By Colette Hadley, Senior Director of Consulting Services
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At the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), we find that scholarship providers that undertake a program assessment are often surprised to find that there are many ways to streamline operations and make greater impact for their students. Foundations can move away from a complex donor-driven
scholarship program and expand their educational grant making to a postsecondary attainment initiative featuring strategic, needs-based scholarship awards supported by current and new donors.
Sometimes we see that staff members managing scholarship programs are reluctant to educate and inform their current and prospective donors about what can be done to increase postsecondary attainment in their local region, why it matters, and about the
opportunity to invest in local talent. Foundations generally excel at accommodating donors and are very willing to accept all sorts of scholarship selection criteria to land a donor. But to truly make impact, and to move towards a more equitable program
for students, organizations have a responsibility to do better at educating their contributors with a proactive effort, not a reactive effort.
Scholarship providers should ask themselves: “What are the guiding principles of our scholarship program – what is our goal?” “Do we want to move towards achieving more equitable outcomes?” If so, foundations can’t continue to blame donors for their shortcomings
or continue to operate scholarship programs in a vacuum.
Call on NCAN for help!
With targeted consulting assistance, foundations can transform scholarship programs into assets that measurably help targeted student populations, as well as attract more local individuals into the donor pipeline. NCAN provides expert advice and hands-on
help to foundations and organizations across the country that are looking to assess and update their scholarship practices, secure new donors, build sustainable programs, and find the best ways to collect and benchmark their data.
NCAN is the national industry leader in consulting with foundations on scholarship programs. We know your business and can help you bring out the best in your program. For questions and information contact Colette Hadley at hadley@ncan.org.
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