Following years of growth and change in the area of prestigious scholarship advising, several university staff/faculty members met in Chicago in May 2000 to discuss an organization for addressing issues common to the profession. The National Association of Fellowships Advisors (NAFA) is the result of those talks.

Today, the National Association of Fellowships Advisors (NAFA) is a professional organization composed of the following: individuals engaged in the practice of advising college and university students who apply for competitive scholarships and fellowships; institutions of higher education that promote and celebrate the process of applying for competitive scholarships and fellowships as an educational enterprise; foundations and organizations that administer competitive scholarship and fellowship programs.