RMHC US SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM TIMELINE continued

Transcription

RONALD McDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES® (RMHC®)
U.S. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
2015/2016 Manual & Guidelines
CONTENTS
PROGRAM CONTACTS
3
INTRODUCTION TO THE
RMHC® U.S. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
4
Overview4
Funding5
Eligibility5
Selection Criteria
6
Awarding Scholarships
6
Additional Requirements
7
Scholarship Applications
7
Select Recipients
23
Notify Recipients
24
Recognize Recipients
25
Financial Implications
26
Evaluate, Report, Plan, and Benchmark
27
How to Request Matching Funds via RADAR27
PROGRAM PARTNERS’ ROLES
AND RESPONSIBILITIES28
RMHC U.S. SCHOLARSHIP
PROGRAM TIMELINE8
New!
Local RMHC Chapters
28
International Scholarship
and Tuition Services (ISTS)
29
!
ISTS Team Structure30
ew
N
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)30
RMHC/HACER® NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP 11
IRS REQUIREMENTS/INUREMENT ISSUES31
ONLINE PROCESS12
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING
RECOMMENDATIONS
Online Application
Online Reports at Your Fingertips!
The Application(s)
Chapter’s Experience
Judge’s Experience
12
12
13
15
15
RECOMMENDED SCORING GUIDELINES16
HOW TO EXECUTE AN
RMHC U.S. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM20
Develop a Blueprint
Submit Program Participation Forms
Form an Education Committee
Establish Selection Criteria
Launch and Publicize the Program
Plan and Execute Fundraising
Generate Publicity and Create Awareness
©2015 RMHC
20
21
21
22
22
22
23
33
Marketing Guidelines
33
Logo Usage
33
Trademarks34
Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
34
Talent Release Forms
35
Fact Sheet
36
Sample Press Release
37
Marketing Collateral Examples
38
TEMPLATES 40
Award Letter
Decline Letter
Letter to College/University
2015/2016 Program Enrollment 40
40
40
40
RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program
2
PROGRAM CONTACTS
RONALD McDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES
Jennifer Smith
Senior Director
Direct: (630) 623-6875
Fax: (630) 623-7488
[email protected]
Clara Carrier
Consultant, Scholarship Program Lead
Direct: (630) 209-7617
[email protected]
Laurel Schumm
RADAR Business Lead
Direct: (630) 623-3301
Fax: (630) 623-7488
[email protected]
INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP
AND TUITION SERVICES (ISTS)
Elena Salorio Program Manager
Toll Free: (855) 670-ISTS (4787)
Office: (615) 777-3750
Direct: (615) 777-3721
[email protected]
Angie Etheridge Senior Program Specialist
Toll Free: (855) 670-ISTS (4787)
Office: (615) 777-3750
Direct: (615) 777-3716
[email protected]
Vicky Laws
Administrative Coordinator
Direct: (630) 623-6753
Fax: (630) 623-7488
[email protected]
Stacey Bifero
Controller, RMHC Global
Direct: (630) 623-3700
Fax: (630) 623-7488
[email protected]
©2015 RMHC
3
INTRODUCTION to the
RMHC U.S. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
OVERVIEW
Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®), a non-profit,
501(c)(3) organization, creates, finds and supports programs
that directly improve the health and wellbeing of children.
Its programs are grassroots—driven to enable the Charity
to offer help where children need it most—right in their own
communities. Driven by a passion to reach out to children in
need and help them reach their full potential, RMHC works
to break down barriers, build bridges and find solutions to
the most urgent problems facing children and families today.
Chapter based on strategic goals and community needs.
With education costs rising, a college education is beyond
the financial reach of many outstanding students. A
partnership between RMHC and its local Chapters opens
the door to higher education for graduating high school
seniors who face limited access to educational and career
opportunities. The RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program seeks
to invest in students who are exemplary role models in
their communities and have the initiative to fulfill their
educational goals.
Local RMHC Chapters have the flexibility to determine
which of the four Scholarships they will offer within
identified geographies, but must minimally offer RMHC
Scholars to access matching funds. In many cases, Chapters
will offer all four. There will be one online application.
