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USA Funds, the nation’s leading education loan guarantor, has announced the award of $500,000 to five national scholarship organizations that promote access to higher education for minority students. Each organization received $100,000 to support its scholarship programs.

For the ninth consecutive year, USA Funds has awarded funds to the American Indian College Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the United Negro College Fund. For the third consecutive year, USA Funds also has awarded funds to the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund.

“Scholarships like the ones supported by USA Funds provide the critical link for students to succeed in higher education,” said APIASF President and Executive Director Neil Horikoshi. “Each scholarship not only changes the life of a deserving student, it contributes to a stronger America.”

During the past nine years, USA Funds has awarded more than $3 million to national scholarship organizations that promote higher education access for minority students.

“These organizations are successfully making a difference in the lives of the students they serve by helping them realize their dreams of postsecondary education,” said Robert C. Ballard, USA Funds senior vice president, program and corporate development. “In keeping with USA Funds’ nonprofit mission to enhance access to higher education, we are pleased to support these organizations and their scholarship programs.”