Giving Tuesday: Provide Support for Scholarships and Fellowships
Scholarships and Fellowships
Progress of Ideas Scholarship
The Robert Schalkenbach Foundation (RSF) was founded in 1925 with the mission to promote the ideas of 19th century social reformer, Henry George. Our Progress of Ideas Scholarship (POI) program echoes that original organizational charge in its focus on economic equity and social justice, and its drive to discern and challenge the drivers of inequality in our systems of governance and taxation.
The scholarship supports the cost of attendance for students in fields of study related to the organization’s mission. We are seeking recipients whose lived experiences have engendered in them a commitment to social justice and a drive to make the world a better place for all people.
Long ago, Henry George wrote, “Social reform is not to be secured by noise and shouting; by complaints and denunciation; by the formation of parties, or the making of revolutions; but by the awakening of thought and the progress of ideas. Until there be correct thought, there cannot be right action; and when there is correct thought, right action will follow.” It is with this in mind that we have created our Progress of Ideas Scholarship.
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarship, tuition assistance, and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals.
2023-2024 POI Scholarship Recipients
Jessia Avila Columbia University
Jessia Avila is a graduate student at Columbia University, majoring in International Affairs, she expects to receive her Master's degree in 2024. She is a bilingual daughter of Mexican and Colombian immigrants who interprets her cultural mobility as a call to address historical and contemporary harms against affected communities. While colonial legacies, protracted conflicts, dizzying globalization, and crises of representation perpetuate systemic injustices, the Progress of Ideas Scholarship attends to the roots of inequality through research that values a community’s expertise and autonomy. The intersection between disability and forced displacement has faced a paucity of inclusion in data, operational policies, and humanitarian action, and this is where she hopes to pursue a global public service career.
Christopher Badillo Stanford University
Christopher Badillo is an undergraduate student at Stanford University, majoring in Sociology with a minor in Education, he expects to receive his Bachelor’s degree in 2025. He is deeply passionate about pursuing education justice for marginalized communities, as he seeks to understand and confront the root causes of injustice throughout social systems. Moving forward, Chris hopes to become an attorney, leveraging policy and legal systems to ensure that every student can receive an equitable education. He was specifically drawn to the Progress of Ideas Scholarship because of its commitment to addressing the drivers of inequality, speaking to his commitment to creating a more just future.
Kyla Denwood Georgetown University
Kyla Denwood is a graduate student enrolled at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, majoring in Global Human Development with concentrations in International Business Diplomacy and African Studies, she expects to receive her Master's degree in 2025. Kyla looks forward to pursuing a career as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development. She looks to serve as a technical resource while working with diverse communities abroad. The Progress of Ideas Scholarship stood out to her because of the connection of Henry George's ideology to her future diplomatic career.
Brittaney Key Yale University
Brittaney Key is a graduate student enrolled at Yale University, majoring in Environmental Management, she expects to receive her Master's degree in 2025. Post graduation, her goal is to improve institutionalization of equity and sustainability principles in legislation and policy implementation, with special interests in Hawaiʻi and Okinawa. She aspires to be someone who brings together teams to tackle sustainability challenges holistically, and someone trusted to listen, respect community leadership, build mutual understanding, and offer novel perspectives and connections to help problem solve. The Progress of Ideas Scholarship focuses on these same principles of reform, justice, and equity, and she is grateful to be supported by RSF, who also share similar values.
Alexandra RothNew York University
Alexandra (Alex) Roth is a graduate student at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service, majoring in Public Policy, she expects to receive her Master's degree in 2024. Alex was drawn to the Progress of Ideas Scholarship in large part due to its focus on economic equity and social justice, especially since her career aspirations are to advance economic mobility and narrow inequality through housing and land use policy. After graduating, Alex plans to work in the public sector to design and advocate for inclusive policies that help everyday individuals afford a dignified home, maintain a good quality of life, and build generational wealth.
Current/Past POI Scholarship Recipients
Tori Vestal University of Kentucky2022-20232023-2024
Armani M. Arnold Michigan State University2022-2023
Willa F. White Austin College2022-20232023-2024
Olga RodriguezUniversity of California, Berkeley2022-20232023-2024
Tess E. Gellert New York University2022-20232023-2024
Neighborhood Fellows Program at Tufts University
RSF is happy to support Fellows in the Neighborhood Fellows Program at Tufts University within the department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP). RSF has contributed $25,000 to support five fellows for the 2022-2023 school year. The Neighborhood Fellows Program recruits up to five experienced urban leaders each year to UEP’s mid-career Master in Public Policy (MPP) program. Its objective is to increase enrollment among people of color who work in urban communities in Boston and surrounding cities on issues of urban community politics, economics, education, housing, and social life.
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Supporting Georgist Scholarship in Higher Education
Our scholarships support the cost of attendance for students in fields of study related to RSF’s mission, including economics, urban planning, and public policy. The 2022-23 academic year will be the first in which we are granting awards, and even as a brand new opportunity, RSF received nearly 250 applications for its 5 awards – a number we expect to grow as awareness of the program increases in the future.
So who are our ideal scholars? Our criteria are simple: we’re looking for undergraduates in their Junior and Senior years of study, as well as graduate students at any level, whose lived experiences and personal convictions position them to draw inspiration and purpose from Henry George’s teachings throughout their lives.
In short, we want to ensure that the decision makers of tomorrow are supported in obtaining the educational credentials they will need for success; and can draw on an understanding of Georgist economics, tax policies, and ethics, in their roles as citizens, business owners, and political and thought leaders.
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