Best Of
Re: What's your instructional text for scholarship essay questions?
We do things differently. For starters, I don't even call this section of the application an "essay," as that can intimidate many applications. (We use "Personal Narrative".) We also don't score their 'essay.' We use the information to learn about the student's barriers, accomplishments, and/or aspirations, but we aren't scoring their essay. Here are the instructions:
Please note that your Personal Narrative is not about how good of a writer you are. In fact, don’t even try to use flowery language. Just tell us what your goals are, why that’s important to you, and how you are going to achieve them.
Re: How has your foundation managed database functions / jobs internally?
We converted from FIMS to Csuite in Feb 2019. When I reached out to current csuite CF users at that time, I found the vast majority had the finance team managing the conversion and ongoing database administration. Our Admin and Finance teams are separate, and the Admin team is responsible for the database support and ongoing training. We have 13 staff members and each department (Grantmaking, Finance, Development and Admin) is responsible for ongoing database profile and account management and data clean up.
How has your foundation managed internal database work? Are the roles and responsbilities spread out across multiple staff or concentreated within 1 or a few? EVERYONE SHARES OWNERSHIP IN CSUITE, BUT ADMIN DEPT - MAINLY ONE PERSON - MYSELF - IS THE LEAD.
If concentrated within 1 role, would you be open to sharing that job description? Who does that role report to?
Did any new roles appear after transition to new systems? NO, NOTHING NEW. ALTHOUGH WE ARE FINDING THAT CUSTOM REPORTING IS FOCUSED ON ONE PERSON, MYSELF.
Has your database administrator role become more strategic with time? If so, please elaborate! DURING THE FIRST TWO YEARS AFTER CONVERSION, CSUITE WAS ONE OF OUR STRATEGIC GOALS (CONVERSION, DATA CLEAN UP, PROCEEDURE EFFICIENCY AND DOCUMENTATION).
Re: Cryptocurrency donations
We recently revised our gift acceptance policies to include cryptocurrency and signed up with Engiven. We checked with other cryptocurrency management sites and found Engiven to be the best fit for our foundation. Engiven does not charge anything unless and until the Foundation receives a donation (no annual fee); it is then a 5% fee off the top, they convert it to cash and deposit the money directly into your bank account no matter the time of day. We did not want the hassle of owning and managing our own wallet as we wanted any crypto donations to be immediately converted to cash. Engiven also helps you set up a widget for your website for no additional charge. You can add and close funds on the site to accept donations and it is very user friendly. They have been very helpful to us, and I would absolutely recommend them.
Michelle
Re: Cryptocurrency donations
We actually just signed up for an account at the Giving Block to help us facilitate crypto donations. It was pretty easy and we are in the process of giving a donation page set up on our website now.
Nick
Congratulations Elsie Thomson!
Foundant's very own @ElsieThomson has been recognized by the Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG) as a 2022 Emerging Leader! Congrats to Elsie, and all the other recipients of this honor.
Re: Seeking ideas for fun and/or inspiring grant names
As promised, we've randomly selected a winner of an Amazon gift card from the comments!
And the winner is...@CatherineCoker!
Catherine, keep an eye on your inbox for a message from me.
Keep the great ideas coming!
(Winner selected with www.pickerwheel.com)
Re: How long is your scholarship application open?
We launch January 1 every year and deadline is the first Monday of March, which is the 7th this year. Considering opening it in mid-December after some feedback that our college students prefer to apply to scholarships over their winter break from classes but just depends on how quickly we can get all the pieces together. Our board approves the awards at their meeting in May in time to be announced at local graduations.
NEW FEATURE: Follow Your Favorite Categories!
Hi Compass Members! Many of you have asked for this one, and I'm happy to announce it's finally here! You can now "follow" specific subcategories, i.e. "Grants & Scholarships" (shown below), CSuite Q&A, etc.
To view the options and customize your preferences, just look for the bell icon underneath the subcategory's title and description:
Select your preference. That's it! You can come back to adjust these notifications any time.
This new feature will make it much easier to follow the discussion areas that are most relevant to you and your work!
