How are students selected to receive a scholarship?
Scholarship applications will be reviewed by a selection committee appointed by the Mutual Insurance Foundation Board of Trustees. The committee will review all student application information, including eligibility, essays, transcripts, recommendation letters, and other materials provided as part of the application process. Recommendations for scholarship recipients will be made by the selection committee to the Mutual Insurance Foundation Board of Trustees. The application process opens to students on November 1, 2023, and all applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EDT on January 31, 2024. Selection committee review will commence and decisions will be made by the end of May, with award recipients notified by mail by June 2024.
My company already has an existing relationship with a college/university in our area. How do I know if my school is included among the Foundation’s list of schools?
The NMIF works to ensure all colleges and universities offering an insurance/risk management degree are in our database. Please feel free to reach out to us to learn if a specific college/university is on our list.
Will 100 percent of my contribution go to selected student(s)?
Yes, 100 percent of all contributions made directly to the scholarship fund will go toward funding the scholarships awarded. Administration costs for the scholarship program are raised or provided through other means.
Can I direct my contribution to a specific student?
Unfortunately, contributors are not allowed to name specific recipients for their donations. That’s because donors cannot take a charitable deduction for a scholarship that is earmarked for the benefit of a specific individual, not even if that individual is unrelated to the donor. (*See info below)
Can I donate to the NMIF Scholarship Program in memory of a former CEO or other company dignitary and, if so, how would that be recognized?
Yes, donations can be given in honor or memory of another individual. The donation will be listed on NMIF’s website donor page accordingly. For the name to be applied to the scholarship award itself the amount donated would need to meet the requirements for named-scholarship awards.
I would prefer to direct my donation to a specific school. Is that possible?
Yes, however, the potential opportunity to identify a specific school is only available for donations of at least $5,000. We will make every effort to honor your preference, but for that to occur, at least one student from your preferred school must be selected as a scholarship recipient, based on his/her qualifications and in compliance with all applicable selection criteria for tax deductible fund programs. If no student applies from the preferred school or no student is selected as a recipient, your donation will be applied to the general Mutual Insurance Foundation Scholarship pool. If you are committed to the certainty of a scholarship award to a specific college or university, we recommend you contact the institution to learn how you can contribute directly.
How can I or my company make a donation?
Contributing is easy. Just click on the DONATE button. There you can specify whether you’d like to contribute as an individual or on behalf of your company. Simply fill out the form and you’ll be given the option to donate online via credit card. If you choose to pay by check, you will be directed to mail the check to the NAMIC address provided on the form.
Whom do I contact for additional information?
Should you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to info@namicmutualfoundation.org. A member of the Foundation staff will respond promptly.
*A charitable class must be sufficiently large and indefinite so that assisting members of the charitable class benefits the community as a whole. Earmarking scholarships to help a particular pre-selected student would violate this requirement. The donor of a scholarship cannot take a charitable deduction for a scholarship earmarked for the benefit of a specific individual, not even if that individual is unrelated to the donor. Moreover, donors may not circumvent this restriction by tightly delineating the selection criteria. Examples of valid charitable classes include 9/11 victims, lower income students, female students, students graduating in the top 10 percent of their class, all graduating seniors of a particular school, and even baton twirlers. Each of these examples is broad and indefinite.
Explanations and examples of tax treatment of donations provided on this website have been prepared for informational purposes only, and are not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors regarding charitable donations.