“A man of humanity is one who, in seeking to establish himself, finds a foothold for others and who, desiring attainment for himself, helps others to attain.”  Confucius

An annual scholarship house is established

In 1965, TBA leaders Howard Weisberg, Fred Napolitano Horace Cistola and Joe Addington wanted to give back to the community by providing college scholarships to financially disadvantaged high school seniors.

The men came up with the concept of an annual Scholarship House to raise money. According to their plan, a TBA builder member would get discounted materials, labor and services from other members, then sell the homes at market price and donate the proceeds to the foundation. The founders set the benchmark at $100,000 in assets. At the time, this seemed like a lofty goal. Yet, to the amazement of even some of the foundation members, it didn’t take long for the Scholarship House concept to take off.
“Your association now enters the field of education,” wrote the TBA Scholarship Foundation’s first chairman, Frederick J. Napolitano, to TBA members. “No other field in American life is more deserving of our participation. President Johnson and every leading consumer magazine in the country can attest to this need and to the fact that education is everyone’s problem.”

In 1966, the first scholarship house was constructed. To date, more than 30 Scholarship Houses have been built. Click here to see a list of Scholarship House builders.

For years, the Scholarship House was the major source of funds for The Scholarship Foundation.

Additional scholarship support

Today, funding comes primarily from private contributors and endowments. Proceeds from the sale of an annual Scholarship House and gross proceeds from an annual Scholarship Apartment also have helped to strengthen the fund.
 
The TBA Scholarship Foundation has grown into one of the largest private sources of scholarship funding in Virginia. It has awarded more than $1.53 million in financial assistance to more than 400 students from its academic scholarship program and its Young Designers’ Scholarship Competition, an annual home design contest.

Students must be local high school seniors, academically qualified and demonstrate a financial need, in order to be considered for the academic scholarships.