Guardian Scholars Foundation Information

The Guardian Scholars Foundation provides a comprehensive program that leverages the expertise and resources of both the public and private sector to create a synergy of support for youth who have spent time in the foster care system in Iowa between the ages of 14-18. A Guardian Scholarship is more than a scholarship: together, a network of academic institutions and community organizations, public service agencies, and private citizens create a community dedicated to assisting the qualified and motivated foster youth in achieving their educational goals. The Guardian Scholars Foundation works with the Department of Human Services to locate young adults who have spent time in the foster care system between the ages of 14-18 and wish to attend college. The program helps to facilitate their dreams by working with the host college to create a support system of administration, professors, and financial aid associates ready to work with the academic inequality and financial instability that often accompany an individual from the foster system. The goal of the guardian scholars program is to provide paid tuition, room and board, and a stipend for textbooks for each scholar by giving up to $8,000 per year in addition to state and federal assistance and supplements from the host university.