Education Foundation

Oklahoma Grocers Education Foundation

The Oklahoma Grocers Education Foundation was established in 1990 for the purpose of providing scholarships and promoting education throughout the food industry in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Grocers Education Foundation is a non-profit organization established to provide scholarships and promote education throughout the food industry in Oklahoma.

Two ways that companies (both retailers and vendors) can help provide scholarships through the OGEF scholarship program are Endowed and Piggyback. An endowed scholarship can be created by making a donation to OGEF. A contribution of $10,000 will endow a yearly scholarship in the amount of $500, and a $20,000 contribution will endow a $1,000. The second way to provide a scholarship is through our “Piggyback” program. “Piggyback” is a mechanism by which your company can have a scholarship program for only your employees and/or their children through your company’s membership in the Oklahoma Grocers Association.

Donations made to the OGEF are tax deductible. Our tax exempt status is listed as a Section 501(c) (3) with the IRS.

The Scholarship Program runs from January thru March each year. You can download the OGEF Scholarship Application. An impartial Selection Committee, made up of educators, selects the winners who are then notified by May 1st. Scholarships are for one year, however, winners may reapply in subsequent years as long as they continue to meet eligibility requirements.

As of 2009 the Scholarship program has presented a total of 1279 scholarships for a total amount of $889,000 since 1990.

The OGEF Scholarship program is administered by Oklahoma Grocers Education Foundation.

There are two main sources of funding for the OGEF:

1. Golf Tournaments
2. Manufacturer Promotions based on special scholarship allowances for product movement by Oklahoma retailers.

All the proceeds from the golf tournament and the manufacturer promotions are used to provide scholarships for deserving students.