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Young woman in graduation gown hugging her mother tightly, both laughing
Teenage girl in quinceañera dress standing proudly with her family in a backyard
First-generation student holding college acceptance letter, mother looking on proudly
Grandmother and grandson sitting at kitchen table looking at paperwork together
Student tossing graduation cap in the air outdoors, bright sunlight
Hispanic family gathered around a kitchen table sharing a meal and laughing
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Endow Scholarship Fund

"She said I'd be the first.
She was right."

Nominate a StudentRead the Story ↓
Chapter One
Young Rosa Mendez-Castillo sitting at a formica kitchen table doing homework, black and white family photograph

Rosa, age 11. Tucson, Arizona. 1987.

312

Students funded since 2013

"
My grandmother kept a coffee can on the top shelf. Every week, she'd fold a five-dollar bill and drop it in. She called it mi universidad. I didn't understand until I opened it the day I got into Arizona State.

Rosa Mendez-Castillo founded Endow in 2013 with $4,000 — the exact amount in that coffee can, adjusted for thirty years of inflation. She had just finished her first decade as a high school counselor in Albuquerque, watching students with 4.0 GPAs and no map forward.

The fund began as a single award. A handshake with a student named Javier Reyes-Domínguez, whose mother worked double shifts at a laundry on Central Ave. Today Endow has awarded $847,000 across eleven years, in amounts ranging from $500 to $8,000 — always personal, always named, always delivered with a letter.

Every nomination is read by a human. Every decision is made around a table. That's not a policy. It's a promise.

Rosa Mendez-Castillo, Founder
Chapter Two

The students who
made us believe harder.

Young Hispanic man in graduation cap and gown standing with his mother outside a university building, both beaming

Javier Reyes-Domínguez · University of New Mexico

2013 · First Recipient · Albuquerque, NM

Javier Reyes-Domínguez

From his 2013 application essay

"My mother has never taken a sick day. Not once. I've watched her leave before sunrise every morning for eleven years. This application is for her."
"

I almost didn't apply. I thought scholarships were for people with better stories than mine. Rosa called me personally. She said, "Your story is exactly why this fund exists." I still have that voicemail.

Where he is now

B.S. Civil Engineering, 2017. Now designs water infrastructure for rural communities in southern New Mexico.

Young Latina woman in graduation regalia embracing her mother, tears on both their faces, warm afternoon light
2016 · Phoenix, AZ

Marisol Vega-Fuentes

"My parents came here with four suitcases and a phone number written on a napkin. I want to be the reason they don't regret the trip."

From her 2016 application essay

"The application asked me to write one sentence about why I deserved this. I sat at our kitchen table for two hours. My dad came in, read it over my shoulder, and said nothing — just put his hand on my shoulder. That was enough."

Marisol Vega-Fuentes

Where she is now

B.A. Social Work, 2020. Runs a bilingual college prep program serving 200+ students annually in South Phoenix.

Young man in graduation attire standing in a sunlit field, holding his diploma, expression of quiet pride

Tomás Leyva-Gutierrez · New Mexico State University

2019 · Las Cruces, NM

Tomás Leyva-Gutierrez

From his 2019 application essay

"I am the first in my family to finish high school. College feels like a word from another language. But I am learning."
"

My high school teacher Ms. Ramos nominated me. I didn't know until I got the call. I went home and cried in the truck because I didn't want my brothers to see. I still don't have the right words for what that meant.

Where he is now

B.S. Agricultural Science, 2023. Developing drought-resistant crop programs for small family farms in the Mesilla Valley.

Chapter Three

You know a student
who deserves this.

Nominations don't require transcripts or test scores. They require someone who knows the student — a teacher, a neighbor, an aunt, a coach — to write down what they already know in their heart.

We read every nomination. Every one.

Awards range from $500 to $8,000 per academic year.

You'll hear back within six weeks. Always.

No login required. No fee. Just their name and yours.

Chapter Four

Eleven years of
kitchen-table math.

Every dollar given to Endow is tracked to a student, a semester, and a story. We publish a full impact report each spring. No overhead euphemisms — just names, amounts, and outcomes.

Give to the Fund

Endow is a registered 501(c)(3). All donations are tax-deductible.

A multi-generational Hispanic family gathered around a table covered with papers and photographs, laughing together

The Endow review committee, Albuquerque, 2024.

$847K

Total awarded

since 2013

312

Students funded

across 11 years

94%

Graduation rate

among recipients

100%

Nominations read

by a human being

Every dollar has a name.✦ First-generation, forever forward.Every dollar has a name.✦ First-generation, forever forward.Every dollar has a name.✦ First-generation, forever forward.Every dollar has a name.✦ First-generation, forever forward.