Our Cause

Proceeds from RUN! GEEK! RUN! will go directly to support the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria.

Celebrating its 40th Anniversary, the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria (SFA) has seen generations of success stories. Past scholarship recipients now proudly parent recent recipients.

What we do:

Thanks to the generosity of the local community, The Scholarship Fund of Alexandria (SFA), has awarded over 20 million dollars in scholarships and launched nearly 6,000 Alexandria students with financial need to college over the last 40 years. This support also means that every student in Alexandria City High School (ACHS) can receive admission and financial aid advising to create a postsecondary plan and gain vital aid for all four years of college. All ACHS students can count on the SFA to help:  

• • Write a strong resumé and prepare for interviews
  • Find a good college fit
  • Seek alternative postsecondary options
  • Guide First-Gen students planning for college
  • Brainstorm and edit college and scholarship essays
  • Fill out financial aid applications (such as the FAFSA and CSS Profile)
  • Understand and pursue financial aid options
  • Apply for hundreds of SFA scholarships through the SFA App portal
  • Search for additional scholarships 
  • Prepare for the postsecondary transition
  • Provide meaningful interventions and interactions during college

Who we serve: 

The SFA proudly serves every Alexandria City High School student and their family, grades 9 to 12, across four campuses. ACHS is the only public high school in the City of Alexandria and one of the largest in the commonwealth. Over half of the students in ACHS live at or below the federal poverty level. With more than 4,500 enrolled, ACHS students represent life-long multi-generational Alexandrians as well as new neighbors from more than 119 countries, speaking 124 languages, all of whom enrich our community tapestry.  

The SFA is a trusted and respected community resource. The team assists ACHS students and their families with every step of the financial aid and college admission process. Through a single SFA scholarship portal, over 400 seniors apply for a community-funded SFA scholarship, and this funding fulfills the needs of over 200 awarded recipients annually, renewable for up to four years.

The SFA strives to ensure that every hardworking ACPS graduate has the opportunity and resources to pursue their postsecondary education and career goals with little or no debt.  

Year after year, more than half of the SFA award recipients are the first in their family to attend their college or university of choice. SFA recipients are true “Portraits of Success”, continuing to make a difference in their professions and communities, many of whom return to Alexandria and become integral to the success of today’s ACHS graduates.

How we serve:   

We are embedded in the ACHS campus. Partnering with ACPS allows the SFA to harness tools and shared resources, lowering our operating costs. This also means that during the school year the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria is readily available to give one-on-one advising to all ACHS students and families during and after their school day. We offer on-campus workshops and events, addressing the steps of accessing and attaining postsecondary enrollment. The SFA staff partners with ACPS and many Alexandria community programs in order to reach as many students as possible. 

The SFA provides financial aid advising and support to complete the necessary steps to access federal, state and institutional aid, scholarships, and grants—all of which are key indicators of postsecondary enrollment and success. 

We are open twelve months a year. Whether alumni need support with renewing their financial aid or transferring from one instit

ution to another, the SFA staff maintains contact throughout our recipients’ postsecondary enrollment, using a variety of tools to ensure we provide the support they need to succeed and reach degree completion.  

Why we do this: 

Quite simply, while there is a great need, there is tremendous promise. Scholarships are changing the lives of highly motivated, har

dworking students at ACHS, and also the trajectory of their entire families. It is only with the ongoing support and generosity from the Alexandria community we are able to provide financial aid and postsecondary advising to thousands of students and their families for four decades and counting. 

If you are interested in learning more about the work we do and why we do it, volunteering opportunities, establishing a scholarship, or supporting our programs, we’d love to hear from you. Please email us: [email protected] or call us: 703-824-6730.