This award consists of donations from Freedmen's Hospital School of Nursing, Alumni Clubs, Inc. Given annually to an exceptional African American Master's degree applicant. Estelle Massey Osborne was the first African American nurse in the U.S. to earn a master’s degree and in 1945, she became assistant professor at New York University, the university’s first African American instructor.
Nurses Educational Funds, Inc. (NEF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established by nurses for nurses in 1912, and since then, the organization has awarded over 1,500 scholarships to support the pursuit of advanced degrees in nursing.
NEF’s named scholarships, created with a minimum donation of $50,000, honor and memorialize nurse leaders, from Isabel Hampton Robb to Thelma Schorr to Susan Bowar-Ferres. 100% of donations help to keep NEF scholarships funded in perpetuity; organization expenses are covered by prudent management of NEF’s investments.