LaurieAbildso ✭✭✭

We started making test scores optional in 2021, because many schools our students were applying to had shifted to test-optional. Students are not required to submit scores, but many of them do. We ask evaluators to rate students on their academics with a focus on their GPA and the rigor of their coursework, but they can…

Sharing our scholarship awards press release here: We list all recipients and also highlight any inaugural awards. We send to all of the media outlets in our five-county region, and publication varies from year to year.

We disburse funds in July. We ask for newly awarded students to complete an online scholarship acceptance form by June 15. By that time, they should be settled on a school and be able to provide their student ID. For our renewals, we ask for those forms to be submitted by May 31, but I usually have a few to follow up with…

Hi there, and welcome! We are accepting the estimated SAI that students receive upon submission of the form. Here's our wording, in case it helps you: Please attach a copy of your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) page that includes your Student Aid Index (SAI). We do not need the entire document, just the page that shows…

Hi @MarianClowes! We use this language in our guidelines: "Faith organizations, such as churches, are eligible to receive funding for activities that are non-discriminatory, nonsectarian, and that benefit the larger community." I am also curious about other foundations' guidelines on awarding grants to religious…

Thanks, @JoAnnaDarda! How do you handle duplicate EINs when multiple teachers from the same school district apply? Do you prompt applicants to get in touch with you or do you allow them to continue creating a new organization and then later merge them?

@JoAnnaDarda thanks for this great info! Would you be willing to share your teacher guide? Thank you!

We send this two-sided sheet to our scholarship fundholders along with any thank you notes received from their respective recipients. I am behind on getting this out for this year, but have attached last year's update. We created this in Canva. Hope it's helpful!

In the past they have created their own accounts, but we rarely had more than one teacher per school. We may need to rethink this for our next grant cycle where we are likely to receive multiple applications per school. Would love to hear how others have handled this. We've only had 5-6 school grants per year, but this…

Yes, each teacher is a contact under the school organization with the principal as the primary org. contact. We do sync grants to CSuite for payment.

Hi @AmandaHicks. We are delving into teacher mini-grants this year, as well. In the past, we have provided a few grants to schools using GLM. Typically, the teacher/educator completes the application. Upon award, we have the principal also sign off on the grant acceptance form (also through GLM), and payment is made to the…

We send two checks (one for fall and one for spring) for most of our scholarships, unless they are valued at $1,000 or less for the year. In that case, we pay the full amount with one check and ask that it be applied to the fall semester. For those scholarships of over $1,000, we pay out in July for the Fall semester and…

@JoAnnaDarda I'd love to hear more about how you structure your evaluations with two phases. We have one phase with donor representatives sitting on committees (as a minority), and we give them two weeks to review and enter their ratings. Once their ratings are entered, I prepare summary reports for committees to use in…

@WendyAbel, would you be willing to share the metrics your collect?

We allow students to use scholarships for room and board and include this language in our scholarship award letters: In certain situations, scholarship funds are considered taxable income for the recipient. The Internal Revenue Service provides information about scholarships on their website at…

Wonderful summary! Thank you for providing this platform for us to learn from each other!

We will continue to ask students who took standardized tests to share their scores, but offer the option of not including them if their chosen school/program of study does not require them.

@KatieMcConville, we have a scholarship that requires participation in "athletics." I guess it depends on your donor's intent. Is there a living donor you could contact? I would think that if they specified "sports," they may be limiting it to traditional sports/athletics. This is the wording we have been using for our…

This is how we ask for an evaluation plan on our competitive grant applications: How will the organization measure the impact of this project? Please include your plan for reporting on specific, measurable outcomes. This should include measures beyond the number of individuals served. How will you measure what changes…

We had 382 submitted this year and 329 abandoned. Likewise, these are applications, not students, with multiple UA opportunities.

We have an overall scholarship steering committee that reviews all selections recommended by the individual scholarship committees prior to our board vote. If there is a student who was recommended for multiple awards, the committee may recommend going back to the committees to see if they would like to perhaps select the…

I feel your pain, @MarieFelver. We have a trade/technical scholarship to retrain adults who experienced job loss, and we are struggling to get applicants. The most success we have had is through connecting with the trade schools and community colleges in our area to make them aware of the scholarship, and they send…

Thank you, @KatieOttinger! Much appreciated. If you would be willing to share the MOU template, I'd love to see it. You may email it to me at laurie@ycfwv.org. Thanks again!

@KatieOttinger, we have been approached by our County Commissioners to oversee the administration of their annual grant program. We are putting together a proposal outlining what we are able to provide, and it will be very similar to your arrangement with your county's administration of ARPA funds. I am wondering if you…

Thanks for sharing, @KatieMcConville! Great idea to invite recipients in for their feedback, as well. I'd be curious to know if they are able to shed light on why their peers do not apply. This is something we struggle to figure out. I've attached a copy of the survey we sent to our evaluators this year in case others are…

@KellyMartinka , I love that you include thank you note-writing tips!

Hi @MarshaStrauss! I'm knee-deep in scholarship award letters right now and happy to share a sample! This one is for one of our one-time awards. We continue to print these on letterhead and provide to the student along with an award certificate. These are hand-delivered at senior award ceremonies or mailed to those…

@leeahmahon I use my personal cell phone, which is not ideal. If anyone uses a (reasonably priced) text service they're happy with, I'll take recommendations!

Thank you, @StephSchneider. That sounds look a good workaround for now.

@CarolReynolds voted! Thank you for posting that in the idea lab. I go in and deny applications that do not have have the required recommendations on the day after the due date, but there could be some that slip by me with a high volume of applications to review. It would be great to have a hard deadline on those third…