Houston, TX

BLUE WATER SCHOLARSHIP FUND

EIN 82-1104031

Education & Youth Development College Access & Scholarships Low-income

Mission

Provides need-based financial assistance to students enrolled in the US state maritime academies' license programs so they can complete their schooling and obtain a merchant mariner license.

IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity Contributions are tax-deductible

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About BLUE WATER SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Blue Water Scholarship Fund is a Houston-based 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 2017 to support students at the five U.S. state maritime academies. The organization was started by Jaime Cleveland, John Curtin, and Jim Hoy and focuses on need-based scholarships, emergency assistance, mentoring and job-placement help for cadets. ([bluewaterscholarshipfund.org](https://bluewaterscholarshipfund.org/))

Blue Water operates with no paid staff and the founders cover overhead costs so donor contributions are used for scholarship awards and direct cadet support. The fund maintains active partnerships with maritime organizations and conducts regular outreach and visits to state maritime schools. ([bluewaterscholarshipfund.org](https://bluewaterscholarshipfund.org/about/))

Notable achievements

Direct scholarship disbursements (2024)

Distributed scholarship and grant support totaling roughly $200k+ in the 2024 fiscal year (organization expenses and grant-making increased substantially in 2023–2024 according to its Form 990 filings and independent 990 summaries). ([projects.propublica.org](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/821104031))

Established sustained cadet support model

Since its 2017 founding, Blue Water has provided recurring one-time awards (typically $1,000–$10,000 per award) and emergency assistance to cadets, plus mentoring and internship/job-referral support through its maritime network. ([bluewaterscholarshipfund.org](https://www.bluewaterscholarshipfund.org/uploads/1/2/7/6/127693815/blue_water_scholarship_application_v2.1.pdf?utm_source=openai))

No paid-staff overhead model

Maintains an all-volunteer leadership team with founders covering operational overhead so donated dollars are directed to cadet scholarships and direct assistance. ([bluewaterscholarshipfund.org](https://bluewaterscholarshipfund.org/about/))

At a glance

Total assets: $41K
Annual revenue: $188K
Tax status: 501(c)(3)Public charity
EIN: 82-1104031
Location: Houston, TX
Website: bluewaterscholarshipfund.org
On Mahalo since: May 2026

Financial figures from the IRS Business Master File, the IRS’s registry of tax-exempt organizations.

Recognition

Recognized tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 82-1104031); tax-exempt status and Form 990 filings are publicly available. ([projects.propublica.org](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/821104031))

Featured and supported by maritime-industry media and networks (example: gCaptain has publicly supported and promoted the fund and its mission). ([gcaptain.com](https://gcaptain.com/gcaptain-blue-water-scholarship-fund/))

Profiled and tracked in nonprofit/donor research services (CauseIQ, Instrumentl, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer) with up-to-date Form 990 financial summaries and grant totals. ([causeiq.com](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/blue-water-scholarship-fund%2C821104031/?utm_source=openai))

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