Scholarships for the Military Community

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1 Scholarships for the Military Community Overview College is an overwhelmingly expensive prospect for many individuals and their families. With tuition skyrocketing year after year, the ability of many parents to provide financial support through their children s college years has been significantly diminished. Many service members and veterans originally chose to join the military as a way to defray the costs of higher education. This has become an attractive option for many individuals as a result of the GI Bill, which provides extensive tuition and living assistance after a set period of service. The Post 9/11 GI Bill is the most recent iteration of the GI Bill and is the preferred option for the majority of those eligible for education benefits. It provides full tuition and fees for instate students at public universities, or will provide up to a cap of $17,500 per academic year for out-of-state students or those enrolled in private schools. o Benefits can also be used for on-the-job training, apprenticeships, and noncollege degree programs. o Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits are transferrable to a child or spouse. o Those who have completed 90 days of aggregate service since September 11, 2001, are eligible for benefits. o Visit the VA's GI Bill site for more complete information. Despite the array of benefits provided by the GI Bill, however, many veterans a number of miscellaneous costs that either exceed their provided benefits or are simply not covered in the provisions of the bill. Many others are faced with the choice of pursuing education themselves or sacrificing their eligibility for their spouses or children. While the GI Bill has had a transformative effect on the post-service career options of those in the military, many needs remain unmet. Assisting the military community with the location of scholarships can be of great benefit to service members, veterans, and military families. The formation of a military scholarship fund also provides an excellent way for the community to render assistance to those who need additional help. Whether large or small, the distribution of military scholarships can be of significant use to service members, veterans, and military families in the modern era of skyrocketing tuition and fees. They are also relatively cheap and easy to implement on the community level. By pitching in, your community can ensure that each and every veteran is able to pursue a college degree if they so choose. There are three steps to assisting the military community with scholarships: 1) Locate existing forms of financial aid and help military community members apply; 2) Create a Scholarship Fund (optional); and 3) Market the types of financial aid available.

2 Is it being done already? Many communities particularly those with a strong military presence or nearby installation may already have scholarships devoted to the military. Contact local groups and organizations and attempt to discover if a scholarship fund already exists in your community. Officers and Enlisted Wives Clubs, school alumni organizations, Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs), nonprofits, and military installations should be the targets of your initial outreach. If a scholarship fund already exists, it may be more beneficial for you to assist in other ways. You may be able to raise funds or promote the scholarship, for example. Step-by-Step Implementation Step 1: Locate Existing Forms of Financial Aid Scholarships can be difficult for service members, veterans, and military families to locate. Though many are aware that scholarships exist, they might not be familiar with programs or organizations through which they are offered. The scholarship system itself can also be confusing; the criteria for monetary rewards often lack transparency, and so can be frustrating for those in financially difficult situations. The following steps should provide you with some ways to remedy these all-too-common issues: Scholarship Listings: To provide maximum benefit to service members, veterans, and military families, you should seek to compile a list of scholarships available within the community together with the amount rewarded, the criteria for selection, and other relevant information. o Contact relevant parties within the community to discover available scholarships. These parties should include local organizations, military installations, and other groups. o Many military-specific scholarships are highly specialized. For example, families of Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technicians are eligible for a scholarship from the Explosive Ordinance Memorial Foundation. Keep this in mind as you perform your outreach and attempt to locate scholarships in the community. o Military OneSource and the American Legion's Need a Lift? provide extensive financial aid information for service members, veterans, and military families. You should begin your assessment with these sites. Outreach: Locate individuals in the community who currently serve or who have served in the past on scholarship selection boards. Ask them to provide some basic insight into the scholarship process: applications, selections, monetary rewards, etc. These individuals may also be able to discuss scholarships within the community.

