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Benefactor
A benefactor is someone who gives help, usually through financial means, to another; the person receiving the benefits or help is called a beneficiary. A benefactor may be a person or an entity that performs the duty of gift giving. A benefactor is also a patron.
Benefactors give help, usually financial help, for several reasons. Some do it out of their own good will. Others have other motives for offering help, such as hoping for future business returns or favors or recognition. Some benefactors have a specific target in mind.
For instance, an alumnus from a university who is a part of a minority in a community may want to help people who are in similar situations by providing funds for that specific group of people. He or she understands that it is extremely difficult for people of this background to make it to college without financial help. So this benefactor sets aside a fund specific only to these people who fit the qualifications. This type of fund is called scholarship specific to certain groups of people. Some scholarships are open to the public in general.
But there are many of them out there where the benefactors set up certain qualifications that must be met before the scholarship can be given. Some qualifications have to do with grades or grade point average. Some require applicants to have gone through extenuated or exceptionally difficult circumstances in life. Some qualifications may simply require that the recipients or beneficiary belong to a particular race.
In the US, people of Native American decent often have government as well as private scholarships set aside and readily available. It is not uncommon for people who are qualified for free money to never apply for financial aid. Sometimes people do not realize that there are good-hearted benefactors out there. Other times, they are simply not motivated to go after free money and do not want to deal with the paper work involved.
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