When FEEA began serving the civilian federal employee community in 1986, the cost of a college education was, on average, less than $20,000/year, including room and board, at the top private universities. Even then, federal families were hard pressed to afford to put themselves or their children through school.
As founding board member and current executive director Steve Bauer remembers, “Just as Pell grants and student loan availability were diminishing, federal agencies’ budgets necessitated cuts in Government Employee Training Act funds. Federal employees found themselves in a poor position to continue their own education and in an even worse place to fund their children's college tuition. As part of the great middle class and therefore priced out of need-based aid, it was time to establish a merit-based scholarship program for federal employee families.”