3 o Compile whatever information you receive in a neat fashion together with your Scholarship Listings. You can distribute these basic tips to the local service members, veterans, and military families. The information will help clarify the scholarship process, while the discussion of community scholarships may point them in promising directions for funding possibilities. FAFSA: The Free Application for Financial Student Aid, or FAFSA, is form completed annually by prospective and current college students. It is used to determine the student s eligibility for financial aid. Need-based scholarships may request a copy of the FAFSA in order to determine eligibility. o You may wish to provide a brief guide to the FAFSA in your compilation of scholarship materials. Materials and information can be found on the FAFSA site. Contact Schools: Most colleges and universities can provide extensive information on the scholarships available to students. The school may also provide scholarships themselves, or may be able to direct interested parties to alumni organization scholarships. o You should direct your first outreach attempts to the Financial Aid office of the local school. They are the most likely possess substantial information regarding scholarship opportunities. o Many schools also have a dedicated VA liaison. This individual may be able to share knowledge about military-specific scholarships within the school and community. They may also be able to clarify any questions about GI Bill benefits. o Financial aid advisors may also be able to provide general information about how to create an attractive scholarship application. Locating the scholarship is only half the battle; the other half is actually receiving the funds. Compile whatever information you are able to glean from your interactions with financial aid advisors for future distributions to service members, veterans, and military families. Volunteer Opportunities Title: Financial Aid Research Specialist Task: Conduct extensive research to discover and assess the financial resources available to the local military community; compile this information in a neat, distributable fashion; create a directory or a PowerPoint-type presentation to educate the members of the military community. Attributes: Excellent research skills and ability to effectively communicate in a written format. Who: Local high school and college students, members of the military community, and others with an interest in support service members, veterans, and military families. Hours: 15 per month

4 Step 2: Create a Scholarship Fund The creation of a Community Scholarship Fund can be onerous and may require an established network of community connections in order to succeed. You may wish to forego this step if you are not confident in the ability of your Action Team to leverage your relationships to raise funds. Scholarship funding is extremely important, however, and can have a profound impact on the education opportunities of service members, veterans, and military families in your community. Should you choose to create a Community Scholarship Fund, the following steps should provide guidance: Fundraising Events: The simplest way to raise money for scholarship awards is through simple fundraising activities. Bake sales, races, organized athletic events, haunted houses, raffles, and nearly any other activity can be considered a fundraising exercise. o Fundraising events are quite common; they are also commonly failures. Before dedicating time and resources to a fundraising event, conduct a thorough costbenefit analysis and consider the following: How much will the event cost? How much will the event need to raise in order to be a success? Where will the event be held? Are local businesses or other organizations willing to sponsor the event? Local nonprofit organizations and VSOs may also offer sponsorship opportunities. Direct Solicitation: A more complicated way of raising funds is through direct solicitation of parties in the community. This involves essentially asking for money. You should be prepared to pitch your cause with a brief speech covering your purpose, the reasoning behind your effort, and the method you will use to distribute funds. o Leverage your relationships with community organizations in order to raise funds. o Individuals also offer a significant source of funding. Selection Committee: You will need to choose a board of individuals to manage the disbursal of the scholarships. Your selection committee should be comprised of a representative group of individuals. Local businesses, nonprofits, and members of the military community should be equally represented to ensure a fair approach to scholarship selection. Selection Criteria: You or your selection committee must establish criteria in order to determine how you will disburse the raised funds. Distributing funds at a whim will result in significant loss of accountability over time, and will threaten the long-term success of your project. The criteria will largely depend on the particular priorities of community and team. With that said, you may wish to consider the following: o What will the application form look like? o How many scholarships will you award? o Will your scholarship be merit-based, need-based, or some combination? If it is a combination, how will you weigh merit and need-based factors in order to create a fair system?

5 o Will your scholarships be disbursed in set amounts? That is, will your rewards be set at, for example, $1000, $2,000, $3,000, etc.? o If so, will different individuals receive different awards, or will all individuals receive the same award, regardless of comparative qualifications? o Will your application require an essay, interview, or other form of personal statement? o Will you consider GPA as a factor for current students? How will you weigh college GPA for current students as opposed to those who yet to matriculate to a college? o There are many other factors that you should carefully consider. Management: You may need to create a management board or trust to care for the funds raised. If you did not raise a significant amount of money, this will likely be an unnecessary step. If you did, however, then you will have to ensure financial accountability in order to maintain the reputation and standing of your program. Volunteer Opportunities Title: Selection Committee Member Task: Establish selection criteria; manage the scholarship selection process; review applications; and select awardees. Attributes: Familiarity with the military community. Who: The selection committee should be comprised of a balanced group of representing each of those with an interest in the scholarship program. This includes local businesses, nonprofit organizations, and representatives from the military community. Hours: 15 per month Step 3: Market the Types of Financial Aid Available Once you have created your materials or established a fund, you will need to raise awareness of your program in order to attract scholarship applicants. Raising awareness of your program may also bring in parties interested in donating; this is important, particularly if you are hoping to continue your project into the years to come. Elevator Speech: An elevator speech is a brief synopsis of the purpose, goal, and importance of scholarship programs. It should answer, in two minutes or less, the following questions: Who are you? Why is this issue important? How does it affect my community? What can I do about it? A strong, focused elevator speech can make or break a project. Most individuals will give only the briefest license to awareness efforts, so it is important that your initial pitch be as powerful and persuasive as possible.

