The Fund was founded on April 30, 1968, by then Alumni Association President Leonard F. Knobbs, '53, to award tuition assistance grants to graduating seniors from NECHS to attend Allentown College of St. Francis deSales (now deSales University). The Fund was granted Articles of Incorporation by Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Griffiths on January 22, 1969. On February 13, the IRS granted the Fund tax exempt status as a charitable organization. The Fund is administered by a Board of Trustees consisting of all past presidents of Northeast Catholic Alumni Association, Inc. In 1973, the Board of Trustees expanded the number of colleges to also include LaSalle, St. Joseph's, Villanova, and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. A major change was enacted in 1977 when the Trustees established grants to be awarded to the son/daughter of a dues paying alumnus to attend one of the approved colleges and a grant was established to partially underwrite the tuition of a Freshmen entering Northeast Catholic High School. Over the years, the number of tuition assistance grants and their annual value was increased until in 1992 the Fund was awarding $106,000 annually to four college students and twenty-one Northeast Catholic students. Faced with the threatened closure of Northeast Catholic, the Board of Trustees responded by suspending future college grants and increasing the number of tuition assistance grants awarded to incoming Freshmen at NECHS to 57 with an annual value of $165,000. By 2008, the Trustees had increased the value of the grants being awarded to $250,000 annually to incoming Freshmen at NECHS. With the closure of Northeast Catholic High School in 2010, the Board of Trustees made the following changes. Grants would be awarded to the children and grandchildren of dues paying members of the Alumni Association. In 2010, the grants were valued at $250,500 annually. In 2013, the grants were increased to $261,000 annually; and in 2016 to $300,000 annually. Commencing with the grants awarded in 2018, $500,000 in grants were awarded as follows: Four grants of $32,000 each to attend specific universities/colleges; Five grants of $20,000 each, five grants of $16,000 each, five grants of $12,000 each, and five grants of $8,000 each to attend specific high schools; and three grants of $9,000 each, four grants of $6,000 each, and three grants of $3,000 each to attend specific parochial grade schools. For complete details on the schools and eligibility requirements go to the News page. The Scholarship Fund evolved again in 2022. Scholarships will be offered to children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren of current dues paying members of the Northeast Catholic Alumni Association. Furthermore, as of 2023, these grants now include Catholic Elementary and High Schools in the boundaries of the Philadelphia, Camden, and Trenton Dioceses. In addition to Diocesan schools, this includes Private Catholic Elementary, Regional Catholic Schools and Independent Catholic Mission Schools in these Dioceses. The college grants are limited to 4-year programs at any Catholic Colleges and Universities in Philadelphia, Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery, and Chester counties of Pennsylvania, with the only exception being DeSales University in Center Valley, PA, an Oblates of St Francis de Sales run institution. The complete list of eligible colleges and universities are: Cabrini College – Radnor, PA, Chestnut Hill College – Philadelphia, PA, DeSales University – Center Valley, PA, Gwynedd-Mercy College – Gwynedd Valley, PA, Holy Family University – Philadelphia, PA, Immaculata University – Immaculata, PA, La Salle University – Philadelphia, PA, Manor College – Jenkintown, PA, Neumann University – Aston, PA, Rosemont College of the Holy Child Jesus – Rosemont, PA, Saint Joseph University – Philadelphia, PA, Villanova University – Villanova, PA The college and high school grants are payable over four years in equal semi-annual installments and the grade school grants over three years in equal semi-annual installments directly to the institution on the students' behalf. Since its inception, the Fund has expended in excess of $6.3 million in helping young men and women further their Catholic education. The bulk of this, over $3.16 million went to underwrite tuition for students at Northeast Catholic High School. Among the other Catholic educational institutions that have been major recipients are: LaSalle, Holy Family, DeSales, and St. Joseph Universities; Roman Catholic, Father Judge, Little Flower, and Archbishop Ryan High Schools; and Our Lady of Port Richmond, St. Cecilia, St. Christopher, and St. Jerome parochial grade schools. Students at eleven colleges, twenty-one high schools, and forty-one parochial grade schools in the Philadelphia, Camden, and Trenton Dioceses have received tuition assistance. Tax deductible donations may be sent to the Fund at P. 0. Box 7005, Philadelphia, PA 19149-0005.