2019
Annual
Report
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Scholarship America looked very different at the end of 2019 than at the beginning.
A true statement in a very literal sense: 2019 saw the launch of a completely refreshed brand identity, built after extensive research to reflect our position as a trusted resource for students and a forward-thinking partner for scholarship supporters.
We launched a new website focused squarely on the student experience and student success. We launched new partnerships to make our scholarship and tuition assistance software more user-friendly, mobile-focused – and accessible to more students. Each of these improvements is leading us to a faster, more secure, and far simpler way for students to find and apply for scholarships.
These efforts also complemented another major theme of 2019: advocating for students and helping them become better advocates for themselves. Our work emphasized that scholarship funds are necessary but also more impactful when combined with other supports – and we continue to search out and implement new ways to provide students with the cultural, social and financial support it takes to succeed in college.
Finally, we spent 2019 expanding our outreach and partnership strategies. Our annual Dreams to Success Dinner and Partner Summit events had the highest student involvement yet, and we capped off our advocacy work by re-joining the National Scholarship Providers Association (NSPA) board and serving as an integral part of their annual conference in Minneapolis.
Everything we do at Scholarship America is focused on student success. Partnership, advocacy and technology improvements are guided by one question: how can this help more students achieve their dreams?
With that as our lodestar, we look back on a successful year of innovation – and forward to an even brighter future.
Sincerely,
2019 By the
Numbers
$4 billion
distributed
to 2.4 million
students
$4 billion
to students
$276 million
distributed
to over 100,000
students annually
$276 million
annually
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS
EMERGENCY AID
REDUCING STUDENT DEBT
COMMUNITY BASED SCHOLARSHIPS
Student
Success
In addition to celebrating the 2019 Dream Award Scholars, Scholarship America’s fifth annual Dreams to Success Awards Dinner, presented by Voya Financial, brought together more than 350 leaders in education, government, business and philanthropy on May 15 in Washington, D.C.
At the event, we raised more than $770,000 to support future Dream Award Scholars, and we honored three extraordinary scholarship providers. Click on their logos to learn more.
Strategic
Success
Student success means getting college students the
financial, cultural and social support they need.
To keep our mission focused on that support,
we align our work to three strategic goals:
in scholarships
$479,000
students awarded
46
DREAM AWARD
partner programs
1,442
through
$242.6 million
awards totaling
79,920
PARTNER PROGRAMS
in scholarships
$10.6 million
awards totaling
681
FAMILIES OF FREEDOM
in scholarships
$3.1 million
students awarded
4,277
DREAMKEEPERS
states participating
34
2019 retention rate
92%
partners as of Dec.31
275
COLLEGIATE PARTNERS
states participating
30
in scholarships
$22 million
students awarded
18,396
DOLLARS FOR SCHOLARS
Isaiah French
Janeise Davis
Daniel Hernandez
Patrick Palau
Michelle Nguyen
Isaiah French
industrial technology major, Fitchburg State University, Dollars for Scholars Student Volunteer of the Year
Walking down a Boston street with his mom at a young age, Isaiah French encountered a man wearing a trash bag as his only protection against the harsh wind, and he realized how lucky he truly was by comparison. “Being around people that had more than I had blocked my vision to the world around me, but that one man changed my whole perspective,” Isaiah said. “I knew I had to do something.”
What he did was to coordinate the gathering of a minivan full of clothing to hand out to those in need. That effort grew into Project Warm-Up, a year-round support organization with over seventy volunteers working to get food, clothes and supplies to the city’s homeless.
“I have been able to engage 4-H members as young as five and students from my school into service,” he said. “My presentations to a variety of nonprofit organizations have led to their hosting collection drives. We have come together for a cause, supporting and engaging each other. My desire to help the homeless, has helped all involved.”
