Over 360 scholarships have been awarded since the William Randolph Hearst Foundation initiated its endowment in 1984 to help high-achieving students who have overcome adversity.

The Hearst Foundations are national philanthropic resources supporting the fields of culture, education, health and social services. The Hearst Foundations endeavor to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and inspiring lives. The Hearst Foundation Inc. and The William Randolph Hearst Foundation are guided by the same charitable mission, reflecting the philanthropic interests of their founder.

William Randolph Hearst is an important figure from the 20th century whose influence extends to publishing, politics, motion pictures, the art world and everyday American life. Hearst became proprietor of the San Francisco Examiner in 1887 and later founded the Hearst Corporation. He built and acquired a nationwide network of newspapers—including the Los Angeles HeraldExaminer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer—and periodicals such as Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and Harper’s Bazaar.

Hearst was also a pioneer in radio and television and a major producer of movie newsreels. He is widely credited with creating the comic strip syndication business. In 1902, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a congressman from New York.​