Questions

Yes. The Staff Sergeant Kyu Hyuk Chay Memorial Foundation Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 81‑3174121, recognized by the IRS in March 2017. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

You will receive a receipt by email. For any gift of $250 or more, keep it — the IRS requires that written acknowledgment for you to claim the deduction.

Look us up yourself. Search EIN 81‑3174121 on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Our filings are public.

Kyu’s service is recorded independently by the Army Special Operations Forces history office, Military Times, The Washington Post and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Those links are on the purpose page.

At this time, most of what we give goes to local fire, ambulance and police departments. As Chay Scholars grows, more will go to students. The rest covers costs such as insurance, background checks, accounting and state filings.

Every gift we make is listed on the donate page once it has been made.

No. The board serves without compensation, nobody takes a fee, and no one receives a percentage of funds raised.

No, and this is a legal limit rather than a preference. A gift earmarked for a named individual is not a deductible charitable contribution, and accepting one would put our tax exemption at risk.

Often, yes, and most people never ask. Many employers match charitable gifts one for one. Ask your HR department or check your company’s giving portal — it can double your gift at no cost to you.

Yes. Recommend a grant to the Staff Sergeant Kyu Hyuk Chay Memorial Foundation Inc using EIN 81‑3174121. Your DAF sponsor will handle the rest.

Never. Not to anyone, for any reason.

Elementary, middle and high school students with a genuine interest in healthcare — nursing, medicine, dentistry, surgery or another health profession — whose parents are in long-term service — missions, military, first responders, humanitarian, development, educational or diplomatic — in the United States or overseas, and who have trouble getting tutoring, test preparation or college guidance.

No. There is no income test, and no tax returns or hardship documents to send.

Eligibility depends on circumstance: where your family serves, and what support exists where you are.

Tutoring, exam fees including the international surcharges, and books and materials — bought digitally where possible, or bought locally and reimbursed against the receipt.

The length of an award is agreed with each student at the start, and may be renewed.

We pay the tutor, the College Board, the bookseller and the school directly. The only exception is a reimbursement: if your family has already paid for something itself, we pay back that cost against the receipt.

The student picks a tutor together with their foundation contact, using the tutoring site we provide. The parent or guardian and the foundation contact always know who the tutor is and when sessions are, and all sessions and messages stay on that site.

Yes. Families serving independently can send two letters of reference instead of an agency letter — for example from a supporting church and from a local leader who knows your family.

Yes, and it is the part most students end up glad they did. Two minutes or less, filmed on a phone, about what you hope to do and how this would help you get there. We are listening to what you say, not to the camera, the lighting or how polished you sound.

Set it to Unlisted on YouTube, not Public. That means only someone with the link can watch it and it will not turn up in search. Only the selection committee sees it. We never publish it or pass it to anyone.

Under the Chay Scholars program, we support as many students as funding allows.

We will put you on our waiting list for the next cycle.

A selection committee of at least three people, none related to any applicant, against published criteria, with every decision recorded in writing.

Eligibility is the first stage and it is yes or no. Among everyone eligible, we read the student’s own statement.

We store only what is on the application form. We never publish a student’s full name, face, town or country without written consent from a parent, and for families where that could create risk we do not publish it at all. Applications are deleted after the retention period on the form.

You do not. There is no application and no reporting. The board decides once a year and sends the gift, and the organization spends it on whatever it actually needs.

We give meaningfully to a few organizations connected to Kyu Hyuk rather than a token amount to many. If your organization had a connection to him, please write and tell us.