Janeise Davis
computer science major, Lewis University, Dream Award Scholar
“When I received an email stating that I had been chosen to receive a Dream Award Scholarship, I could barely contain my joy. I almost cried with happiness. I had to transfer universities twice to find the right academic fit for me. Furthermore, I battled devastating digestive illnesses during my second year of college that almost caused me to take time off school. However, I persevered, especially thanks to the help of my family and friends, and have been continuing on the path to receiving my degree.”
Daniel Hernandez
film/television major, Boston University, Dream Award Scholar
“This scholarship has changed my life. When I applied to universities there was so much doubt from counselors and teachers who knew I couldn’t pay for this kind of education, and yet I always told them that somewhere and somehow I would find a way. Your gift is the answer to my prayers that my family could worry less about these costs. This scholarship not only changed my life and future, but also the entire Hernandez family.”
Patrick Palau
sociology major, Brigham Young University, Dream Award Scholar
“I take great joy in this amazing opportunity. The scholarship has already allowed me to show the Tongan people in my culture that education is the key to opportunity. It truly takes a whole village to raise a child and I am a product of that. This year marks 14 years since my mother passed away from cancer and to this day I honor her by doing well in my academics.”
Michelle Nguyen
political science/economics major, University of North Dakota, Dream Award Scholar
“The opportunity to meet the other scholarship recipients and hear their stories [at Scholarship America’s Dreams to Success Celebration] was greatly appreciated. I learned that every student’s story is unique and it helped me feel confident in reaching for my goals and believe in myself. I feel connected with the other recipients.”
“Unlike many programs, Scholarship America works with scholarship recipients until you graduate. The event was a life-changing experience and it was great to be able to speak with donors and staff who support the program. The staff showed me their love for their job and that is what I want to experience in my future job and know I can positively affect other people.
I asked how I can help the organization and was connected with the chairs of North Dakota Dollars for Scholars. They in turn invited me to be a judge for the chapter’s competition for high school students vying for scholarships.”
Since 1973, the Chick-fil-A Remarkable Futures Scholarship has helped 53,000 team members, through a total investment of $75 million in scholarships. In 2019 alone, Chick-fil-A awarded $15.34 million in scholarships to more than 6,000 team members. Chick-fil-A’s initiative is based on founder S. Truett Cathy’s strong belief in empowering young people to achieve their dreams. In a 2018 survey, 60 percent of recipients stated this scholarship made it possible for them to attend college, with 20 percent being first-generation college students.
The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation provides an achievement-based scholarship awarded to graduating high school seniors. Since 1986, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation has supported over 1,400 college students each year with annual scholarships totaling $3.55 million. Students are recognized for their capacity to lead and serve, as well as their commitment to making a significant impact on their schools and communities. With the 30th class in 2018, the Foundation has provided over 6,000 Coca-Cola Scholars with more than $66 million in educational support.
Detroit Regional Dollars for Scholars (DRDFS) provides students with the knowledge, resources, and experiences to help get them to the next level. The organization is highly engaged in student participants’ lives for three years leading up to high school graduation to ensure dollars invested have the greatest possible impact. Programming includes: SAT test preparation, etiquette training, Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion workshops, campus visits, and other support. The difference is remarkable: statewide, 18 percent of Michigan college students will graduate with a degree in six years, compared to 68 percent of DRDFS students.
Making Success Possible
For 60 years, Scholarship America has relied on community support to fund the future of student success. Thanks to the people and organizations listed here, thousands of students are able to follow their college dreams.
We can’t thank them enough for their generosity.
Organize for results and operate
with excellence and efficiency
Employee nominations once again earned Scholarship America a designation as one of the Star Tribune’s Top 150 Places to Work in Minnesota, for the second year in a row.
On April 1, 2019, Scholarship America launched and implemented a completely new brand across its web, digital, print and social channels. As part of the rebranding, we relaunched ScholarshipAmerica.org with a specific focus on user experience and increasing content and accessibility for our student audience.