The RMHC goal is simple: to identify and invest in future
leaders.
Students are selected and awards are distributed based on
demonstrated academic achievement, financial need and
community involvement. Additional selection criteria may
be specified by the respective participating local RMHC
The RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program is comprised of
four individual Scholarships:
RMHC®/ASIA Scholarship
RMHC®/African American Future
Achievers Scholarship
RMHC®/HACER® Scholarship
RMHC® Scholars Scholarship
Scholarships must be designated for graduating high
school seniors or for students in subsequent college years
if a multi-year scholarship is awarded. RMHC Global
highly encourages local RMHC Chapters to offer multiyear, renewable scholarships, whenever possible to add
value and to reinforce long-term impact of the RMHC U.S.
Scholarship Program. If multi-year scholarships are offered,
scholarship terms and conditions must be developed and
conveyed in writing to both the student and respective
college, university, technical or vocational school.
“Multiple year scholarships help our students continue on their educational paths
with less stress. One student shared, ‘I have a job, but the scholarships make it
possible to go to school.’ Alumni scholars build a relationship with Ronald McDonald
House Charities. They become part of our family. Many volunteer at the House and
believe in making a lasting impact in whatever way they can. They will always be a
part of the RMHC family, wherever their educational endeavors take them. We are
building family when we provide Alumni scholarships.”
— ALYSON McCARTHY, Business Manager, RMHC of Greater Las Vegas
©2015 RMHC
4
INTRODUCTION to the
RMHC U.S. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM continued
FUNDING
Matching scholarship dollars are available from RMHC
Global. For details regarding the match available in
respective markets, contact Vicky Laws or your RMHC
Field Team Leader. In order to be eligible for the matching
funds, however, a Chapter must minimally offer the RMHC
Scholars Scholarship which allows all students to apply
for a scholarship regardless of race, color, creed, religion,
sexual orientation, gender, disability or national origin.
Please be aware that matching funds must be used in
the year in which they are awarded. If offering multi-year
scholarships, local Chapters must budget accordingly (i.e.
matching funds may not be retained by local Chapter in
anticipation of future payments). Unused matching funds
must be returned to RMHC Global.
ELIGIBILITY
Scholarship applicants* for all RMHC programs must:
• Live within a participating Chapter’s geographic
boundaries.
• Be a legal U.S. resident.
> Applicants will self-certify, through their signature,
that they meet all eligibility requirements. In the
event it is determined that an awardee does not meet
requirements, the scholarship can be revoked. From
a privacy and protection standpoint, do not collect
social security numbers of applicants.
• Be less than 21 years of age.
• Carry a minimum 2.7 GPA.
• Be eligible to enroll and attend an institution of higher
education or a vocational/technical school.
• Disclose other scholarship programs that he/she has
applied.
• Plan to enroll at an accredited post-secondary education
institution during the academic year following their
graduation.
• Complete and submit a scholarship application
online and send required supporting materials and
documentation to ISTS postmarked no later than
January 20, 2016.
• Apply for only one of the scholarships offered by the
local RMHC Chapter. If a student is multi-racial, they
must choose only one scholarship to apply. If a student
completes more than one application, ISTS and the local
RMHC Chapter will determine into which scholarship
the application will fall. When possible, students with
African American, Asian/Pacific-Islander or Hispanic/
Latino heritage will first be considered for the respective
ethnic branded scholarship to preserve brand equity.
• Be willing to provide additional verification of all
information in the scholarship application, upon request.
Additional eligibility requirements, by Scholarship, are:
• RMHC/ASIA Scholarship — Applicant must have at
least one parent of Asian/Pacific-Islander heritage;
• RMHC/African American Future Achievers
Scholarship — Applicant must have at least one parent
of African American or Black Caribbean heritage;
• RMHC/HACER Scholarship — Applicant must have at
least one parent of Hispanic/Latino heritage;
• RMHC Scholars Scholarship — All students may apply
regardless of ethnic heritage. Note: Asian, African
American and Hispanic/Latino students are welcome to
apply for the RMHC Scholars Scholarship provided they
have not applied for one of the other scholarships listed
above.
