The NJSCPA Scholarship Fund:
A CPA's Personal Story
In the last 51 years, the NJSCPA Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $3 million and to more than 1,500 aspiring CPAs. The numbers are so overwhelming that sometimes we overlook the personal stories behind the statistics. To illustrate the Scholarship Fund’s profound impact on students, NJSCPA member and Scholarship Fund President Brent Ashton, CPA, shares in an open letter to the Fund how his scholarship impacted his life the past 20 years, both professionally and personally.
Established in the 1960s, the New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJSCPA) Scholarship Fund has grown to become the largest professional scholarship program in New Jersey. When the program was launched, the NJSCPA awarded $25 bonds to high-scoring students who sat for the CPA Exam.
The mission of the Scholarship Fund is to attract the best and the brightest of New Jersey students into the accounting profession; to encourage students from diverse fields to pursue an advanced education in accountancy; and, to increase awareness about the opportunities provided by a CPA career path.
Over the course of its existence, the fund has supported more than 1,400 New Jersey students totaling more than $3.1 million in awards. The fund has helped to increase the number of both minorities and women who enter the profession, and many students have been first-generation college students, the first to attend college in their families.
Why Contribute?
The cost of college education is increasing. Universities and nonprofit organizations are cutting back in their giving. The availability of private or alternative education loans is hindered by more stringent regulations on lending. Amidst this instability, the Scholarship Fund trustees believe that accounting students need alternatives to educational loans - now more than ever.
Who Benefits?
Your contributions to the fund mean more talented students have the opportunity to pursue a CPA career as tuition rises and funding opportunities diminish. Ultimately, this means more potential recruits - more CPA talent to continue to serve New Jersey firms and businesses effectively.
>> CONTRIBUTE TO THE SCHOLARSHIP FUND << Thank you to last year's contributors!
Get to know some of our scholarship recipients: