Establishing Scholarships

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The mission of DCEF

The foundation's mission is to generate, monitor, and dispense funds; to provide financial support to programs for enrichment; and to encourage, recognize, and reward excellence in the students and staff of the Douglas County School System.

Overview of the Douglas County School System (DCSS)

The Douglas County School System's mission is to provide a quality education for all students in a safe, supportive environment. The vision is to build a community of lifelong learners that become responsible individuals, independent thinkers, and productive citizens.

The school system is the 17th largest school district in the state of Georgia with over 26,000 students and approximately 3,500 employees, making it Douglas County's largest employer. There are 33 schools: 20 elementary schools, eight middle schools, five high schools, plus the Success Center and the College and Career Institute. The school system is accredited by AdvancED.

The growing need for privately-funded scholarships

Privately-funded scholarships are a great area of need. Even for families not experiencing economic hardships, funding four years of tuition can be a daunting process, especially for families that have more than one child attending or planning to attend college or university.

It must be noted that scholarships are much more than financial support: they provide deserved recognition to outstanding students; they are a great honor to the recipients and their families; and they pay a fitting and lasting tribute to their namesake(s).

For the current 2021-2022 academic year, DCEF awarded $58,100 in scholarships to 51 students representing all five of our school system's high schools and the College and Career Institute. While we are proud of what is being accomplished, we declined the majority of qualified applications due to lack of funds.

How are scholarship criteria determined?

Foundation scholarships are for seniors graduating from one of the five high schools in the DCSS, the College and Career Institute, or the Success Center. Most scholarships require students to have a 3.0 minimum grade point average. Applicants must identify the activities they have participated in at their school and in their community; identify any recognitions/honors/and awards received during high school; write a brief biographical sketch that includes a statement of why they would benefit from the scholarship; upload a high school transcript; and summarize significant financial needs that limit their ability to further their education. Applicants must be U.S. citizens.

Scholarships without too many restrictions are the most appealing to students and easiest to administer. Scholarships with numerous restrictions are difficult to advertise, intimidating to applicants, and often hard to award, as specified. Despite the great need for scholarships, it is possible for overly-restricted scholarships not to have qualified applicants in a given year. The school system averages almost 2,000 seniors each year. With this many seniors, it is difficult to pinpoint those who may fit narrowly-defined criteria.

Should proposed criteria not be in keeping with DCEF's goals or be considered too restrictive to efficiently and effectively implement, the DCEF board or Scholarship Committee by majority vote may decline administration of the scholarship.

Who selects DCEF's scholarship recipients?

The Scholarship Committee at present is comprised primarily of DCEF board members who are a volunteer group of business, education, and community leaders. With the exciting growth of the foundation's scholarship program, we have added several committee members who do not serve on our board. These members are volunteers from the Douglas County community, including school system retirees, who have a passion for serving students and schools.

How many DCEF scholarships may one student receive?

DCEF prefers not to award more than one scholarship per student to spread the wealth to as many students as possible, though reserves the right to make an exception if the only qualified student for a particular fund has already received a scholarship. The Scholarship Committee awards scholarships with the greatest dollar value first.

Administration and stewardship of DCEF scholarships

DCEF advertises the availability of all scholarships to students through various avenues including its website, www.dcef.dcssga.org; its Facebook page and other Facebook pages that serve the school system; DCSS Digest; e-Announcements to principals, counselors, and staff; news releases to local media; etc.

The foundation manages the online application process, selects recipients according to criteria, and applies scholarships toward tuition and fees at each recipient's college or university of choice.

If a student cannot be identified for a particular scholarship in a given year, unused funds cannot be returned to the respective donor, but may be rolled over and awarded in a future year or used in another manner that supports DCEF's mission and is agreed upon by DCEF and the donor or donor representative.

When recipients are selected, DCEF notifies donors or donor representatives of the recipients and shares appropriate biographical information. Just as it is important for the foundation to let donors or donor representatives know who are receiving scholarships, it is important that the recipients know who are making their scholarships possible and a little about the scholarships' namesake(s). DCEF provides that information to recipients.

The foundation facilitates meetings between donors and recipients. These meetings may be through donors or donor representatives presenting certificates of recognition to recipients at their respective high school’s spring awards event or through invitation to a recognition event for all scholarship donors and recipients. Personal meetings allow donors to see tangible evidence of their gifts at work and allow the recipients an opportunity to say "thank you" in person.

Types of scholarships and naming opportunities for scholarships

There are two types of scholarship funds: endowed and non-endowed. With endowments, annual awards are given from interest earnings, leaving principal intact. As a result, these scholarships exist in perpetuity serving generations of students. Non-endowed scholarships are awarded annually until the fund is depleted or annual donations are no longer received for a particular scholarship. Scholarships may be renewable or non-renewable depending upon the wishes of the donor.

Scholarship naming opportunities are available for a minimum donation of $500 is the recommended minimum scholarship amount. To have a named scholarship offered in a particular year, DCEF requests a written pledge stating the donor's intent to fund the scholarship with the donation to come by December 30th of the year prior to the award year. The pledge would allow DCEF to begin advertising the scholarship to students in the fall prior to award year.

Scholarship timetable for the upcoming school year (2022-2023)

DCEF plans to open the online application period by January 1, 2022 for the 2022-2023 school year. The application period for students will be four to six weeks after which time applications will be reviewed by DCEF's Scholarship Committee.

Scholarships will be applied toward tuition and fees for Fall Semester 2022. Scholarships of more than $1,000 may be divided between Fall Semester 2022 and Spring Semester 2023.

How does one contribute to DCEF?

  • Checks made payable to DCEF may be mailed to 11490 Veterans Memorial Highway, Douglasville, GA 30134.

  • Credit card donations may be made securely through PayPal on DCEF's website, www.dcef.dcssga.org.

  • DCSS staff may fulfill pledges through payroll deduction.

  • With some limitations, donors can deduct the full fair market value of long term appreciated securities (stocks, bonds, and/or mutual funds) that have been owned a certain amount of time, typically longer than one year, and that have increased in value. Capital gains taxes are usually avoided by donating appreciated securities.

DCEF is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization and all contributions are fully tax deductible. All donors will receive a thank you letter with appropriate information for receiving charitable deductions from the IRS. DCEF recommends that donors consult their tax advisors prior to making donations of securities.

DCEF will notify family members of gifts made in honor or memory of a loved one or that mark a special occasion.

What scholarships are currently offered by DCEF?

Click here to see a list of DCEF scholarships.

 

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