Grants & Scholarships
Friday, December 11, 2009
MINNESOTA POWER SCHOLARSHIPS
In addition to the regularly endowed scholarships that the Community Foundation manages, we are also privileged to help Minnesota Power administer their two scholarships for local students. So this week I want to promote those two awards.
The first is the
Minnesota Power Community Involvement Scholarship. This award is now in its 13th year and recognizes the efforts of high school seniors who have contributed to their local communities through their activities and volunteerism.
Eligibility is limited to students whose homes receive their electricity from Minnesota Power and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. This year Minnesota Power has generously sponsored this award with $50,000 which will be divided up between 20 winners. Previously the award was $2000 for 25 winners, so this year, the competition will be a little steeper, but the prize will be better than ever.
The
Minnesota Power New Generation Scholarship is the second of the Minnesota Power scholarships. This scholarship, now in its third year, is directed toward helping local college students graduate and contribute to the economic vitality of the region. As such, eligible applicants are limited to those studying one of about 10 majors at one of several local institutions. Students must also be in the last half of their degree at the start of the fall 2010 semester.
This year for the first time, the New Generation award is more specifically divided up between those pursuing an Associates degree (a $1000 award) and those pursuing a Bachelors degree (a $2500 award), with different applications for each.
Here too, Minnesota Power has provided a generous $50,000 for these awards and funds will be divided between the two programs depending on the applications received. For the complete list of schools and majors, see the information sheets downloadable from the web page listed below.
For both of these awards, applications are due soon (January 15th for Community Involvement and February 1 for New Generation) for awards which will start in the fall of 2010. To apply for either of these awards, complete an application available on the Minnesota Power website
www.mnpower.com/scholarships.
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Monday, December 7, 2009
INTERVIEW TIMEOne of the best parts of my job has now started. Tuesday and Wednesday of last week I spent all day at East High School interviewing students for scholarships. Other area high schools are on the agenda for the next couple of weeks.
Over the period of those two days I met about 30 excellent students from East. Each interview was scheduled for 20 minutes but - because everyone seems to have so much going on - it was hard to get them done and keep on schedule.
I love this time of year because speaking with the kids and learning all about them is so energizing. All of the kids I met have done so much already and - more importantly - have such big plans and goals. Everyone seems to be brimming with potential.
I am not going to give away too much as far as advice for those planning their own interviews, but just suffice to say, be yourself and have a good time with it. I don't bite and am eager to learn who you are and what has brought you thus far. The best way for you to do that is to be yourself.
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Monday, November 23, 2009
EARLY SUBMISSIONSSo last week I wrote about the first application of the year arriving.
When it came in I immediately replied back and said, "Thanks I got your submission" just so that the sender would know her email wasn't floating around in cyberspace somewhere. I do that will all electronic submissions I receive.
Then yesterday I looked it over more closely. I was looking for obvious errors or mistakes. By errors I don't mean typos and misspellings - she'll have to live with those now. But I was checking for totally missing answers or those type of thing. (In the old days before electronic apps, many people's big stumbling block was a not-signed application.)
This application looked fine, but had I found something stupid which would take her out of the running, I would have contacted her and let her know the problem. Seeing how she's gotten her application in this early, she deserves that much consideration. I'd let her know what I found and like everyone, she'll have until January 15th to fix it.
The message here follows logically; if you wait until January 13th or 14th to submit your application, there won't be time for me to check it, nor time for you to correct it before the 15th deadline. I want to help you to succeed, but the deadline is the deadline. I'm more than willing to help you with silly errors, but you have to give me time to do it!
The moral of this story, get your application in early!!
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Thursday, November 19, 2009
FIRST APPLICATION IS HERE
If you were hoping to submit the first application of the scholarship season to the DSACF office, you're too late. Earlier this week the scholarships@dsacommunityfoundation.com inbox received its first bump of the season with an application.
