Why Minority Scholarships?

So why, exactly, does an Internet advertising agency give minority scholarships? Good question. Here’s the answer.

Since 2003, StraightForward Media has executed all its charitable giving exclusively through college scholarships. In 2003, we began awarding the Dale E. Fridell Memorial Scholarship, the Recession Relief Scholarship and the Mesothelioma Memorial Scholarship. As years pass and our charitable giving increases, we create new scholarships for different types of students. In 2004, we added the Nursing School Scholarships and Teacher Scholarships.

That we believe in investing in young people (and not-so-young people returning to school) is the primary reason we’ve chosen college scholarships as our preferred vehicle of philanthropy. But it’s not the only reason. In addition to helping deserving students make it through college, we’ve also discovered some of our best interns and translators through our scholarship programs.

Lastly, we also find scholarships to be an excellent way to memorialize those we love. Our first scholarship, the Dale E. Fridell Memorial, is named after my late grandfather, whose biography is available on the scholarship site that bears his name. Since the scholarship’s inception, my family and I have received hundreds of warm emails from families worldwide who have read that biography and found inspiration in his life, and later, his struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

And as before, we’re committed to a corresponding increase in our charitable giving, and that means more scholarships. In 2005, we launched our Medical Professions Scholarships and Minority Scholarships. We’ve also increased both the amount and frequency of the Dale E. Fridell Memorial. It’s now a quarterly scholarship, and the award is $1,000 per quarter.

And there you have it — we give scholarships because you benefit, we benefit, and so does everyone else. Now, enough talk. It’s time to go apply, don’t you think?

Best regards,
Joshua D. Barsch
Chief Executive Officer