TomWickersham ✭✭✭

Thanks for this information!!!

I wish I could attend the summit. (Note to conference organizers: You'll never get folks who have a notable scholarship program to go anywhere in April!). I hope the presentation goes well. I will certainly follow up with you after to continue the conversation!

@DeborahPfledderer I wish I could provide a sample for you, but, alas, I cannot. I can suggest something, though. Sometimes in the past, when looking for a sample RFP in other service fields, I reached out service providers that I thought I might solicit proposals, and asked them if they had samples I could use. One…

This is a good conversation, and one that I don't have any answers for ... only questions. @MaximilianEyle, how do you use this information in grant award decisions? Do you assign scores to a certain number of checkmarks? Is there a point at which the level of diversity on a board is considered "passable"? Do you ask about…

Hi @KristenBertrand, I can't say if it's common, but we certainly make an effort to encourage applicants to finish up their application and remind them of the deadline! We have over 400 applicants each year, and I'd like to think this little extra nudge will help some of them through the financial needs of college. Hope…

I think @DebraWhite succinctly answered that for you! Also, if you do choose to ask these questions (for data collection purposes), consider making them Applicant questions so evaluators don't have to be bothered/biased by the responses.

I'm glad my comments were helpful! And I fully understand that you are represent a different type of organization. However, you have funding and that puts you in a position of power. And with that, comes the responsibility to use that power in a way that doesn't perpetuate inequality. There are numerous articles and white…

Good question, @JenniferBligh Not sure this is what you're looking for, but maybe it might help... We place as few restrictions as possible on our grants. Better for us and better for the grantees. We issue the check to them, and from there, we rely on our trust-based approach that they will use the funds in their best…

Kudos @KatieDesBois on making this leap! Unfortunately, we're not that advanced yet, so I can't help with any best practices 😕

I know you all (@TobiBruhn, @KaraAdams, @LisaStachula, @KentWeimer, @AmyNossaman, @HollyCrain, @JennieGeisheimer, @LeeONeil, @KristinBurgoyne, @CatherineCoker, @LaurieAbildso, and @TracyLarimer) are just dying to find out what we decided! And while I don't think the new name is super exciting by itself, it is much better…

@DeirdreMcLoughlin, When we present scholarships at high school awards ceremonies, we do announce the award amount. This is, in part, because most other presenters are announcing their award amounts and because we have worked very hard to increase our average award size. Good luck with your decision! Tom

@BrittanyYeley, No annual "meeting" for us. We do host an annual "Celebration of Community," which is open to anyone. (For those who might be bored tomorrow night (11/5), the program portion of the event -- 15 or so minutes -- will be live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CFNEIA ) Cheers! Tom

@MarshaPope, Congrats on making it to this milestone! (We reached this level only a few years ago.) To date, we haven't done any celebrating for financial milestones, only annual milestones. Best, Tom

Thank you, @LynsieLaughlin!

Too bad, @KaseyRouse. Around here, attendance is not listed on transcripts, so I wouldn't even know how to begin asking about this. I suspect most foundation's scholarship programs have those early agreements that stipulate unnecessary or undue burdens as part of the criteria. I know ours does. And I would count attendance…

We don't ask about a student's attendance. I guess it has never seemed relevant to our selection process! Maybe we're missing something, but -- just asking -- would it make more sense to just remove this question altogether? #fixtheform

Happy #FurryFriday from Sadie.

I've probably shared this before, but in case I haven't, here's one of our applications....

You are certainly missed on this side of the fence! If I lose another Iowa peer to Foundant I might have to ... well, let's just not go there! 😄 Congrats on the new role. I know you'll be awesome at it!

@AmyNossaman - I'll be sure to tell Kaye! 😊

These are all great ideas. I knew this community had some serious creative juices! Still happy to hear other ideas. 😁

@DaynaBrady, Sorry, we haven't utilized this survey. However, we do regular feedback questions on our applications and our grant reports (basic stuff like how was our customer service, how many hours did it take you to complete the application, etc.). We keep these feedback questions to 3 max per form. Good luck with your…

Hi @CathieWier, We may not be of much help, since our foundation recently adjusted how we categorize our grants by reducing the number of grant types (see attached descriptions). In our decision to go this route, we reviewed the focus areas (or grant types or program areas) of a number of foundations across the US and…

Agreed. Available to Grant is much better!

That's wonderfully generous of you! Can we suggest that all entries go into a drawing instead?

Still looking for other ideas from folks.... Should I offer prizes??????????? (Maybe that's a topic for another conversation -- things that incentivize Foundant users (beyond caramels)!) Thanks in advance! Tom

I kinda figured we might go that route, but I'm also trying to help the deciders better envision what 'could' be! Thanks for the suggestion, @TracyLarimer Other suggestions are still welcome! 😁

Our is similar: Jan. 10 opens; closes around March 10. Side note: This is one application deadline that changes from year to year. We purposely have the deadline always fall on a Wednesday night (moving date) rather than a fixed date, which may result in deadlines on weekends.

@kellydegering, In our competitive grant process, we allow non c3s to apply and receive funding. Because all grantees are required to complete a final report, which meets expenditure responsibility requirements, it's easy to open up the process to non c3s.

In addition to the above, we allow things like housing contracts, degree audits, and letters from advisors. Screenshots are perfectly acceptable as well.