Scholarship for former JW's Proposal

by NYCkid 8 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  NYCkid

  Since such a program does not exist as far as I'm aware of, I am proposing setting up a scholarship program for former JW's. From my understanding, a non-profit entity and a committee would need to be formed (not sure of legal criteria for European, Australian, Asian, Latin American and South American countries). Although specific scholarship criteria would be discussed and formed by a committee, I believe this should only be offered to those who have taken the step to leave the organization and who have enrolled in a two-year or four-year undergraduate and graduate programs.

  Anyway, I've mentioned this to former JW friends in the past who all think it's a great idea but it goes nowhere...anyone on this board interested? Does anyone have fund-raising and legal experience to volunteer their expertise? Anyone interested to volunteer time?

  Best regards,

  NYCkid
• 

  Honesty

  Sounds good. We could set it up as a 501(c)3 and accept tax-free charitable donations.

  I suggest a call to 718-560-5000 to allow them the privilege of being the first to donate since they are so interested in helping all peoples.
• 

  LDH

  LOL that was great. Yeah, Bethel should be able to chip in.

  It's easy enough to set up the 501c3, are you asking for board members? I would specifically invite or ask those who have finished college to sit on the board. Just a suggestion.

  I think it's a great idea.
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  serendipity

  Wonderful idea!!
• 

  jstalin

  
  It might be easier to set up a scholarship through a foundation that already exists, thus bypassing the need to set up a separate entity. Often times community foundations will create separate scholarship funds that have been endowed by specific people and those endowers usually set the rules for who can receive the scholarship.

  We'd have to find a foundation willing to set up a separate fund.

  Here's an example of a scholarship fund management organization: http://www.scholarshipamerica.org/sms/programs.php
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  NYCkid

  Thanks guys for the information. Also Jstalin thanks for the link..I had no idea organizations like this existed. I'm going to contact them, it does sound like this may be a good place to start especially since there is really no formal former JW organization that I'm aware of (other than Silent Lambs).

  I'll pass along the information once I hear back from scholarships america. I guess the next step is to form a committee and determine the criteria. Then fundraise like hell. Even if we can only offer a couple hundred dollars a year to a student, I think we're setting a precedent and a positive message. Like I said before, I think it should be offered to former JWs although I'm not sure how that could be verified.

  Best regards,

  NYCkid
• 

  NYCkid

  I contacted four scholarship mangement agencies via email and will anxiously await their reply. All charge fees of course but it sounds like some of them charge a small percentage of the overall scholarship budget. Let's see....

  Thanks again,

  NYCkid
• 

  jstalin

  A few questions to ponder:

  1) How would you determine if an applicant is actually a former JW? What kind of proof would be possible?

  2) Perhaps current JWs could also apply. Getting them into college will help break the bonds.

  It would be cool to be able to put a button on web pages like JWD so folks could donate $10 or $20 pretty easily.
• 

  NYCkid

  I was contacted by a couple of the scholarship management programs. As I suspected we need to come up with a scholarship plan (like writing a business plan), contact information, scholarship criteria..etc, etc.

  Is anyone here interested in volunteering to help out? I guess we'll form a "committee" for the first ever JW scholarship program...yay!!! We'll need to contact each other via phone and email (not through JWD). Please be serious and willing to participate for at least a year (so we can get this off of the ground and hopefully award our first scholarship). All of us who are among the "committee" cannot be eligible for the scholarship of course. If you're not interested in being in the committee but can help with fundraising, let me know as well. Also we will need people to get the word out once this is off the ground. Please understand that I intend for this to become something that can be awarded every year for as long as we can obtain funds. Even if we can only offer a couple hundred dollars a year, every penny counts to a college student. (Some scholarship programs I've come across offer only $50.00 or $100.00) This is not intended for a one-time-only award.

  I'm going to contact other JWD boards as well to round up more interested persons.

  Please email me at [email protected]

  Thanks,

  Jesse

  PS - Jstalin...I see your point, this is something we can debate when a committee if formed. From my viewpoint, I have a lot of former JW friends who were disowned by their families and struggled to go to college. But it can be open to current or former JWs I guess...the debate begins..lol