Albanian American National Organization Scholarship Fund Inc

The Albanian American National Organization Scholarship Fund Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Ballston Lake, New York, registered under EIN 51-6019105. It serves as the scholarship arm of the Albanian American National Organization (AANO), the broader membership group established in 1946 and chartered in New York in 1951, with chapters in cities including Boston, Bridgeport, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Worcester, and Toronto.

The fund's sole program is awarding college scholarships to undergraduate students of Albanian descent in the United States. The AANO scholarship page records that the fund awarded its first scholarship in 1955 and was formed to help offset rising college costs for Albanian-American college-bound students. The IRS recognized it as tax-exempt in August 1965.

Applications run on an annual cycle through the AANO scholarship portal at aano.org/scholarship, with applicants able to save progress and submit by the posted deadline. In a recent fiscal year, GuideStar reports the fund awarded 13 scholarships against $33,704 in expenses, while its most recent Form 990 filings show annual revenue of $261,247. The program is funded through contributions from the Albanian-American community.

Within the Albanian-American nonprofit landscape, the fund's role is narrow and specific: it is the financial mechanism through which AANO channels community donations into scholarship awards, separate from the parent organization's cultural and convention activities.