A scholarship fund can be the best opportunity to impact the world, transform the lives of children, and leave a lasting impression on your organization, yourself, or your company.
However, creating and managing the program requires additional time, cash and training. Continuous marketing reviews of applications, customer service, and the disbursement of funds may be a substantial administrative burden to your team. At Scholarship America, we offer top-of-the-line scholarship administration alongside our charitable mission, and we manage scholarship programs for foundations and companies of any size. Working with us can provide you with time and also save you money while making a more significant impact on students.
If you’re considering starting an academic scholarship, here’s the information you should know.
Find out your “why”
What’s motivating you to begin the scholarship program, and what effect do you expect it to have?
Which students do you want to serve? Do you want to focus on recent high school graduates, current college students, or nontraditional groups such as adults returning to school or professionals who are upskilling?
Can you provide support to employees and their families or the community?
Are you serving a particular segment of the population, demographic or study field?
Do you intend to focus on the student’s financial needs or other criteria?
Understanding your objectives and intended audience will benefit in defining the process of administration and financing.
Sustainability and funding for scholarships
What is the way your scholarship is supported?
Is your scholarship granted once or renewed throughout the student’s college career?
Do you plan to fund tuition and other essential expenses for a living?
Do you know about tax rules governing scholarship award distribution?
Have you considered the administrative expenses and other resources, including processing applications, marketing, legal, printing, and award distribution?
As with all things, scholarships have hidden costs. The budget needed for a $5,000 award isn’t just $5,000.
Awards and selections for administration
How will you manage hosting, promoting and submitting scholarship applications?
Who will be evaluating applications and choosing award recipients? Can You warrant that their decision-making is impartial?
Have you considered outsourcing administrative tasks to warrant the sustainability of your resources?
Who will handle customer service inquiries?
A scholarship that has an impact can be a start.
How can you budget the necessary funds to benefit your local community accurately?
Are your criteria for scholarships inclusive sufficient to draw a substantial number of applicants?
What will you do to help your scholarship recipients throughout their studies?
To establish a real-value scholarship fund, it is recommended to start with a minimum award of $1,000; our sponsors have an average of less than $3500. The awards of more than $5,000 are considered prestigious, the kind of prize with an accurate impression, which is why a student will not forget.
Establishing an effective scholarship program requires extensive planning, in fact, before you begin creating applications, choosing the review committee, and responding to applicants’ questions. The good news is that you don’t need to tackle it alone.
If you’re a business planning to create an award fund for employees or their families or a person looking to develop a scholarship to honour a mentor or in memory of him, you’re in safe and in good hands. Every person deserves the opportunity to pursue their education goals regardless of financial standing. We at Scholarship America can benefit you and benefit others by bringing off their educational goals. Contact us now for more information on how you can collaborate to help students realize their dreams.
