Setting up a scholarship for African American students

August 27, 2017 2:59 AM

My white family wants to set up an endowed scholarship for African American students. What should we consider to ensure that it is done appropriately and will not cause unintentional distress or discomfort to community members or potential recipients?

The scholarship will be available through the local university in our southeast state and would be for students studying in a particular STEM field. The university takes care of all the technical details of establishing the fund, tax, distribution etc.

My family wishes to do this to both (a) memorialize an alumnus of the university and (b) make reparations in some way to our local black community.

The family has the ability to specify criteria and what students would be given preference to receive this scholarship. What language or criteria would you recommend?

posted by anonymous to Education (16 answers total)

Make it available to PUBLiC high school graduates of particular rural counties of that state. It's the Southeast, so you're pretty much guaranteed the recipient would be an African American in that state, and likely to not change considerably.
posted by sandmanwv at 3:03 AM on August 27, 2017

Make it available to PUBLiC high school graduates of particular rural counties of that state. It's the Southeast, so you're pretty much guaranteed the recipient would be an African American in that state

I believe this answers the wrong question. I don't think the OP is asking "how do we float this scholarship for Black people without offending white people?" but rather "how do we, a white family, float this scholarship for Black people without offending Black people? And also how do we guide who should get it?"

I don't know if this is a full boat scholarship or more of a books and board scholarship, and that will make some difference in terms of establishing award guidelines. But as a starting point, I would be inclined to make it a needs-based scholarship for Black students, rather than an academic one, with an academic minimum for ongoing eligibility if the scholarship extends for the full four years. I would work with the Financial Aid director to determine what audience your pool of money can best serve.

The university takes care of all the technical details of establishing the fund, tax, distribution etc.

This is likely to be done through the Trusts department of the university, which may be its own foundation with its own attorneys. The language of the trust/scholarship instrument should be negotiated with an experienced Trusts attorney working for and paid by your family.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:04 AM on August 27, 2017 [14 favorites]

If the goal is reparations to the local black community, state a preference for students with ties to the local black community. That way if the scholarship can only be given to one student per year, but two students apply for it, the committee has a basis for comparison and decision-making. It could be a requirement that the recipient be black. As between two black students who apply, preference could be for a student who has been local for more of their life, whose parents were local, the student being involved in community activities locally, and so on.

Don't impose criteria to keep the scholarship (such as maintaining a certain GPA). Once earned, let it be kept for as long as the student is enrolled at the institution.
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 5:58 AM on August 27, 2017 [5 favorites]

Don't impose criteria to keep the scholarship (such as maintaining a certain GPA). Once earned, let it be kept for as long as the student is enrolled at the institution.

Yes, this. Also, if it's for students in a particular STEM field, don't set up the scholarship so that they lose it if they change to a different major, even if that means leaving STEM entirely. Your goal here is to give the student opportunities, not to influence the student to make the choices you think he or she should make.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:26 AM on August 27, 2017 [22 favorites]

Make it easy to apply. It's unfair to ask broke students to write dozens of long essays at scholarship time - all that work and they may earn zero dollars - you end up discouraging dozens to encourage one.
Create an online form that only takes about 10 minutes to apply, and don't make them chase down reference letters.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 7:14 AM on August 27, 2017 [15 favorites]

If you pick one university, their scholarship office will handle the entire process for you. You just write a check and tell them what to do with it.
posted by miyabo at 8:04 AM on August 27, 2017

Also, if it's for students in a particular STEM field, don't set up the scholarship so that they lose it if they change to a different major, even if that means leaving STEM entirely. Your goal here is to give the student opportunities, not to influence the student to make the choices you think he or she should make.

