About Us
The Eve Brook Scholarship Fund (EBSF) supports young people who have been in care in Birmingham by giving them the opportunity to go to college or university.
The Funds objectives are:
- to provide financial help to young people who have grown up in residential or foster care with Birmingham City Council, to access and succeed in higher education;
- to provide continuing support for those who benefit from the Fund;
- to campaign for and promote the interests of young people coming out of care and celebrate their achievements;
- to work in partnership with other stakeholders, including former beneficiaries, to achieve these objectives.
In pursuit of these objectives we work closely with Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Children’s Trust, particularly the Care Leavers’ Service.
The Fund was founded in 1998 by Eve Brook, a former Birmingham City Councillor and Chair of Social Services, shortly before her death from cancer. She was passionate about enabling young people in care to achieve their full potential.
We have now spent £464,660 in supporting 307 young people to go into higher education. In 2023/24 the Fund spent £32,001. Currently, the Fund spends over 95% of its outgoings on helping young people.
Subjects studied by recent beneficiaries range from drama, creative writing and animation to engineering, biomedical science, forensic psychology and law.
Our schemes include bursaries to meet ongoing expenses; one-off grants for special equipment and materials; free places on short courses; and a £3,000 postgraduate bursary.
To continue our work, we rely on raising money from our annual fundraising events, and from donations by supporters who take out standing orders, individual donations, and grants from trusts and foundations.