Leaders in Government, Business & Society
The Friends of the Truman Foundation is the nonprofit partner of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
Leaders in Government, Business & Society
The Friends of the Truman Foundation is the nonprofit partner of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
Leaders in Government, Business & Society
The Friends of the Truman Foundation is the nonprofit partner of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
Leaders in Government, Business & Society
The Friends of the Truman Foundation is the nonprofit partner of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
There is no “one size fits all” path for a Truman Scholar!
A Legacy of Leadership, Service, & Impact
Who We Are
Friends of Truman raises private support to power programs that advance service and civic leadership. We create events and opportunities that help emerging leaders grow and connect.
What We Do
As a 501 c(3) organization, donations allow us to strengthen the next generation of public service leaders. We welcome the opportunity to host you at one of our dynamic programming or networking events.
How You Can Help
We offer events, programming, mentoring, and other opportunities to those who are working to build the next generation of public service leaders in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.
50 Years (and counting!) of Leadership and Service
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1975
President Gerald Ford signs the Harry S. Truman Memorial Scholarship Act into law.
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1977
The Truman Foundation awards its first Scholarships during the 1977-1978 academic year. Among the first cohort, Janet Napolitano (MN 77) would later become the first female Governor of Arizona and the 3rd United States Secretary of Homeland Security under President Barack Obama.
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1980
George Stephanopoulos (OH 80), future Chief Anchor of ABC News, is selected as a Truman Scholar. Over his distinguished career, he has been nominated for 17 Emmys, winning three—including his first for coverage of the 2009 Presidential Inauguration.
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1987
Future Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch (CO 87) is selected as a Truman Scholar. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2017 by President Donald Trump.
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1983
Future Senator Chris Coons (DE 1983) is selected as a Truman Scholar. He would later become the first Truman elected to the Senate, where he has represented the state of Delaware since 2010.
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1989
Truman Scholars Leadership Week begins, hosted at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.
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1991
The first Summer Institute is hosted, bringing Truman Scholars to Washington, D.C. the summer after their college graduation.
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1994
Stacey Abrams (MS 94) is selected as a Truman Scholar. She would later be nominated in 2021 for a Nobel Peace Prize and included in the Time 100 for increasing voter turnout in her home state of Georgia.
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2004
The Truman-Albright Program is established.
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2010
Representative Ted Deutch (PA 86) is elected to the House of Representatives, becoming the first Truman Scholar to be elected to Congress.
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2018
Amy Finkelstein (NY 94) is the first Truman Scholar to win a MacArthur Genius Grant for economic research.
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2019
Four Truman Scholars are sworn in to the 116th Congress: Representatives Greg Stanton (AZ 90), Dusty Johnson (SD 98), Andy Kim (NJ 03), and Tom Malinowski (NJ 85). Kim would later become the first Korean-American elected to the United States Senate.
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2021
Marcia Chatelain (IL 00) is the first Truman Scholar to win the Pulitzer Prize.
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2023
Representative Gabe Amo (RI 09) is sworn into the House of Representatives, becoming the first African-American Truman Scholar to be elected to Congress.
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2024
Madison Marsh (AR 22) is crowned Miss America, becoming the first member of the United States Armed Forces (and Truman Scholar!) to win the title.
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2024
Emily Candarelli (WV 08) becomes the first Truman Scholar to travel to space.
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2025
Jalen Travis (MN 23) is the first Truman Scholar drafted to the National Football League. The Indianapolis Colts selected him with the 127th overall pick.
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2025
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation celebrates 50 years of Truman Scholars! 🎉
The Friends of the Truman Foundation fuels a powerful community of leaders committed to shaping a better future.
Each scholar joins a lifelong community committed to leadership, service, and civic impact, united by the highest ideals of public service. As the independent nonprofit supporting this Presidential monument to service, we mobilize resources and talent to empower the next generation of Truman Scholars.
Explore Our Case for Support
Learn how decades of support have strengthened the Truman network and fueled public service leadership nationwide.