*Scholarships cannot be restricted to McDonald’s employees. However,
McDonald’s employees who meet all requirements are eligible to apply.
©2015 RMHC
5
INTRODUCTION to the
SELECTION CRITERIA
Participating Chapters select their respective scholarship
recipients locally. To do so, local Chapters must convene
diverse Education Committees comprised of RMHC
representatives, educators, community leaders, McDonald’s
owner/operators and others. This Committee reviews
scholarship applications and makes a recommendation
of winners to the local RMHC Chapter board based on
an applicant’s:
• Academic achievement as demonstrated through the
applicant’s grade point average and standardized test scores.
• Community involvement and leadership potential
as demonstrated by the student’s recorded activities,
work experience, personal statement and letters of
recommendation.
• Financial need as demonstrated through the
student’s disclosure of family income and anticipated
educational expenses.
• Personal interview either in-person or by phone. Note:
interviews are not required, but are highly recommended
for application verification and to gain a greater
understanding of a student’s potential for success. You
can also consider adding the video functionality to your
Chapter’s application process for applicants to upload and
use as a tool to present more information about themselves.
Some Chapters have implemented this in the past. You
can contact the following Chapters for more information
on offering this functionality: Atlanta RMHC, RMHC of
New York Tri-State Area, RMHC of the Southwest, RMHC
of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, RMHC of the Bay
Area, RMHC of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, RMHC
of Oklahoma City and RMHC of the Philadelphia Region.
DID YOU KNOW? A 2.7 minimum GPA has now
been added to eligibility criteria. In 2014/2015,
applicants had an average 3.89 GPA which further
reinforces the caliber of our applicants and impact
of solicitation initiatives.
©2015 RMHC
• Additional selection criteria may apply to ensure
alignment with the local RMHC Chapter’s mission and
strategic goals. For example, some RMHC Chapters
require that applicants have had (or have a sibling that
has had) a life-threatening illness/stayed at the Ronald
McDonald House. These criteria, however, must be
disclosed in all materials pertaining to the respective
Chapter’s scholarships including documentation on
public web sites and the IRS Form 990. Note: Having
additional criteria, such as this one, could lower the number
of eligible/complete applications for your program. This
criteria could be considered when reviewing/scoring an
applicant, but should not be a mandatory/required field.
AWARDING SCHOLARSHIPS
Local RMHC Chapter boards determine the amount of each
scholarship based on Chapter budgets, funding priorities
and Education Committee recommendations. Most local
RMHC Chapters award a minimum of $1,000, although
amounts may vary. In the most recent program year, many
Chapters began offering single or multi-year scholarships,
valued at $2,000 and up. Given the increasing cost of
attending accredited universities and colleges, local RMHC
Chapters are highly encouraged to award no less than
$1,000 to make scholarships meaningful and impactful.
• Scholarship funds may be used by the recipient to pursue
any field of study at any accredited institution providing
post-secondary education that provides full credit toward
a bachelor’s or higher degree, or a program of training to
produce gainful employment. Funds may only be used
for undergraduate studies. Students must be enrolled
as a full time student (a minimum of 12 credit hours per
semester. 12 credit hours [4 courses] = 12 hours in class
per week = 24 – 36 hours of study time per week)
• Funds can be used for educational costs including
tuition, fees, computers and/or other approved expenses
incurred directly with the college/university. Funds may
not be used for room and board or taxation may occur.
6
INTRODUCTION to the
• Scholarship funds will be disbursed directly to the
school designated by the recipient once the local RMHC
Chapter receives verification of enrollment. If the student
disenrolls or postpones enrollment, funds must be
returned to the local RMHC Chapter (and/or to RMHC
Global if matching funds were used). Funds must also be
returned to RMHC if the student’s scholarship award
exceeds approved educational expenses.
• Funds will be disbursed in the form of a check.
• RMHC scholarship funds cannot be paid to individual
recipients regardless of circumstances that may
develop after their selection.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
• Scholarship recipients must enroll and attend school
during the academic year following their graduation,
or in consecutive years at the college/university if a
multi-year scholarship is awarded. Local Chapters may
consider and approve exceptions to this requirement at
their discretion, however, initial funding must still go to
students who are going into their first year of college.
