About the Scholarship

The Stanford Australia Foundation (SAF) Scholarship for Not-For-Profit Leaders with Disability aims to support leaders with the opportunity to study at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) in the United States.

Stanford University is one of the world’s leading universities and the GSB is consistently ranked as one of the world’s top business schools. Located in Palo Alto, California, the GSB prepares leaders to “change lives, change organisations, change the world”. The Stanford Australia Foundation (SAF) is a not-for-profit organisation with the mission to enable more Australians to share the exciting experience of a GSB Executive Education program for the benefit of the Australian community. This year, SAF is offering one disability scholarship for study in the 2025 calendar year.

To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants have a disability as defined under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, or the Australian Disability Discrimination Act, 1992. must be employed by an Australian non-profit organisation with Deductible GiftRecipient Status 1 (DGR1) and plan to remain with the organisation, and be an Australian citizen or have permanent or temporary residency in Australia.

Please note that candidates are required to be in organisational leadership roles. Those who are solely in non-executive director or board roles are not eligible.

Scholarship overview

The 2024 NFP Disability Leadership Scholarship covers the costs for an NFP leader to attend an Executive Education program at the Stanford GSB. SAF awards each scholarship winner with up to AUD $22,000 to cover course fees, economy travel to/from Palo Alto, California, and incidental study tour expenses subject to SAF approval. Costs beyond this amount must be covered by the recipient and/or their supporting NFP organisation. SAF recognises that in exceptional circumstances recipients may require additional funding support; such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The scholarship also includes six months of mentoring from a Stanford alumnus living in Australia, and a one-year complimentary membership in the Stanford Australia Association (SAA).

Scholarship recipients are able to attend the Executive Education course of their choice held at the Graduate School of Business located at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA, between January 1st and December 31st, 2025. A full list of Executive Education programs can be found here, although applicants are encouraged to consider the six-day Executive Program for Non-Profit Leaders (EPNL).

In preparing an application, candidates should review course outlines and consider how the Executive Education program will contribute to fulfilling personal and professional objectives.

Guidelines for eligibility for Stanford Australia Foundation Scholarships

• Candidate is an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or temporary resident of Australia.
• Candidate has a disability, as defined under the Australian Disability Discrimination Act or United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• Candidate is currently employed in a leadership position at an Australian NFP organisation with Deductible Gift Recipient 1 status (DGR1). Please note that non-executive directors who do not hold a line leadership role are not eligible for SAF scholarships.
• Scholarship will be applied to a course held at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA between January 1st and December 31st of the scholarship year (2025).
• Candidate understands that they are solely responsible for gaining entry through any required application process for their selected course. Scholarship awards are conditional on program entry.
• Scholarship winners will provide 2 short written reports (one within 1 month of completing their course and one after 12 months of completing their course) describing the impacts of winning the scholarship.

Applicants will be evaluated on the following criteria

• Candidate’s potential for leadership.
• Benefits to the candidate’s professional development.
• Potential positive impact to the candidate’s organisation.
• Potential impact for the wider Australian community.