Airbnb CEO, Obamas Debut Public Service Scholarship Fund
Barack and Michelle Obama will be working alongside Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky to roll out a scholarship, called the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, to support college graduates looking to get into public service, Bloomberg wrote Monday (May 16).
This will provide students with financial aid to help out with the burden of college debt, and will also provide help with travel and networking opportunities. The scholarship was funded with a $100 million personal contribution from Chesky to the Obama Foundation.
It will support 100 students in its first year, and the report said it plans to expand in the future. The scholarship will be available for students going into their junior year of college at an “accredited four-year college or university in the US, who have demonstrated a financial need, and who are US citizens, permanent residents, or DACA recipients.”
“So many people have a passion for public service, but they don’t go into public service because they can’t afford to. They have too much financial burden looming over them,” Chesky said in the announcement video.
He added that helping people with this would be a boon for students to serve their communities while broadening their horizons. The applications have a June 14 deadline, and accepted students will be notified in September.
PYMNTS has written that Airbnb has made several changes as of late, including adding a new Trust & Safety Advisory Coalition (TSAC), which will help provide Airbnb guests with a better experience while traveling.
Read more: Airbnb Intros Safety Advisory Coalition
The TSAC is made up of 22 industry organizations and will advise Airbnb about various things like support, resources and training. In a blog post, Airbnb said that having subject matter experts working with the company “helps us facilitate a positive environment for our Hosts and guests.”
“We know we are not the experts on important issues like fire safety, or suicide prevention, or human trafficking — bringing experts to the table makes our community and platform better,” the company wrote.