NMF provides important core funding to underrepresented students in the form of need-based scholarships to first and second-year medical students. We work to develop the leadership potential of minority medical students through fellowship programs that provide training opportunities in substance abuse research and treatment, HIV/AIDS care, violence prevention, biomedical research, community-based primary care and health services research. In its 56-year history, NMF has granted more than $38 million dollars in scholarships, fellowships and special merit awards to talented and deserving underrepresented students.

Our newest initiative, the NMF Fellows Academy, will help NMF establish stronger ties with its Scholars across the country and increase student participation in our programs. Academy membership is by invitation only and open to current NMF Scholars. Fellows Academy programs include leadership and skills building, preparation for residency and careers, and exposure to role models and mentors who help guide our students' professional development. Long-term, the Academy will become a network of pre-medical students, medical students and physicians working together to support each other and to promote the goals and mission of National Medical Fellowships.

NMF has also expanded its base of operations. Our West Coast regional office, opened in 1998 in San Francisco, California, has helped to expand our donor base and scholarship opportunities for students in California. The newly established satellite office in Washington DC will enable us to work more closely with key policy makers and think tank organizations and help us to establish stronger relationships with students and medical schools in the greater Washington, DC area.