Methodist Foundation
The Methodist Foundation of Santa Monica, founded in 1967, exists to provide aid to religious, educational and charitable causes. The Foundation is administered by a volunteer Board of Trustees with First UMC member John Youngman currently serving as president. First UMC has a long tradition of honoring the academic
achievements of students in our church and community who pursue post-secondary education. Every year the Loans & Scholarships committee acknowledges outstanding scholars, including graduating high school seniors, continuing undergraduates, and graduate students, for their scholastic excellence, commitment to community, and dedication to our church.
Save the Date for Scholarship Sunday: Sunday, June 28, 2026
Methodist Foundation SM seeking financial student scholarship support
by Mira Pak, Scholarship Committee Chair
May 2026 – Scholarship support has never been more important. Students face rising tuition costs, increased housing expenses, higher textbook prices, and everyday financial pressures that make earning a college degree more difficult than ever before. For many students, the dream of higher education depends not only on their own hard work and determination, but also on the generosity of donors who believe in their potential.
Over the past decade, the cost of attending college has steadily climbed. Ten years ago, for a California resident, attending a UC cost about $34,056 (tuition fees, on-campus housing, and books/supplies) per year. In 2026, a student pays about $45,353 a year, an increase of more than $1,000 per year. If the time to degree is four years (and that’s considered quick these days), an undergraduate degree can cost $181,412. That’s actually considered a good deal. Private schools are more expensive; USC runs about $99,218 per year (for tuition and on-campus housing), which brings the four-year degree to a total of $396, 872. While the scholarship awarded to each student depends on market factors and student application criteria, our annual scholarship awards, on average, range from $500 – $5,000.
Because of the cost, many students balance academics with part-time or even full-time jobs. Others face the possibility of delaying graduation or abandoning their educational goals altogether. Scholarship donors play a critical role in changing these stories. A scholarship is more than financial assistance. It is an investment in opportunity, achievement, and future leadership. It allows students to focus more fully on their studies, participate in internships and campus activities, and graduate with less debt. Just as importantly, scholarships send a powerful message of encouragement: Someone believes in you and wants you to succeed.
What was once considered an American rite of passage, dropping off your kid at college and crying all the way home (the parent, not the child), may soon become a luxury. Donors who invest in scholarships open doors that might otherwise remain closed.
Every contribution, regardless of size, can make a meaningful difference in a student’s life. While some folks might be able to endow a new scholarship (which would be great!), even donations of $25 – $100 to one of our existing 22 scholarships can ultimately provide not only financial relief but also hope, confidence, and motivation to persevere. Donor generosity transforms lives, creates opportunities, and empowers students to achieve goals that might otherwise seem out of reach.
How to donate to the Methodist Foundation Scholarship fund: Checks may be placed in the offering plate made out to Methodist Foundation of SM.
First UMC member Alejandro Quintana offers his reflections on how the Methodist Foundation Scholarships have impacted his educational journey:
“In the summer before my junior year of college, I was given the opportunity to participate in a summer institute in St. Louis hosted by the American Society of Papyrologists. As the program’s funding was earmarked for graduate students and early career professors, the cost of travel, room, and board fell upon me and my family. Thanks to scholarships from First UMC of Santa Monica, I was able to participate in this unexpected opportunity without worrying about funding. Now, as a papyrologist embarking on my final year of a PhD in Classics and History at Yale, I am so grateful for my church community and for those who sponsored these scholarships.
First UMC of Santa Monica financially supported my studies through college at Harvard and into my first years as a graduate student at Yale. This aid has helped me pay for tuition, participate in seminars, and conduct research in graduate school. Through these scholarships, my church community provided me with the flexibility to discover who I wanted to be and stood alongside me on every step of this journey – from political science to law to classical literature and finally discovering ancient history where I feel at home.
Our church’s ability to support the academic and professional journeys of its students is really special and reflects a commitment to intellectual and spiritual growth as Christians and Methodists. These values that shaped me growing up at First UMC continue to define my work and my life. Every now and then in my research on daily life in Egypt in the first centuries after Christ, I am confronted by a term or a concept that vividly takes me back to a memory from my confirmation classes at church, and I am filled with an indescribable mix of nostalgia, warmth, and understanding. One might call it faith.”