Melania Trump, LSU Announce $7.2 Million Scholarship Fund for Foster Youth

First Lady Melania Trump and Louisiana State University announced Saturday that they secured $7.2 million to establish a permanent endowment fund to support scholarships for students from foster care.

The LSU scholarships were part of Fostering the Future, a scholarship initiative Trump launched under her Be Best campaign.

The initiative works with colleges and universities to help students who have spent time in foster care pay for college. LSU is one of 26 participating universities, according to the White House.

The Office of the First Lady X account posted a video of Trump at the LSU football game against Alabama. Alabama beat LSU 31–13 on Saturday.

“This achievement will give young people from foster care an anchor of stability, a strong educational foundation, and a chance to build a wonderful life,” Trump said in a statement on Saturday.

To celebrate the initiative, Fostering the Future was showcased across the stadium.

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The marketing campaign featured branded “Be Best Fostering The Future” patches on LSU players’ jerseys, helmet decals, cheerleader uniforms during the pre-game announcement event, mascot attire, commemorative fan towels, and a limited-edition ceremonial football.

Southeastern Conference officials also agreed to use a First Lady Melania Trump Challenge Coin for the game’s official coin toss.

“A great education does more than prepare someone for work life,” the first lady said Saturday in a press release.

“It gives something no one can ever take away. There is nothing more powerful we can give a young person than a world-class education.”

Fostering the Future grew out of Be Best, the children’s well-being campaign Melania Trump launched in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.

The initiative partners with colleges and universities to provide scholarships to students who have been in foster care. Melania Trump said Saturday that 26 universities were supporting 100 scholars this semester, including 14 at LSU and nine at Alabama.

In August, the first lady announced $2 million in scholarships funded by IndyCar and Fox Corporation for students at Indiana University and Purdue University.

The scholarship program is one part of a broader effort to help young people as they leave foster care.

A November 2025 executive order called for expanding access to education, employment, and housing for young people making that transition.

In June, the first lady and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a separate initiative, Fostering the Future Accounts, to help children in foster care build savings through investment accounts.

The White House said Saturday that 26 governors had pledged to establish accounts for children in their states.

About 400,000 children are in foster care in the United States, and roughly 20,000 do not find a permanent family, according to the Department of Education.

The National Foster Youth Institute estimates that 55 percent of foster youth graduate from high school by age 19, compared with 87 percent of the broader population. Fewer than five percent of foster youth earn a college degree.

By age 24, about half of former foster youth are employed, compared with roughly three-quarters of their peers. Employed former foster youth typically earn less than young adults who never entered foster care.

“As adults, we have a moral obligation to our children, especially those in foster care,” Melania Trump said in a press release.

“But, as you know, we must act to truly make a difference. The foster care community doesn’t need words.”

MMR Group committed $5 million to Fostering the Future, with contributions from additional LSU Foundation donors.

“Access is a top priority for LSU, because circumstances should not determine whether talent and ambition thrive,’ LSU president Wade Rousse said in a statement.

Kimberly Hayek contributed to this report.