I don't actually agree with this. I'm very thankful the scholarship that paid for my education would have evaporated if I'd left my field. Being a minority in your field of study (woman studying CS, in my case) is complete bullshit sometimes, and leaving can feel very tempting for reasons that have nothing to do with your actual interests and everything to do with how immature assholes in your courses are treating you. I'm super thankful that the money kept me in the game through the hard times. Every time I thought about dropping my major that dough was the angel on my shoulder saying "are you really gonna let those haters tell you what you can do?"
posted by potrzebie at 8:47 AM on August 27, 2017 [4 favorites]

I work with historically oppressed postsecondary students of colour, and heartily endorse the suggestions above:

-specify it is for a black student with ties to the local community
-have easy application requirements (yes, the Uni will take care of the forms etc, but you have control over what kinds of essays and reference letters you require)
-tie it to need, not GPA
-make it able to move with the student even if they transfer to another program within the same institution

Based on my observations of my own students' academic participation patterns, I'd also suggest that you allow the student to maintain the scholarship even if they have to take a break in their studies. Many of my students have had to drop out for a year to take care of a health issue or family issue that isn't fixed by money. It's so hard for them to maintain their funding with gaps like this. If your goal is to eliminate barriers and help capable students succeed, please try to eliminate this barrier that is an everyday reality for many students.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:57 AM on August 27, 2017 [14 favorites]

Talk to the diversity office and the African-American students association at the school as well.
posted by Etrigan at 9:19 AM on August 27, 2017 [3 favorites]

I have a friend who endowed a small fund to provide bereavement services to people using a university's world-class animal clinic. From this, I know that at least some universities have people in their fundraising offices who will consult with people about how to set such a thing up, because my friend worked with one.
posted by Orlop at 9:54 AM on August 27, 2017

First of all, thank you for doing this, you will make a big difference in the life of a young person with your gift.

As Black woman engineering professor, I ask you to consider helping students transition from college student to working professional. Some of us need mentors for things you may consider basic. How to select health insurance? Should we opt into all of the voluntary savings plans available? Should we take advantage of the 401K? Should we take the tempting offer to defer payment of student loans until our salary increases? My student loan debt will be with me until I retire, because of interest rates, deferments, and forbearances combined with taking low paying jobs so I could be of service, my loan balance is well over $200,00K. I know this is my fault, I did not know then what I know now.

In my experience, albeit anecdotal, I consistently meet young black people who graduate from a STEM major and then leave the profession after their first job exposes them to the real world. Maybe pay for a career coach? Membership dues to an organization like NSBE (National Association of Black Engineers). Something, anything that will provide a supportive community once they leave higher education. They may have no one to turn to since they are considered to have "made it."

Also, please don't forget the challenge of intersectionality, the experience of a black woman in STEM is different than the experience of black males in STEM. They're both bad but in different ways.

If you stick with giving a tuition scholarship, I agree with "hurdy gurdy girl" and others." Again, thank you.
posted by drthom at 10:34 AM on August 27, 2017 [10 favorites]

A lot depends on how much money is involved and how you want to structure it. But I would at least talk to the university about whether this money is better designated as, e.g., tuition assistance, or whether it might be made available for other expenses. In my experience, it's much easier to get funds one way or another for tuition than it is for the myriad expenses that don't end up on a college bill and that kids coming out of high school (and their families!) don't even necessarily know to anticipate. Travel home at the holidays. A suit to interview in. A decent computer. Etc. From what I have read (and experienced personally) about low-income students who struggle in college, a lack of funds to cover these gaps can be a huge issue.

I know this is my fault, I did not know then what I know now.

This may be a little tangential, but I wish you wouldn't blame yourself. The CFPB is, right now, suing the largest student loan servicer for giving terrible advice about such matters as deferments and forbearances. It was their job to know the intricacies and consequences of these programs and explain them to borrowers, and they did, in my opinion, an awful job at it.
posted by praemunire at 11:22 AM on August 27, 2017 [5 favorites]

Lots of of great advice. I'd like to second the suggestion that you arrange things with the help of a lawyer who works for you. Your university's development office would much rather have "unencombered" funds that they can use to promote their values not yours. Better to have a lawyer who works for you prevent shenanigans than learn too late that your money is funding something you don't care about.

