$2 million gift from the Helios Education Foundation...

[USFan]

is eligible for a dollar-for-dollar state match, yielding $4 million for USF's scholarship programs for under-represented populations.

The Helios Education Foundation will make a $2 million gift to the University of South Florida, creating the Helios Education Foundation Endowed Scholarship Fund.

The $2 million gift is eligible for a dollar-for-dollar state match, yielding $4 million for USF's scholarship programs for under-represented populations. The scholarships will go to students with a GPA of 3.0 and higher with strong consideration given to undergraduate students from low-income families and diverse ethnic backgrounds, a release said.

The goal of the gift is to increase the number of students entering and completing college.

Once the funds have been matched, the university plans to fund new scholarships and provide incentives to encourage additional private support for scholarships. USF will use the funds to benefit students of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, including Latino and African-American students, economically disadvantaged students and those majoring in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Rooting in

Since establishing its office in downtown Tampa last September, Helios has been active and engaged in Tampa Bay. The gift helps it continue to root its presence here, said Paul Luna, president and chief executive officer. The gift is structured around a spirit of community partnership, he said.

"A program that is leveraged and matches dollars in other ways is a concept of how we want to do business in everything we do," he said. Part of the money will go to USF's Latino Scholars Program that has a long history and is "well-respected," Luna said.

Helios provides its dollars and encourages other companies and individuals as well as an existing donor base to ratchet up its giving.

"As they increase gifts, we match their gifts with our dollars and scholarship dollars are doubled -- but it's still in [their] name," Luna said.

There's a national need for trained scientists, engineers and technicians as well as the need to encourage enrollment and success in college for students from diverse backgrounds, a release said. Helios executives have seen data that shows students from underserved schools with the lowest socio-economic backgrounds, including first generation college students, aren't as prevalent in science, math and technology arenas as they are in other disciplines.

That's a focal point for the foundation, Luna said.

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/02/11/daily16.html?b=1202706000^1590031