WCAF Scholarship Fund
Purpose
It is the Wine Correspondent Alliance’s premise that there is an acute need for accomplished professionals, scientists and educationalists to undertake education in oenology, viticulture and health aspects of food and wine, sustainability and agricultural economics. This major problem can be resolved with the help of scholarships.
For winemakers, grapevine diseases can be devastating. Unfortunately, there are many kinds of threatening vine diseases that thrive in all sorts of conditions. Pierce’s Disease, Esca Disease, Phylloxera, Downy Mildew, Powdery Mildew, Grey Mold, Black Rot, Sour Rot, Red Blotch and Vine Trunk Diseases devastate plants and kills crops, causing economical and land distress.
These scholarships and financial aid help students, scientists and winemakers continue their ongoing education, research and experimentation to help discover cures, eradicating pandemics and plagues, keeping diseases under control.
The WCAF is a 501c3 public charity and private foundation qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts under the (IRC) Section 2055, 2106, or 2522.
In accordance with the above, the WCAF periodically awards academic scholarships to support full-time students pursuing degrees in enology, viticulture, or health aspects of wine. Applicants must be North American citizens or permanent residents (i.e., the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, and West Indies Islands) and enrolled in a college or university advanced-research program leading to an MS or PhD degree. Contact us for further information.
Mission
The Wine Correspondent Alliance Fund's (WCAF) mission is to support education and research candidates entering the wine industry through scholarships for college programs. It plans to achieve its mission by periodically awarding academic scholarships and research grants to students based on academic excellence and genuine interest in pursuing careers in wine-related fields. This mission is to support viticulture, viniculture, plant genetics and enological sciences.
Affiliation
The WCAF was conceived in 2019 from within the Wine Correspondent Inc (WCI) which was founded in 2006. WCAF is related to, but operates separately from, the WCI. Members of the WCI are automatically also become members of the WCAF. For complete information on the WCI, please visit their web site at: https://www.winecorrespondent.net/
Charitable Giving Options
Any time of year, especially at year's end, there are personal income tax forecasting and preparation issues that can be considered. Among these is the opportunity to gift appreciated assets (e.g., stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate) to qualifying organizations, such as the Wine Correspondent Alliance Foundation (WCAF).
Such gifts are normally tax deductible to the donor at full market value.
The WCAF has two fund types established to support both operation of the Board of Trustees and to provide scholarships. These funds are;
- the General Fund that supports Board operation,
- Special Scholarship Funds that bear the name of an individual, group or corporation.
As a tax-qualified 501(c)(3) organization, the WCAF can accept charitable gifts. Contributions should be tax deductible but please consult your tax advisor regarding your specific legal and tax situation.
Our Donor Contribution form is here.
The WCAF requests that those who are considering year-end charitable gifts remember WCAF in their planning. Please contact your personal financial planner/advisor or one of the WCAF Trustees named below for additional information.
WCAF Award of Merit
The criterion for this award is a consistent record of valuable service to the Wine Correspondent Alliance Fund (WCAF). Candidates for this award may be those who have distinguished themselves through constant and substantial contributions (either personal or through other organizations) to the WCA, WCAF, or participation as a Trustee, or both.
Otherwise, contributions may include significant and meritorious achievement in at least one phase of wine education, such as viticulture, enology, advanced training and education, journalism or marketing. For each nominee, consideration should be given to his (her) actual accomplishments in comparison with others in the same arena, and their effect on continuous improvement of wine through educational efforts. Attention may be given to the total of the activities over a period. A sensational accomplishment in one or two years may be outweighed by a long-continuous record of appreciated service with extensive impact.