Scholarship

Bill Henry & Dan Browning Boot Strap Scholarship

The Bill Henry & Dan Browning Boot Strap Scholarship provides scholarship funding for college students, giving the opportunity to pursue their dreams with the goal of advancing into a successful career within the insurance industry. This scholarship fund was created in honor and proud memory of Bill Henry & Dan Browning.

Applicants must be nominated by an insurance industry leader
Submission of recommended candidates is due by May 1, 2025
Applications are due by June 1, 2025
Announcement of scholarship recipients in August, with winners to be acknowledged at IICF Southeast Gala.
Scholarship awarded to college or university following receipt of confirmation of eligible status for Fall 2025
Apply NowAbout Bill Henry & Dan Browning

Last Years Winners

Douglas Fine

University of North Texas

Sydney Lozado

University of Houston

Armando Ramirez

Baylor

Do You Know a College Student Who May Be a Candidate for this $10,000 Scholarship?

Your nomination of a hard-working and deserving rising Junior or Senior college student (current Sophomore or Junior) helps build the future of our industry and honors a legendary insurance and community leader.

Submit your nomination (name and contact information) by May 1, 2025 to Sarah Conway, IICF Southeast Division Executive Director at: sconway@iicf.org or (214) 228-2910
Nominees will be asked to complete the Bill Henry & Dan Browning Boot Strap Scholarship application by June 1, 2025 (click on "Apply Now" button)
Applications will be reviewed by the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) Southeast Division leadership
The 2025 Bill Henry & Dan Browning Boot Strap Scholarship winners (2) will be announced at the IICF Annual Southeast Gala Celebration, August 2025 in Dallas
Learn More about this Unique Insurance Industry Scholarship

Traits of a Boot Strap Scholarship Winner:

By definition, ‘boot strap’ is to get oneself into or out of a situation using existing limited resources.
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To ‘pull oneself up by one’s boot straps’ is to improve your position through your own efforts. This is the very essence of Bill Henry & Dan Browning, the namesake of the Boot Strap Scholarship.
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The ideal traits of the Boot Strap Scholarship winners are hard-working, involved in the community, well-rounded in school, and possessing integrity, humility, a giving spirit and an overwhelming desire to make this world a better place for all.

Download Scholarship Marketing Sheet

Other Important FAQs

2 Boot Strap Scholarships will be awarded on  February 28, 2024, each in the amount of $10,000. 

The Boot Strap Scholarship is a one-year scholarship.
Junior recipients may apply separately for a second year as rising Seniors.

Eligible applicants include rising Juniors and Seniors (current Sophomores and Juniors) currently enrolled as full-time students in an accredited college or university located in Texas.

Candidates must be attending an accredited college or university in Texas and be current matriculating students in good standing. 

Scholarship cycle: Scholarships awarded in February are for the Fall 2024 semester and funds will be distributed to the students’ (2) universities this summer, before the academic semester begins. 

Scholarship winners will be selected from only those candidates recommended by the IICF Southeast Division Board of Directors and Associate Board of Directors, or a nonprofit partner of the IICF Southeast Division.

Boot Strap Scholarship Selection Committee will comprise members of the IICF Southeast Division and Associate Boards of Directors. Additional input may be requested from local nonprofit partners, community leaders and representatives of Texas colleges and • universities. 

Nominators – Please send nominee name, email and phone number (and LinkedIn link if applicable) to Sarah Conway at sconway@iicf.org or (214) 228-2910. 

Behind the scholarship

The Legacy of Bill Henry & Dan Browning

About Dan Browning

Dan Browning was the epitome of a “boot strap” man! He was raised in a 600 square foot house in West Texas with his Mom and Dad, along with three brothers. They lost everything when this family home burned to the ground.

Dan went on to earn a football scholarship to SMU after being an All-State running back in Andrews, Texas. Through his talent, hard work, and determination, Dan established a successful career in real estate before taking over his father-in-law’s insurance agency. He later merged his agency into MHBT in 1997, where he became a partner and Co-CEO of Marsh McLennan Agency Southwest in 2021.
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No one could outwork Dan, nor could they out-give Dan! He loved the insurance business and became a legend among his peers. The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) was another passion Dan enjoyed, and he loved seeing the good works done in the community by our great industry. He had a heart for people in need, he had no patience for bullies and disrespectful people, he was a man of Christ who married the love of his life, Inez Hammett, and he was a great father, brother, and partner... a Leader of Leaders!

By Bill Henry
Family Friend and Business Partner of Dan Browning
Chairman, MMA Southwest Region and Founding Chair and Current Member of the IICF Southeast Division Board of Directors

Helping Communities and
Enriching Lives, Together.

Copyright 2025
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Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: (424)253-1107   Fax: (424) 253-1108   Email: contact@iicf.org
Tax ID: 20-1240972

The Foundation is a registered 501(c)3 charity in the United States and IICF London is a Company Limited by Guarantee (no. 9617554) and a registered charity in England and Wales (no. 1163896).