> If you have an unusual circumstance or scenario,
please contact Clara Carrier at (630) 209-7617 or Vicky
Laws at (630) 623-6753 for guidance.
• Multi-year scholarships may be awarded pending annual
receipt of awardee transcripts to confirm enrollment and
ensure strong academic performance.
• A recipient’s failure to comply with any of the above
requirements in a timely manner may result in forfeiture
of the scholarship.
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS
Online applications for the RMHC U.S. Scholarship
Program are created by RMHC Global based on
Chapters’ feedback and ISTS recommendations and will
be available for applicants no later than October 1, 2015
at https://aim.applyists.net/RMHC.
©2015 RMHC
Because of the online process, paper applications will not be
considered. In order to increase awareness of the RMHC U.S.
Scholarship Program in schools, RMHC Global will be printing
and mailing over-sized postcards to schools in identified
counties, based on the information you provided in the
enrollment form via RADAR. Counselors will be asked to
display postcards on bulletin boards to alert students about
the Program. In addition, RMHC Global will send an e-blast
to counselors, based on database provided by third-party
vendor, MDR.
Remember, there are four individually-branded applications
(RMHC/ASIA, RMHC/African American Future Achievers,
RMHC/HACER and RMHC Scholars). All RMHC/HACER
applications will also be eligible for selection for one of the
five $100,000 national scholarships. Students may only
apply for one scholarship, despite eligibility to apply for
more than one.
TIP: Although RMHC Global or RMHC Chapters will
not be printing and distributing applications, local
Chapters may print and distribute marketing materials to
McDonald’s restaurants and other community locations on
their own. In many markets, this is a tactic that increases
the number of student applicants and heightens visibility
for the Program. Note: All marketing materials have been
created for your convenience. They are customized and
can be downloaded from Fileshare, http://legacy.rmhc.
org/fileshare/organizational-strengthening/programmanagement/scholarships/.
TIP: Local Chapters can also work with McDonald’s to
offer workshops at restaurants. At these events, RMHC
representatives can provide assistance to students that
want to apply online. Chapters should bring one or
two computers to facilitate the application process. If
scheduled in advance, ISTS could be available via chat to
help with any questions regarding the application and the
online process during the time of the workshop.
7
New!
PROGRAM TIMELINE
This year’s application period will launch October 1, 2015
with a January 20, 2016 deadline. After several changes on
deadline, the end of January will continue to be the timing
for this important step of the process, moving forward. A
few things RMHC Global will do to promote the program:
July – August 2015
• The program information will be up-to-date on the major
scholarship web sites; therefore, the deadline date will
also be well promoted.
July – September 2015
• ISTS will send weekly notifications/reminders to high
school students applying, letting them know about the
program and the deadline date.
• ISTS will send an e-blast to all counselors from the 2014/
2015 program to make sure they are aware of the program
timeline as well.
• RMHC revises/refurbishes Program’s manual &
guidelines and all marketing materials for upload to
Fileshare.
• ISTS makes enhancements to the ISTS/RMHC U.S.
Scholarship application and to the existing custom Share
Point Folders for Chapters.
Monday, August 3, 2015
• RMHC Global updates Scholarship Program enrollment
information on RADAR.
Friday, August 7, 2015
2015/2016 RMHC U.S. SCHOLARSHIP
PROGRAM TIMELINE
May – July 2015
• ISTS sends surveys to all incomplete applicants & RMHC
participating Chapters to gain feedback from current
RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program (application and overall
program implementation.)
• RMHC Global analyses responses, patterns, trends and
prepares content to share with Chapters during webinar.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
• RMHC Global conducts the 2014/2015 Wrap-Up and
2015/2016 Kick-Off Scholarship Program webinar at
12:00 p.m. CST.
• Deadline for Chapters to submit their matching funds
request for the 2014/2015 program via RADAR.
Friday, August 28, 2015
• RMHC Global sends communication informing the
Chapters that the 2015/2016 Scholarship Program
Manual and Guidelines and marketing materials are
available on Fileshare.