In regards to how best to help. My former students often gave up just before graduation due to being short 500-1000 dollars. If you could include an emergency boost for non-tuition related expenses for kids close to the finish line, you would make an enormous difference.
posted by songs_about_rainbows at 3:29 PM on August 27, 2017 [4 favorites]

Another sort of fund that's becoming more popular is a discretionary fund administered by the department's dean or similar, whose purpose is to bridge financial gaps that otherwise would cause students to drop out of school. Maybe enough money to travel back home to an ailing parent and back; maybe paying off a traffic ticket so the student doesn't end up with a warrant out for them; maybe paying for medication, or a student's child's daycare for a semester when their regular care falls through, or to replace a laptop, or things like that. A lot of reasons that lower-income students drop out or underperform are easily fixed with money, not necessarily tuition or scholarship funds, but funds that take care of some of the tough life stuff outside school. That kind of fund might have more impact on more students' lives and might be appropriate, I'm sure the university could tell you.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:07 PM on August 27, 2017 [8 favorites]

Make it easy to apply. It's unfair to ask broke students to write dozens of long essays at scholarship time - all that work and they may earn zero dollars - you end up discouraging dozens to encourage one.

Yes, this. There are so many tiny scholarships out there, asking for a three page essay to earn a chance at $300 or $500. If the scholarship is for a lot of money, that's fine; if it's for under a thousand bucks, try to make the essay somewhat general enough that it can be reusable. Or institute a two-step process of some sort--a short essay (or etc) which will allow you to select finalists. Then only ask for letters of recommendation, or a longer essay, or specialized hoop-jumping from those few finalists.

Also, what others have said about mentorship--it's so, so true.
posted by tapir-whorf at 7:40 PM on August 27, 2017 [3 favorites]

Thank you to your family for taking the initiative to start something like this!

I am from the UK, and about to start a Master's. I could have used financial, academic and developmental support so much during undergrad - but being less articulate at the time, that eluded me; and also externally I didn't appear to be in need. I am lucky to be in a good place now. I have a bit of experience in the community heritage & education sector, and am very concerned about access to learning.
Some suggested ideas at principles here:

1) NATURE OF THE AWARD: The scholarship should award intellectual promise and potential, as well as highest need/individual circumstances. The promise doesn't need to be quantified by a certain grade or number of grades, either. You find some way of discerning how to award this money (see point 2). Do the research. It will always be the case someone is still not being included. Actively gear the scholarships towards one/more of these groups, and target the most promising members of those groups. Perhaps other needs-based scholarships are set up in such a way that they discriminate disproportionately against certain groups of people. Low-income second-generation students will not have it as bad as low-income first-gen students for whom English is not their first language... but sometimes, factors flip it round - depression, having to be a young carer etc.

2. ACCESSIBILITY: The application should not be too bureaucratic or cumbersome to fill out. But not complicated does not mean there should not be a minimum effort required from the applicant. I would suggest a personal statement and a short essay. The PS is their chance to take you through their journey, and the essay measures their capability.

3. RESPONSIBILITY: If shortlisted/accepted, they can fill out a form writing what, after tuition, travel & living costs, they could use help with. That way, they can take charge over their funding. Oftentimes, there may be non-academic factors that could interfere with the student's ability to fully focus. They could use some support and space here.

---

Also you don't say too much in your question. So I have some of my own:

1) is it important to you whether the student will give back to 'their community'? Every scholar will give back in some way, their way. Often I feel scholarships come with stipulations to study a certain specialism, or for the scholar to 'give back', or already be a star. This can be another form of Ownership over the student and by extension, some attempt to control what you want the future to look like. I challenge you to think differently. Talk to the student applicants, give yourself to the scholar(s), communicate regularly with the uni.

2) can the scholarship money also be used to do a workshops programme, where in the years leading up to university, students from around the region can participate in training and have their awareness raised of this scholarship? Or at the least, advertising this scholarship in schools, learning centres, libraries? Starting earlier would be a deeper way to equalise. (But potentially this is beyond your scope!)

3) a massive, amazing scholarship is amazing, but maybe spoiling just one student too much. Could Full Scholarship + Several Half Scholarships + Several more Quarter Scholarships + Bursaries + Free training opportunities be a better model?

All the best, sounds like a nice thing to be thinking about! I'd link up with more African American students, lecturers and non-academics to get some more feedback, too.
posted by yuyueying at 1:08 PM on August 28, 2017