionals they need to become more self-sufficient and to exercise their rights to self-determination.

The Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF)
The Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF) is based in Washington, DC, and is the country’s largest non-profit organization devoted solely to providing scholarships for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. Since its formation in 2003, APIASF has distributed more than $730,000 in one-time scholarships to high-school students in the United States, the Freely Associated States and the United States Territories who are entering college for the first time. APIASF is also the administrator of the Gates Millennium Scholars/APIA, which provides outstanding low-income Asian and Pacific Islander American students with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline they choose. Supporters of APIASF include members of the general public and a wide spectrum of community and professional leaders, organizations and corporations.

(www.gmsp.org)