Photography by Steve Buchanan
The funds that Scholarships for Scholars has available for scholarships fluctuates from year to year, depending on the state of the economy. This presents challenges that keep the organization’s board of directors on edge.
“Because our annual income fluctuates radically, we have surfed some tsunamis,” Scholarships for Scholars President of the Board Anelle Tumminello says.
Enter 67-year-old George Sacclaris, who has helped them ride out these economic ebbs and flows. The Annapolis resident is the organization’s treasurer, and he brings more than four decades of experience as an auditor and certified public accountant to his mission.
The Annapolis-based Scholarships for Scholars awards scholarships ranging from $2,000 to $9,000 to graduating high school seniors who are home-schooled or attend public and private schools in the county.
“He is like the perfect treasurer,” says Scholarship for Scholars board member Anna Greenberg. “He is irreplaceable. He really knows the numbers. He can look into the future and know how much we will have to spend in a given year.”
Sacclaris will soon be celebrating his 20th anniversary with the organization. Unfortunately for his colleagues, he says he’ll likely be retiring in six to 12 months. They’re certainly going to hate to see him leave.
“Time flies when you are enjoying yourself,” Sacclaris says. “Up until now, I haven’t had a reason to move on. But I am not getting any younger. We just brought on an assistant treasurer. If things work out well, she will probably take over.”
The high school recipients of the organization’s annual scholarships mean a lot to him. “It gives me an opportunity to help young students getting into college. It also supplants my lack of having my own children,” says Sacclaris, who is married. “There is a reward in knowing I am helping students get ahead in life. It’s a good feeling.”
Over the years, the staff at Scholarships for Scholars have become like family to Sacclaris. That’s a big reason why he stayed on for all those years.
“It’s a great of people.” he says. “I really like working with them. Their personalities are not combative. It’s not a political organization. You don’t have arguments. Everybody is pretty much working in the same direction with the same goals.”
Sacclaris helped guide the organization through a crucial investment that greatly increased the funds available for scholarships. This involved transitioning the nonprofit’s portfolio from certificates of deposit to mutual funds. The annual income from the portfolio mostly goes toward scholarships.
“That really helped because if we hadn’t made that change, we would have been stuck with a nominal balance in our portfolio,” he explains. “But the stock market has had consistent increases since I came aboard in 1991. We grew our portfolio by over a million dollars.”
He points out that Scholarships for Scholars also has other sources of revenue. One of them is the State of Maryland’s Escheat Funds. In Anne Arundel County, these monies go to the board of education, which passes them on to Scholarships for Scholarships.
“In Maryland, when someone dies without a will or designates heirs, those funds go into the state’s escheat fund by law,” Tumminello says. “And the funds in turn go to whatever county that (deceased) person lived in.”
Sacclaris says their portfolio got a big boost this year when a local couple with no children left Scholarships for Scholars $1.7 million in an endowment fund, which increased the organizations portfolio to nearly $2.7 million.
Greenberg has been involved in about 20 different nonprofits over decades and has never met anyone like Sacclaris. “He is remarkable,” she says. “I have been president or chairman of many (nonprofits), and he is the only treasurer who gives (financial) reports that I can understand.”
Sacclaris, along with his associates at the organization, reviews all the scholarship applications once a year. He never ceases to be impressed by the amazing quality of the applicants, who are selected based on academic achievement, extracurricular activities, community service, and internships.
“Some of the kids are involved in sports and have phenomenal GPAs and high SAT scores and may be first or second in their class rank,” he says. “It’s incredible and somewhat intimidating when you look and see what these kids have accomplished.”
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