Friday, September 11, 2015
• Chapters formally notify RMHC Global of their intent
to execute one or more of the four RMHC-branded
scholarships through RADAR. This notification must be
submitted after completing the ISTS Data Form online.
Chapters are required to complete new fields. Chapters
must update individual records for Scholarship managers
and Organizational leaders in RADAR (enrollment
form and individual staff records responsible for the
implementation of your scholarship program.)
Continued on next page
©2015 RMHC
8
PROGRAM TIMELINE continued
Friday, September 18, 2015 – Friday, October 9, 2015
Friday, February 26, 2016
• RMHC Global purchases mailing lists and prints postcards.
• Deadline for Chapters to provide ISTS with Selection
Committee information. Note: Applications for review/
score may be delayed, if this step is not completed on time
by the Chapters.
• RMHC Global distributes postcards to high schools
(guidance counselors and college placement
advisors) to announce Program and direct students
to https://aim.applyists.net/RMHC to apply online.
February 2016
Friday, September 18, 2015 – Friday, November 27, 2015
• ISTS cleans-up documents for Chapter selection process
• ISTS enhances existing selection sites for Chapters,
based on required information provided via the ISTS
Data Form.
• ISTS sends committee assignments to Chapters for
approval
• ISTS will set up follow up calls if necessary with each
Chapter.
• ISTS conducts webinars for committee members as
long as these have been pre-scheduled and have an
attendance of more than three people.
Note: If you need additional assistance, please contact
Elena directly to set up your personalized tutorial.
Week of March 14, 2016
Thursday, October 1, 2015
• Students can apply online at
https://aim.applyists.net/RMHC.
December 2015
• ISTS/Chapters finalize enhancements to Selection Sites.
January 2016
• RMHC Chapters finalized selection of judges.
• ISTS answers any questions about existing online reports
already available for Chapters to download directly from
their Share Point sites.
• ISTS completes screening, scoring and preliminary
ranking, and electronically distributes scholarship
applications to each local RMHC Chapter for review
by its respective Education Committee.
• ISTS confirms that applications are ready with
RMHC Global.
Monday, March 21, 2016
• Applications are ready for Chapters to begin the
selection process via Share Point.
• ISTS sends RMHC Global the top 50 applications for
the RMHC/HACER National Scholarship.
Continued on next page
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
• DEADLINE for RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program
applications.
©2015 RMHC
9
PROGRAM TIMELINE continued
March – June 2016
August 2016
• Local RMHC Chapter Education Committees review
applications and select scholarship recipients.
• Local RMHC Chapters submit request for RMHC
matching funds via RADAR no later than August 12,
2016. Requests after this date will be denied.
• Chapters notify scholarship recipients of their selection
and request verification of college/university enrollment.
• Chapters send thank-you letters to applicants not selected.
• Chapters hold recognition events to present scholarship
awards, and release appropriate publicity materials.
• All students must be notified of status no later than
June 17, 2016.
• RMHC/HACER National Scholarship review and
selection process continues
May – July 2016
• RMHC/HACER National Scholarship recipients
recommended by Committee and approved by RMHC
Global Board of Trustees. Press announcements
coordinated with respective local Chapters and
McDonald’s agencies.
• RMHC Global prepares and distributes matching
funds to local Chapters. Please note RMHC Global will
only release funds if the local Chapter is current with
financial statements/Form 990/Quarterly Reports and
Remittances to RMHC Global. However, local Chapters
are still responsible for distributing total award amounts
to educational institutions prior to start of awardee’s
academic year.
• Local RMHC Chapters receive matching funds by
Electronic Funds Transfer and begin processing
scholarship checks.
• Local RMHC Chapters will write checks payable to the
college/university not the student and will release them
to the college/university upon receipt of verification of
enrollment.
Monday, May 16, 2016
• ISTS sends surveys to all incomplete applicants & RMHC
participating Chapters to gain feedback from current
RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program (application and overall
program implementation.)
Week of June 6, 2016
• ISTS meets with RMHC Global (Chicago) to evaluate
current program and plan the following year’s one.
