In 1991, the African American Forum (AAF) at GE Aircraft Engines wanted to encourage African American youth in the community to make education a priority in their life. In order to address this need, an AAF Minority Scholarship Fund was established to provide scholarships for Greater Cincinnati African American high school students entering college. The primary fundraiser for the scholarship fund has been an annual banquet on the nationally recognized holiday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For the past 13 years, the banquet attendance has grown from 35 to over 700 people, while the individual scholarship grants have increased from $200 to $12,500. Over 100 grants have been awarded.

In 2002, the team expanded its fundraising efforts by partnering with more than 30 Greater Cincinnati businesses to form the Greater Cincinnati African American Scholarship Fund (GCAASF) of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. GCAASF provides college educational opportunities for African-American high school students in the Greater Cincinnati area, while promoting the city of Cincinnati as a place that all college students should aspire to work. The result over the past two years has been a 10X increase in the amount raised towards scholarships.