6 School Outreach: Reach out directly to local school and ask that your materials or scholarship be included in their financial aid resources and/or scholarship listings. Most schools strive to provide their students with a comprehensive listing of available opportunities, and should be open to including your materials. Media: Both traditional and online media present great opportunities to raise awareness of your efforts. Here are some ways you can use media to bring your scholarship efforts to the community: o Write an editorial for a local newspaper. o Draft a press release for use by local news agencies. o Talk to local television and radio news stations about your efforts. o Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook offer an excellent way to raise awareness of your efforts. o Contact nonprofit groups, local military installations, and schools and ask that they display your scholarship materials on their websites or distribute your materials in their regular newsletters. Volunteer Opportunities Title: Outreach Coordinator Task: Reach out to the local community to share the group s efforts with potential advertisers, supporters, and potential applicants. Attributes: Knowledge of military community, understanding of communications, and effective written and verbal communications skills. Who: Members of the military community are encouraged to apply. Hours: 10 per month Measures of Success Providing an objective measure of the successes and failures of your effort is important to your overall project s continuing success. The lessons learned from your initial attempt will be used to refine future efforts, and may provide valuable information for other communities hoping to implement a scholarship program. As you proceed through the creation and development of your project, consider the following ways to track your successes: o Scholarships: A simple way to measure success is by simply tracking the change in the number of military-affiliated students receiving scholarships before and after your efforts. While you cannot simply attribute any positive or negative change solely to your own efforts, this may provide a baseline against which to evaluate other measurements of success.

7 Over a more significant period of time (should your effort continue for several years), the positive or negative change in scholarships received will hold more value as an analytical tool. o Survey: Surveying your target clients can provide valuable feedback about your materials. Consider the following questions as you develop your survey: o What financial resources do you rely on to provide for your college expenses? o Describe your level of confidence before and after reading the provided scholarship materials. o How many scholarships did you apply to this year? o How would you describe your success rate insofar as scholarships you have applied for are concerned? o Is there any additional information you feel should be included in our scholarship materials?

8 Additional Resources Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): o Federal Student Aid plays a central and essential role in supporting postsecondary education by providing money for college to eligible students and families. We partner with postsecondary schools, financial institutions and others to deliver services that help students and families who are paying for college. Military OneSource: o Military OneSource provides a comprehensive list of associations that offer scholarships, including groups like the Military Family Association, Thanks USA and Emergency Relief programs, on post scholarships and unit specific scholarships Need a Lift?: o Created by the American Legion, Need a Lift? was created to spare aspiring college students the frustration of financial planning. The guide is filled with scholrships, grants, fee waivers, student loans, and the organizations that offer them. The site also provides information detailing how to select a school, apply for student financial aid using the FAFSA, learn about loan forgiveness, and understand tax credits. Sample Scholarships o The Fort Irwin Military and Civilian Spouses Club has set up a scholarship for those beginning their academic career, you can find their application at: o The Fort Lewis Family Member Scholarship Fund s application process includes an application, essay, and interview. The fund has existed for more than 20 years and awards tens of thousands of dollars annually: Scholarship and Financial Aid Explorer (SFeX): o SFeX provides military service members, their families, and other eligible parties within the military community, as well as education services officers, academic counselors, and support staff within the military education community, with a web-based tool for identifying and exploring scholarships and financial aid options, and provides information on many unit scholarships Yellow Ribbon Program: o A component of the Post 9/11 GI Bill that allows degree-granting schools to voluntarily fund tuition and fee expenses for veterans that are higher than the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition and fee rate in their state