Korean American Scholarship

What Korean American Scholarship does

The Korean American Scholarship Foundation (KASF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, volunteer-managed organization founded in 1969 in Washington, D.C. to provide need- and merit-based scholarships to Korean American students pursuing higher education in the United States. KASF operates through seven regional chapters (Eastern, Midwestern, Mountain States, Northeastern, Southern, Southwestern, and Western) that collectively cover all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, with each chapter independently raising funds, managing educational and cultural programs, and awarding scholarships. The foundation has disbursed over $14.1 million to more than 8,400 students since inception, with recent annual disbursements of approximately $775,000 to roughly 400 students (2021 baseline).

KASF's core products include General Scholarships ($500-$5,000 per recipient), Chair Scholarships (perpetual awards funded by $30,000+ donations yielding up to $1,000 annually in perpetuity), Designated Scholarships ($2,500+ annual contributions for specific academic fields), the KASF-KIA Partnership Scholarship for STEM and Business Administration majors, and Korean War Veteran Descendant (KWVD) Scholarships. The underlying technology stack is composed of third-party SaaS tools: SmarterSelect for online scholarship application processing, Club Express for chapter content management, Stripe and Zelle for donation processing (including the Small Gifts. Big Dreams. monthly recurring micro-giving campaign), and Google Forms for ancillary programs such as the internship application. A public-facing scholarship statistics dashboard and family income level analytics page provide descriptive reporting on recipient demographics from 2020-2024.

The business model is donation-driven: revenue streams include individual and corporate donations, endowed Chair Scholarships, membership dues, regional fundraising events, micro-recurring donations, and investment income from a ~$6M endowment managed by TIAA Financial Services. KASF is led by a volunteer Board of Directors with Henry Choi as the 2025-2026 National Board Chairperson and Michelle Cho as Executive Director. Notable corporate partners include Kia America (Official Partner since 2020, $300K scholarship program established 2021), as well as historical relationships with Samsung, LG, Korean Air, and POSCO. The organization holds the 2025 Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid (GuideStar).

Name

Korean American Scholarship

Legal name

Korean American Scholarship Foundation

Website

https://kasf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

KASF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1969 that provides need- and merit-based scholarships to Korean American students pursuing higher education in the United States, operating through seven regional chapters covering all 50 states and awarding approximately $775,000 annually to ~400 students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Scholarship Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Scholarship foundation services
• Nonprofit educational grants
• Korean American student aid
• Merit and need scholarships
• Community endowment funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: KASF receives donations from individual donors, corporate partners, and chair scholarship sponsors. The endowment generates investment income used for scholarships. Operating expenses are funded by membership dues and fundraising activities.
2. Chair Scholarships: Establishment of named chair scholarships through $30,000+ donations, with annual scholarships up to $1,000 awarded in perpetuity from investment income.
3. Membership Dues: Operating expenses are partially funded by membership dues from board members and supporters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

KASF is a non-profit scholarship foundation that awards need- and merit-based scholarships ranging from $500 to $5,000 to Korean American students enrolled full-time at U.S. institutions, plus specialized scholarships (Chair, Designated, KASF-KIA, KWVD). The foundation processes applications through the SmarterSelect platform across seven regional chapters covering all 50 U.S. states and supports approximately 400 students per year with approximately $775,000 in annual awards from a $6M endowment managed by TIAA.

Product overview

KASF operates as a non-profit scholarship organization offering a multi-tiered scholarship portfolio. The core offerings include General Scholarships ($500-$5,000), Chair Scholarships (perpetual, $30,000+ donation required), Designated Scholarships ($2,500+ annual), and the KASF-KIA Partnership Scholarship for STEM/Business majors. The organization processes applications through an online SmarterSelect platform across seven regional chapters covering all U.S. states. Supplementary services include a micro-giving campaign (Small Gifts. Big Dreams.) powered by Stripe, and KWVD scholarships for Korean War veteran descendants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General KASF Scholarships
• Chair Scholarship Program
• Designated Scholarships
• KASF-KIA Scholarship
• Korean War Veteran Descendant (KWVD) Scholarships
• Small Gifts. Big Dreams. Micro-Giving Campaign

Quantifiable outcome

• $14.1 million awarded to 8,400+ students since 1969
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kia AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnership established in 2020-2021 with Kia America providing significant support. In 2021, Kia America established the KASF-KIA Scholarships in the amount of $300,000. Kia America has been a major corporate partner over the past 4+ years, helping KASF reach new heights. Kia America is headquartered in Irvine, California and serves as the 'Official Automotive Partner' of the NBA.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Council of Korean Americans (CKA): A Korean American leadership organization promoting civic engagement and community advancement. Adjacent to KASF in serving the Korean American community, with partial overlap in scholarship and educational programming for next-generation leaders.
• Korean American Coalition (KAC): A civic advocacy and community organization for Korean Americans, primarily based in California. Serves the same Korean American community demographic and occasionally partners on scholarship and youth programming, providing a regional peer for KASF's WRC chapter.
• Japanese American Citizens League (JACL): A national Asian American civil rights organization that also awards scholarships to Japanese American students. Comparable as a heritage-focused organization with scholarship programs tied to identity and community, though operating more as a civil rights body than a pure scholarship foundation.

Broad incumbents

• Asian American Foundation (TAAF): A larger, well-resourced foundation established to support Asian American communities broadly across causes. Operates as a broader incumbent in the same Asian American philanthropic space with overlapping scholarship and community investment goals.
• United Negro College Fund (UNCF): A major heritage-focused scholarship organization supporting African American students across U.S. colleges. Comparable as a large-scale, multi-program ethnic scholarship foundation — a useful benchmark for KASF's potential scaled model.

Direct peers

• Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF): The largest U.S. nonprofit devoted specifically to providing scholarships to Asian and Pacific Islander American students. Directly comparable as an ethnic-heritage-focused scholarship foundation serving AAPI undergraduates, with a similar multi-chapter delivery model and donor-supported structure.
• Asian Pacific Fund: A San Francisco Bay Area-based community foundation that supports Asian American communities through grantmaking and scholarships. Comparable as an Asian American grantmaking foundation that administers multiple donor-funded scholarship programs and operates a perpetual fund model.
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF): One of the largest U.S. nonprofit scholarship organizations serving Hispanic American students. Directly comparable as an ethnic-heritage scholarship foundation at significantly larger scale, providing a benchmark for KASF's potential growth trajectory.
• Korean American Community Foundation (KACF): A Korean American-focused grantmaking and scholarship foundation based in the New York/New Jersey area. Highly comparable in mission (Korean American youth support), geographic segment overlap (Northeastern region), and grantmaking + scholarship funding model.
• Vietnamese American Scholarship Foundation (VINA-OK Foundation / VINASF): A Vietnamese American scholarship foundation providing need-based scholarships to Vietnamese heritage students across U.S. universities. Directly comparable as an ethnic-specific, volunteer-driven scholarship organization targeting a single Asian American community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kasf_national

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Korean American Scholarship