Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund
Commemorate the Past.
Educate for the Future.
In 1980, a small group of second-generation Japanese Americans (Nisei) living in New England started a scholarship program they called the Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund (NSRCF). The Nisei were determined to pay tribute to the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council, an organization led by the Quakers, that had offered them life-affirming support during World War II.
In 1942, 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry were forcibly removed from the West Coast and incarcerated in American concentration camps. In reaching across racial divides and hatred, the Council assisted thousands of Nisei students to leave the camps for colleges and universities across the country.
The mission of the NSRCF is twofold:
To award annual scholarships to high school seniors from underserved communities across the country.
To encourage inter-ethnic collaboration and promote public awareness and understanding of the World War II forced removal and imprisonment of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry.
A National Program Serving Local Communities
The NSRCF is a unique program that travels to a different part of the United States each year. Scholarships are open to graduating high school seniors of Southeast Asian ancestry who are living in the designated area. The NSRCF works with a Local Awards Committee that oversees the process of recruiting applicants for the awards, screening the applications, and naming the scholarship recipients. In 2024 the NSRC Fund awarded scholarships in Wisconsin. The 2025 scholarships will be awarded in the Greater Sacramento area. For more information and to apply please click here.
Through the NSCRF, we commemorate the past to build toward a more just future.
Please Join Us!
News & Updates
NSRCF Supports Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education
Since its inception the Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund has been proud to join with others committed to extending the benefits of higher education to all Americans. The decisions by the Supreme Court in the University of North Carolina and Harvard admissions cases have dealt a major blow to those dedicated to advancing that goal.
I want to express, on behalf of all past winners, my sincerest gratitude for the support. For many of us, your recognition came at a time when we needed the encouragement, and you instilled confidence in us who otherwise might have succumbed to the pressures of marginalization. Instead, we are realizing our full potential.
-PHUOC V. LE, 1994 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
