The VGA Scholarship Fund’s function is to raise and distribute financial aid to help Vermont's youth further their education with money donated by Vermont golfers.

History of the scholarship fund

George Smith (Rutland), Floyd James (Burlington), Ralph Eaton (Middlebury), Urban Wakefield (St. Johnsbury), and William Chesley (Burlington) established the Vermont Golf Association Scholarship Fund in 1964. Its function is to raise and distribute financial aid to help Vermont boys and young women further their education with money donated by Vermont golfers.

The first grant was for $400 for four years. In 2004, they increased the number of grants to 10 for $1000 for four years, raising the annual scholarship monies to $4,000 per year.

To date, more than 400 Vermont boys and young women have received scholarship assistance totaling more than $1,000,000. The Vermont Seniors Golf Association was founded in 1935 and reorganized in 1962. In 1977, they developed an innovative program initiated through the efforts of William Chesley, Treasurer. This program solicited monies from members of the Vermont Seniors Golf Association, through their annual dues, for the express purpose of the development of the Vermont Golf Association Scholarship Fund Investment Account. Golfers throughout the region, the Vermont Golf Association, the Vermont Women’s Golf Association, the Vermont Golf Course Superintendents Association, the Vermont Seniors Golf Association and local businesses donate to the Scholarship Fund. Today, the Vermont Golf Association Scholarship Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, provides 40 Vermont, New York, and New Hampshire scholars $1000 annually for four years.