©2015 RMHC
10
RMHC®/HACER®
NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS
FIVE RMHC/HACER NATIONAL
SCHOLARSHIPS TO BE AWARDED
Through the support of McDonald’s Hispanic owner/
operators, students of Hispanic/Latino descent (who also
meet all other eligibility requirements) have a continued
opportunity to apply for and benefit from additional
RMHC/HACER Scholarship awards. These awards are
called the “RMHC/HACER National Scholarships” and
are awarded to five outstanding students selected from
the national pool of RMHC/HACER applicants. Each
scholarship totals $100,000 payable over 4 consecutive
years of undergraduate education (up to $25,000 per year),
provided the student can provide verification of enrollment
each year at an accredited institution providing postsecondary education.
These five (5) RMHC/HACER National Scholarships do
not replace local RMHC Chapter participation in the
RMHC/HACER Scholarship.
Continuing this year, RMHC/HACER will be marketed
to and applications will be accepted from students in all
50 States and the District of Columbia. This means that a
student who meets all other eligibility criteria may apply
regardless of whether their respective local RMHC Chapter
is participating in the overall RMHC U.S. Scholarship
Program.
CRITERIA
If a student resides in a county that
IS covered by a participating local
Chapter, then that student’s RMHC/
HACER application will automatically
be considered for either the national
scholarship or a locally-awarded
scholarship. Because a student can
only receive one (1) RMHC/HACER Scholarship, the
local RMHC Chapters will be notified if a student in their
geographic area is selected as one of the five (5) $100,000
RMHC/HACER National Scholarship winners. If they are
not, they can be considered for selection as a local RMHC/
HACER Scholarship winner.
• If a student resides in a county that is not covered by a
participating local Chapter, then that student’s RMHC/
HACER application will go straight to ISTS and will
only be considered for a RMHC/HACER National
Scholarship.
• The offering of the five RMHC/HACER National
Scholarships will not require local RMHC Chapters
to do additional marketing, review and/or processing
of applications. All applications will continue to be
processed by ISTS. As such, if the RMHC Chapter
receives inquiries about the RMHC/HACER National
Scholarships, they should defer inquiries to Jennifer
Smith or Vicky Laws.
• It is important to note that funding for these five
Scholarships comes from a “restricted donation”
to RMHC. Funds do not come from local RMHC
Chapters. As such, local fundraising efforts
and budgets are not impacted.
Pictured above: Manuel Tejeda, 2015 RMHC
HACER National Winner and Juliana Peña,
2015 RMHC HACER Winner
2015 RMHC/HACER National Scholarship
Recipient Bryan Peacker and his family.
Bryan will be attending Harvard.
©2015 RMHC
11
ONLINE PROCESS
ONLINE APPLICATION
ONLINE REPORTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!
Students must apply online for all four RMHC U.S.
Scholarships. Paper applications will not be considered. It is
important to note that an application is not complete until
the student submits their online application, transcript,
a 4-question essay, a letter of recommendation and their
parent’s/guardian’s most recent Federal Form 1040 or, if
unemployed, submit proof of unemployment, Federal or
State Aid (Food Stamps, WIC, Welfare, SSI, etc.) Students
can upload these documents during the online application
process, or they can mail the documents directly to ISTS.
Applicants need to follow the instructions within the
application. Between January 1 and January 20, 2016,
ISTS will send follow-up emails to students with incomplete
applications to remind them of outstanding documents.
However, it continues to be the student’s responsibility to
insure their application is complete prior to the January
20, 2016 deadline.
Reports are now available online through the Chapter’s
SharePoint Portal at https://clients.applyists.net/RMHC.
Please contact Elena Salorio if you do not remember your
login information. The following reports are available for
the 2015/2016 Scholarship Program:
The online application link will be available
on https://aim.applyists.net/RMHC beginning
October 1, 2015.
• Application Count: This report shows the started,
submitted and completed applications by scholarship
type.
• Selection Data: This report allows to track the progress
of the committee members and shows scores and
comments they have entered.
