After granting scholarships every year since 1993 under the auspices of the Bergen County Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce, the 501 (c) (3) non-profit status was finally approved in 1998 and the Scholarship Foundation of the BCHACC was born. The name was legally changed in 2004 to The Hispanic Business Council Scholarship Foundation of New Jersey, Inc. (“HBCSF”), to reflect the Foundation’s expanded reach to high school seniors and current college students who are residents in every county in the State of New Jersey, not just Northern New Jersey.

Such resident status does not preclude from attending out of state colleges . Through the years, checks have been made payable to Rutgers University and other New Jersey colleges as well as Pace, NYU, Cornell, University of Virginia, Trinity College, etc. During the course of 16 years, from 1993 through 2008, the HBCSF, has granted approximately $225,000 to more than 85 students. The foundation started by granting a one-time $1,000 award to each student. Since students are eligible to apply every year as long as they meet the scholarship criteria, the foundation has granted up to $8,000 to several students.

The HBC Scholarship Foundation does not have a paid staff. The trustees volunteer their time and expertise and are responsible for raising funds, disseminating the scholarship applications to high schools and colleges, reviewing applications, interviewing students and disbursing the funds directly to the colleges on behalf of the students. The reward for HBCSF trustees is knowing that they have helped a student achieve his or her goal of attaining a college education. Ultimately, the goal of the HBC Scholarship Foundation is to have the recipients of these scholarships “pay it forward” by taking an active role in the foundation to help others make their college dreams come true.