In conjunction with our new brand launch, we established a Dollars for Scholars Marketing Hub, giving our network of Dollars for Scholars volunteers a one-stop digital shop for branded materials, templates, training, marketing and fundraising materials.
The launch of our new scholarshipamerica.org website led to users spending 56% more time on the site. Bounces decreased by 21%, organic traffic by 23% and mobile traffic by 23%.
For full audited financial statements from 2019, see here.
Build an exceptional student experience and increase program value for all constituents
As an organization, we accepted and evaluated more than 250,000 applications for over 1,400 scholarship and tuition assistance programs and 472 Dollars for Scholars affiliates, and distributed over $250 million to nearly 100,000 students – all while upgrading our technology, our training and our brand.
We partnered with 100 new organizations to offer another $1 million in scholarships to students across the country and around the world.
We brought together 32 scholarship recipients for a day of networking, learning and collaborating at the Dreams to Success Celebration; at the event, they took over the newly launched Scholarship America Instagram channel.
Promote the impact of private scholarships (and be the voice of the student)
As an organization, we supported vital student aid policy initiatives including:
- Sustained campaign calling on Congress to stop taxing student scholarships, kicked off via joint press conference with NSPA
- California Assemblyman David Chiu’s successful Bill to Provide Emergency Financial Aid, which clears the way for California community colleges to access an expanded pool of funds for emergency aid
- The Emergency Grant provision of the College Affordability Act in the House Education and Labor Committee
Promote Impact
Build Experiential Leadership
Organize for Results
Results
In conjunction with the Dreams to Success Awards Dinner, Scholarship America convened our second annual Partner Summit in Washington, D.C. The Summit brought together thought leaders, scholarship providers, students and alumni to learn how we can create more impactful scholarships. The event also kicked off a yearlong “Community of Practice” engagement, convening participants virtually to keep the connections and discussions going.
The National Scholarship Providers’ Association (NSPA) annual conference was held in our home of Minneapolis, and we leveraged the opportunity by partnering with NSPA on several events, including a press conference to raise awareness on the issue of taxability of scholarships
Goal #1
Promote the impact of private scholarships (and be the voice of the student)
Goal #2
Build an exceptional student experience and increase program value for all constituents
Goal #3
Organize for results and operate with excellence and efficiency
Thanks to our partners, our philanthropic supporters, our volunteers and our team members, below are a few key achievements made in each of these areas in 2019.
Our development team raised $1.184 million in 2019 for the Dream Award -- nearly three times our goal.
Cross-functional fundraising efforts on Giving Tuesday raised over $65,000, representing a 205% increase over 2018; the day’s average gift was $535.
We completed the beta test of the Scholarship America Hub, our new technology platform for scholarship management. This successful test brings us one step closer to migrating all programs to this new, more robust and student-focused technology solution.
In addition, Scholarship America partnered with EdFlo, a leading provider of tuition management software, to overhaul the technology powering our tuition assistance programs. By leveraging this new platform, we are able to more closely integrate our TA services with employee-facing payroll systems, giving them an easier process to obtain this valuable benefit.
The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund continued to serve financially needy families who lost loved ones on 9/11, hosting student and family seminars throughout the tristate area and in Washington, DC and awarding over $12 million in needs-based scholarships to support more than 700 students during the 2018-19 academic year.
Contents
JUMP TO A SECTION THAT INTERESTS YOU
A Letter From our President and CEO
2019 By the Numbers
Student Success Stories
Dreams to Success Honorees
Strategic Success
With that as our lodestar, we look back on a successful year of innovation – and forward to an even brighter future.
Sincerely,
Robert C. Ballard
President & CEO
Promote Impact
Build Exceptional Experience
Organize for Results
Results
Promote Impact
Build Exceptional Experience
Organize for Results
Results
Goal #1
Goal #2
Goal #3
Results
Join the movement and
support future students
Robert C. Ballard
President & CEO
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Join the movement and
support future students
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