• NEW Applicant Contact Information: Pull applicants’
contact information anytime using this live data report. The report will include applicant information required to
request matching funds through RADAR.
• Print Application: Print finalists’ applications or all
others.
• Other: Chapters may contact Elena (in advance) with
any other report needs.
If students have difficulty applying online, please have them
contact: ISTS Customer Care at [email protected] or
via phone line, toll free 1 (855) 670-4787.
“The online-only process was a time saver, a paper saver, a
money saver and very smooth. Thanks for everything.”
— PAM WHITAKER, Executive Director,
RMHC of Denver
©2015 RMHC
12
ONLINE PROCESS continued
RMHC U.S. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM DIAGRAM
1. Qualifying
Applicant
2. Applicant links to
https://aim.applyists.net/RMHC
4. Applicant uploads
required documents
directly to application or
mails documents to ISTS.
5. Applicant
clicks
“Submit”
9. ISTS cleans up
documents.
3. Applicant fills in all
required fields on
application.
6. Online application verifies all
required information as provided.
7. ISTS verifies uploaded documents.
8. Applicant can verify their
application status and status
of each required document
online anytime.
10. ISTS creates unique accounts for all judges for each
Chapter. ISTS assigns judges to each application
per Chapter needs.
Benefits: All judges can be logged in at the same
time. Chapters no longer have to distribute
applications to judges.
11. ISTS provides
Chapters with
scores from
judges.
©2015 RMHC
12. ISTS stores the selection
information/scores in a secure
database allowing for future
reporting to Chapters when
needed.
THE APPLICATION(S)
• As in previous years, a further customizable welcome
page that applicants must complete prior to beginning
the application process will be implemented. This page
will work as an additional filter to better screen those
applicants who meet all eligible criteria. This page can be
customized by each Chapter based on the scholarships
it offers. ISTS will also add updated verbiage to the
“Welcome Page” to make sure applicants are aware they
are participating at a local level. Also included will be
language strongly recommending applicants to complete
the application process earlier than the week of January
20, 2016.
• Applicants will have the capability to upload a video that
describes who they are, why they are deserving of the
scholarship and how they plan to apply their education to
make a difference and give back. There will be a text field
for applicants to enter the link to view their video online.
This function is an optional field and can be removed
for Chapters who do not want this option, but it is highly
recommended.
• A Facebook “Like” functionality.
• A “Live Chat” to assist applicants with the application
process, answer questions and provide tips.
This year:
• Chapters will also have the ability to implement the
“opt-in” feature for the “financial need” information.
> Chapters who choose to test this feature will give their
applicants the ability to “opt-in” for consideration
based on financial need. If a student does not optin for consideration based on “financial need,” the
financial back-up documents are not required for
their application to be considered complete.
> Over the years, it has been found that many students
stop filling out a scholarship application once they
see “financial need” is part of the selection process,
because they do not see themselves as qualifying,
based on this requirement.
13
> Most students think “financial need” means they have
to be poor, but this is not necessarily the case. By
giving students the opportunity to be considered for
a scholarship not based on “financial need,” you could
open your applicants’ universe and give your Chapter
the ability to select a recipient based solely on
academics, leadership and community achievements.
• Based on feedback from the 2014/2015 ISTS Survey,
this year, Chapters will implement the 4-question
“Essay Page:”
> The “Essay Page” will consist of breaking-up the
essay into four shorter, more direct answers to specific
questions, with a maximum word count of 100 words
per response.
> Most applicants wait until the last day to complete
the application, because of the “Essay.” This approach
may allow students to complete the “Essay” portion
of the application at once. It may also offer judges a
better story around the applicant’s background, career
goals, community service and character or personal
circumstances.
> The four questions are:
1. What has most influenced your professional or
career aspirations for the future?
2. Describe an influential person in your life, and how
he/she has helped change your view of yourself and
the world. You may use examples from your family
life, community service or extracurricular activities.
3. Some believe that a person of character demonstrates
the following six qualities: trustworthiness, respect,
responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Pick
one of these qualities, describe the value of this
quality, and, most importantly, explain how you have
exemplified this trait.