I am not going to embarrass the super organized and way-prompt individual here by naming names, but you've got to hand it to her for being so on the ball. The deadline is two months away and her application is already in. She can kick back and enjoy the Holidays knowing one of the big tasks of her senior year is done.
And I must say, it looks like a solid application. I don't have the transcripts, recommendations or FAFSA information yet, but a quick glance through it tells me that this applicant is probably in the running. She's checked about a half dozen boxes at the top of the application and my guess is she'll get a second or third look by the committee.
So you may not be first, but this isn't a race. We've received one solid application, but there are plenty of scholarships to go around. And in the end, it is the quality of the application - not when it arrived to the office - that's important. I am looking forward to the weeks ahead when the inbox is pushed to overflowing with similarly great applications.
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Monday, November 2, 2009
ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONSThis is the second year the Community Foundation will accept electronic scholarship applications. Last year, it was totally optional; students could either submit a paper application or an electronic application. This year, we'll still accept paper, but at the same time are
'strongly urging' electronic applications.
After last year's experience, we're confident that this is shift is a good thing. Students seem to love the online application. They have more flexibility and don't ever have to bother with stamps, envelopes or the post office. We in the office like it; it's more efficient, with less chance for data entry error. And our scholarship committees love it; the electronic applications are put on our password-protected website so committee members can do their review whenever and wherever they like. And finally, it's the wave of the future.
The only catch is - with an online application, you need a computer to complete and submit it. Realizing that scholarships are to designed to help kids and the kids who need the most help may not have a computer, the question is "Are we creating a hurdle for the people we are specifically trying to help?" We don't think so. Talking with counselors and teachers, we know that students have plenty of access to computers - in school, at libraries and elsewhere.
But the question still remains, so to address it even further, we have set up a computer station here at the Community Foundation for students who want to come in and work on their applications. It's nothing special, just a computer in a cubicle, but students should feel free to come in and spend as much time as necessary (during business hours) filling out the form and writing the
perfect essay. We just need to know when you want to come. Either call (218-726-0232) or use the
contact us link on our website to request some time on the scholarship computer.
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Monday, October 19, 2009
NEW SCHOLARSHIPSNow that I think about it a little more, the biggest reason for the Application redesign was the addition of two new scholarships!!
Comparing our new application with last years, one would notice that we have four columns of checkboxes at the top of the 2009-2010 scholarship application (compared to three in 2008-09). That's because we had to make room for both the Superior Shores Resort Scholarship and the Charlotte Ulland Scholarship for Girls. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the number of scholarship awards is gradually climbing!
This year, students from the North Shore are the big beneficiaries. The Superior Shores Resort award is for students of Lake Superior School District (Two Harbors and William Kelley HS). Likewise, the Charlotte Ulland award is for students graduating from schools in Lake or Cook counties.
Both awards have great stories behind their creation and additional criteria for application, so check out the websites (
Superior Shores and
Charlotte Ulland).
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Thursday, October 15, 2009
APPLICATIONS AVAILABLEScholarship applications for the 2009 -2010 school year are now available online.
There are two main applications, the general application for the majority of our scholarships and a specific application for the Greg Irons award. You can find them both online
here.
Both applications are very similar to last year's applications. Most of this year's changes were to the layout and appearance of the form. We're always trying to streamline our process and these changes will greatly help our in-office efficiency.
The application has a few new questions, but they are more the 'quick answer' variety. If you have the data (ACT test scores and class rank), the new questions won't slow you down at all. The more time consuming short answer and essay questions are exactly the same as years past.
Perhaps the biggest change with this year's application is the push toward electronic. We're trying really hard to be paperless. It's more efficient for us in the office; it's easier on the world's trees; it's more 'for sure' (we send a reception confirmation email; before you were just putting it in a mailbox); the review committees like it better; and students seem to like the convenience.
In the days to come I will focus on some other aspects of the application so stay tuned. But in the meantime
download your application today and start working on it!
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