TEF Brief from the Chairman of the Board
Winter 2020
Welcome to 2021 Tailhookers,
We hope your winter holidays were peaceful and full of seasonal blessings. We wish you a safe, healthy and prosperous 2021.
Completing 2020’s TEF scholarship AIRPLAN under COVID-19 was challenging for us all. Still, your steadfast generous support never wavered. Despite the myriad of 2020 uncertainties, your generous contributions allowed TEF to provide 110 scholarships worth over $362,000 to top Naval Aviation legacy students. The TEF perennial scholarship portfolio funded 70 grants ranging from $3,00 - $6,000, and the annual scholarship portfolio financed 40 grants ranging from $3,000 - $15,000. Of note, TEF’s 2020 minimum scholarship level increased from $2,500 to $3,000 in order to ensure our college grants kept pace with the ever-increasing costs for our awardees.
Please accept our heartfelt gratitude for your loyal support to TEF. We ask you once again to continue this support throughout 2021 to enable TEF to meet or exceed our 2025 strategic goals. These goals remain:
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Continue to award at least 100 TEF scholarships each year,
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Grow the number of our $60,000 perennial scholarships that yield $3000 grants,
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Continue to increase the amount of each scholarship awarded, and
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Grow donations for our Hook-to-School (HTS) program.
Our HTS program is an area where TEF continues to need your help. HTS provides Tailhook’s world-class The Hook magazine to over 800 high schools, colleges, service academies and ROTC/ JROTC units all over the world. We ask you to consider joining those who already sponsor mailing The Hook magazine to these locations by signing up for our HTS program and sponsoring a school or unit of your choice. For details, visit our HTS web page or call our office. https://tailhook.formstack.com/forms/hook_to_school
As a reminder, an easy way to contribute to TEF is by using AmazonSmile and selecting TEF as your charity of choice when you shop at Amazon online. Just log into smile.amazon.com, go to the ‘Select your charity’ page, type ‘Tailhook Educational Foundation’ into the search box and select TEF as your charity. Then, every time you shop using AmazonSmile, TEF will receive a donation.
If you have any questions, ideas, or recommendations for your TEF Staff or Board of Directors, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you again for your generosity throughout 2020! And thank you in advance for your continued support to the Tailhook Educational Foundation as we launch into the new year.
J.J. Quinn
Rear Admiral USN (Ret)
Chairman of the Board
Tailhook Educational Foundation

About The TEF
The Tailhook Educational Foundation (TEF) is a charitable nonprofit California corporation created in February 1992. The Foundation's charter is "to educate the nation's public with regard to the history and present day activities of the United States Navy carrier aviation and its importance to our country's national security."
The main activities of the Foundation are:
To support the Tailhook Association
To distribute The Hook magazine to schools throughout the nation at no cost to the schools
To provide scholarships to qualified applicants
To support U.S Navy and Naval Aviation leadership
TEF Scholarships
TEF’s minimum scholarship is $3,000 per grant per year. Funding TEF scholarships is achieved either annually or perennially.
Perennial Scholarships
A perennial scholarship is funded by providing TEF with at least $60,000 either in a lump-sum donation, or using a payment over time option*.
A $60,000 TEF Scholarship portfolio yields a $3,000 grant for your named scholarship per year in perpetuity*.
Sponsors funding perennial scholarships can add funds to their portfolio whenever they chose, donating any amount they chose. Each donation to an existing perennial scholarship portfolio increases the annual grant yield for that scholarship from that year on.
Several of TEF’s original perennial scholarship portfolios now exceed $100,000, all yielding at least $5,000 in an annual grant.
Annual Pass-through scholarships
An annual or “pass-through” scholarship is funded by providing TEF a payment of $3,000 or more each year to sponsor your named scholarship that year.
Pass through scholarship donations can also be for more than $3,000, and they can change each year by donating more than $3,000.
TEF’s current pass through scholarships range I amount awarded from $3,000 to $15,000.
TEF awards over 100 scholarships annually ranging from $3,000 to $15,000 per year. A number of our annual scholarships are awarded to students pursuing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math) curriculum. All TEF grants assist Naval Aviation legacy undergraduate students obtain a higher education.
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Scholarship Eligibility
To qualify for a Tailhook Educational Foundation scholarship, an individual must graduate from high school and be the natural, step, or adopted child or grandchild of a current or former (U.S. Navy / U.S. Marine Corps / U.S. Coast Guard) Naval Aviator, Naval Flight Officer, or Naval Aircrewman. Also eligible are individuals or children/grandchildren of individuals who are serving or have served on board a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier. Eligible applicants must also be accepted for undergraduate enrollment at an accredited college.
Applications are available on 15 December and due back at TEF headquarters by 01 March each year.
Scholarship Timeline
