Who We Are

Matulich Foundation inc. is a small private family foundation created by the four children of Danilo and Josephine Matulich whom they brought to America after World War II and gave them an opportunity to experience the American dream. Although not highly educated themselves, Danilo and Josephine believed in a good education for their children. Three of their descendants earned higher degrees and became university professors. Because of the dangers they faced and sacrifices they made during that war and as war refugees, this education-oriented foundation was created to preserve their names and legacy. Matulich Foundation is a not-for-profit tax-exempt charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The goal is to grow and to become a Public Foundation.

Our Mission

The primary function of the Danilo and Josephine Matulich Foundation is to provide scholarships for deserving students in higher education in the United States of America. Our view of higher education is broad and not limited to colleges and universities. A high school graduate enrolled in a welding school, truck driving school, or other trade related education program qualifies, as does an undergraduate college student, a student in a master’s program at a university, or a PhD candidate. Grants are awarded directly to individual student applicants who apply in accordance with rules established by the Foundation. Applicants must be enrolled in a program of education leading to a specific degree, certificate, diploma, or other evidence of program completion. Matulich Foundation, Inc. does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, or any other personal attribute. There are no restrictions about major of study, students’ grades, economic status, or other similar limiting factors. Matulich Foundation Inc. does not offer grants to educational institutions. Initially, while the Foundation is small and has limited resources, the amounts of the grants may be limited in size. But the ultimate mission is to distribute as much money to students as the Foundation can manage from its endowment while ensuring that the endowment is prudently invested and can grow through investments and contributions. Until such growth allows, the Foundation is restricting its awards to students in Florida schools.

Satisfying Our Mission

Matulich Foundation is required by law to distribute 5 percent of its endowment as scholarships each year. Because the number of scholarships is small, large numbers of applicants must be rejected. Consequently, the Foundation has decided on a different approach to granting awards. Florida students who register with Matulich Foundation participate in an annual scholarship sweepstakes in which the required amount of grants will be distributed as scholarships to students selected as sweepstakes winners. In compliance with State and Federal laws, charities offering sweepstakes in which prizes are distributed must make participation available to qualified applicants without requiring a contribution, donation, payment, or purchase to obtain sweepstakes tokens. Accordingly, any student enrolled in a Florida school of higher education can register with the Foundation and receive a sweepstakes token free of charge or obligation.

Name

The name Matulich dates to the 9th century A.D. to the island region of the Adriatic which was then part of the Kingdom of Croatia. People then tended to be named after their father. Thus Matulich, originally written with the Slavic, Matulić, meant the son of Matula, a derivative of Matija or Matej, the Slavic version of the name Matthew. The story goes that around the middle 900s A.D. Captain Danilo Matulić, an officer in the King’s army, distinguished himself in battle and as a reward the ruling monarch awarded him the title of Baron, the lowest level of nobility, and granted him certain lands on the island Brač. Danilo built a home in Postira, a modest castle, part of which still stands and is still in use, although part is a ruin. The home is in the prime location of the town. But the land granted to Danilo was in the interior of the island, farmed by tenant farmers with the Baron entitled to 1/3 of whatever crops the farmer produced, a common right of nobility. That right still existed when Danilo and Josephine returned to Postira during World War II and were given olive oil and wine, which were products of the land. Under Tito after the war, the ownership of the lands was transferred to the tenant farmers and the Matulich family lost the right to benefit from them. The old castle still belongs to the family, with distant heirs scattered in many parts of the world, many of them unknown. A note on spelling and pronunciation The Matulich family is proud of their historic name and they insist that it be pronounced correctly. The Croatian alphabet uses signs called diacriticals that make sounds that are equivalent to sounds in American speech. For example, ć in Croatian is the same sound as ch in American English. Š is equivalent to sh. In pronunciation, ‘a’ is always pronounced ‘ah’ in Croatian rather than ‘eh’, as in American English. Thus, the phonetic equivalent of Croatian Matulić is Mah’-tu-lich in American English, with stress on the first syllable, as in Madison, Canada, Domino, or Scholarship.