THE STEPHEN BUFTON MEMORIAL EDUCATIONAL FUND

The Stephen Bufton Memorial Educational Fund exists to provide educational grants and scholarships to women pursuing post-secondary educational goals as well as ongoing professional development in order to support their career advancement and to help them become the role models, mentors and leaders of the future.

Today’s SBMEF scholarship recipients are tomorrow’s leaders because of the contributions made by members affiliated with the American Business Women’s Association. For 65 years, members of the ABWA have provided opportunities for women to achieve their personal and professional best by sponsoring applicants, making contributions and raising money to champion the important mission of this fund. We salute the women of ABWA who have made these scholarships possible.

To be eligible for a SBMEF scholarship, applicants must be female, a citizen of the United States and enrolled in a licensed, accredited or state-approved institution. The Trustees reserve the right to add additional criteria such as the scholarship value, academic institution, field of study and grade point average for any named scholarship. 

All scholarships, (National Scholarships, Impact Scholarships and Outright Grants) require at least three completed applications per scholarship to award the scholarship. 

SBMEF scholarships are non-renewable. A scholarship recipient must cash her scholarship check within 60 days of issuance otherwise her funds will be forfeited. The recipient’s academic institution will return unused scholarship funds to SBMEF. All SBMEF funds awarded are limited to tuition, books or fees.  

Today, women are outpacing men in post-graduate education, pursuing careers in male-dominated industries and closing the parity gap on wages and opportunities in the workplace. The enormous strides women have made in advancing their education is, in part, attributed to the scholarships funded through the SBMEF.