The Little Italy Lodge OSIA #2286 Foundation, Inc. was formed in 1992 as a philanthropic organization with the primary purpose of serving the Italian-American community, including awarding educational scholarships to eligible individuals of Italian-American heritage and their descendants. The Foundation has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service to operate as a 501(c)(3) organization. This designation enables donations to the Foundation to be eligible for Federal and state income tax deductions as charitable contributions to the extent allowed by law
As prescribed in the Foundation’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, the management and control of the business and affairs of the Foundation is vested in a Board of Directors with a Chairperson who is duly elected by the Board. The Board appoints a President and Secretary/Treasurer. The President has supervision and control of the Foundation’s business and affairs subject to direction from the Board.
Scholarship awards are paid directly to accredited two- or four-year post-secondary educational institutions for tuition, fees and on-campus room and board for students enrolled on a full-time for undergraduate studies. The Foundation began awarding scholarships to eligible Lodge applicants in 1999, and since then, has awarded 111 scholarships worth $416,000 to Italian American students. For year 2025, alone, $66,000 was awarded to 15 applicants and, for year 2026, the Foundation plans to continue this level of support!
