GW Graduate Student Selected by Charity for a First-of-its-Kind $5,000 Grant

PHILADELPHIA (Nov. 28, 2018) — The BUCK Cancer Foundation (BUCK) announced the winner of their 2018 Pay A BUCK Forward educational grant for $5,000 on Friday, November 30. This innovative program allows students to eliminate additional loans in exchange for a promise to grant future students a percentage of future income — students funding students!

Previously, these income share agreements have been utilized by a few colleges as an alternative to student loans.  As David Simmons, Consultant for Voya Financial and board member of BUCK explains, “As far as we know, this is the first time a nonprofit outside of the educational space has utilized income share agreements to align pillars of the organization with the passion of students.  We hope this will serve as a blueprint for other nonprofits to utilize, thus affecting change at a foundational level.” 

Tatiana Znayenko-Miller, a graduate student at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Science majoring in integrative medicine, was awarded the grant. From her work with the Ryan White Program, volunteering at The Center for Mind-Body Medicine and her near 4.0 GPA in her undergraduate program, Tatiana is a perfect candidate for our Pay A BUCK Forward educational grant program.

Tatiana remarked, “It is fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with an organization that maintains a mission, to build a bridge between all viable forms of cancer research, in which I comprehensively believe – and, intend to dedicate my life to the furtherance of as an integrative physician.” The Pay A BUCK Forward educational grant program offers innovative pay-back grants to any students pursuing a degree in integrative medicine or a complementary cancer treatment. 

The BUCK Cancer Foundation offers two grant periods and awards at least one educational grant each year. BUCK’s goal is to help fund the education of future physicians who are supportive of integrative medicine. Lori Nonnemaker, the President of BUCK, stated, “BUCK is focused on making integrative oncology standard cancer care in America and we are excited to award our next educational grant to Tatiana who is a great representative for our Pay A BUCK Forward program”. BUCK’s next educational grant period opens on November 1 and ends December 31, 2018.

This release is posted courtesy of the BUCK Cancer Foundation. To learn more, visit http://www.buckcancerfoundation.org/.