4. Describe a time when you were in a leadership
position. What obstacles did you have to
overcome? How did you overcome those obstacles
to obtain your goal?
• Based on feedback from the ISTS Survey, Chapters will
have the same option for the “Recommendation” field:
> The recommendation remains optional for all
applicants applying for your Chapter’s scholarships,
however the recommendation must be completed
online using the “ISTS Recommendation Form.”
> Feedback from several Selection Committees over
the past few years has shown that “Recommendation
Letters,” as they are currently submitted, are not very
useful during the Selection Process and can make it
more difficult for some applicants to complete their
application.
> These are all generic letters that are always positive,
because students will not ask someone to write a
recommendation letter if they will not say good things
about themselves.
> It has also been found that many of the letters are
templates not personally written by each counselor or
“We implemented the 4-question Essay this year and
the answers were outstanding. All our judges loved them
in comparison to the 500-word Essay.”
— KAREN McEACHERN, Executive Director,
RMHC of Eastern New England
©2015 RMHC
14
referral. The truth is that many simply change the name
of the student and the “he/she” terms within the letter.
> Moving the “Recommendation” online and away
from a generic template will allow ISTS to ask those
recommending students to answer specific questions
about the applicant’s leadership abilities, academics,
and commitment to their community.
> This also ensures that all recommendations are being
scored fairly by answering the same questions. In the
past, some Chapters have chosen not to review the
“Recommendations” during the Selection Process
because of the reasons mentioned above; now you
will have the ability to make the “Recommendation”
optional for your applicants as well.
CHAPTER’S EXPERIENCE
• Online benefits include:
> Custom reports to track your judges progress.
> Score information – including custom calculations if
needed for selection.
> Chapters do not have to take 1 – 2 weeks to distribute
applications. ISTS will be electronically assigning
judges based on each Chapter’s needs and those
judges will have access to their applications the week
of March 21, 2016. To view Share Point tutorial with
general instructions/guidelines, go to https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=DcYd_HmHDpo.
JUDGE’S EXPERIENCE
• To give Chapters more control during the “Selection
Process,” judges will be provided with a generic user
name to login and score the applications. This will
make it easier for Chapters to change who is scoring
applications, should a judge no longer be available to do
so. You can simply provide the generic login information
to each judge, therefore avoiding the need for ISTS to
redistribute the applications constantly.
• This generic login approach also means:
> ISTS no longer needs to know who your judges are
(names, last names or emails) only how many judges
you plan to have scoring your applications.
> Chapters will have more time to determine their
judges, without having to worry about subsequent
changes in your rosters.
> The only update Chapters need to provide to ISTS is if
your total number of judges changes.
> Judges will continue to have the ability to reset their
own passwords when they have trouble logging in;
now Chapters will have this ability as well.
> ISTS can build additional functionality into the “Login
Page” for judges and Chapters to reset their passwords
in one step, without having to contact ISTS for
assistance. For a demo on the Judge’s Experience, go
to www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAzwvCClW-4.
• ISTS will continue to set up each RMHC Chapter in
its system as individual “Clients” of ISTS, which will
allow for further customization of the Selection Site.
> In order to customize your Chapter’s Selection Site
online, based on your specific needs and program’s
nuances, you must complete the ISTS Data Form
accordingly. This form will be available via a link on
the RADAR Scholarship Enrollment page and it’s due
on September 11, 2015. If you have any questions
about this form, please contact Elena Salorio at
[email protected]. To see a tutorial on how to
complete this form go to http://youtu.be/Z-kD9KTmj2Y.
©2015 RMHC
15
RECOMMENDED
SCORING GUIDELINES
BACKGROUND
The RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program is intended to
support students who have a desire to pursue higher
education and express a commitment to serve their
community. These students have varying academic
qualifications, financial need, and leadership attributes.
Similarly, applicants for RMHC scholarships represent
diverse social, economic, and educational backgrounds
within their communities. The common thread among
them, however, is the relentless desire to achieve. They see
education as a vehicle to take them to their destination.
In an effort to both recognize students’ achievements from
an academic and community-oriented perspective, we also
want to be aware of their need for support financially.
With this in mind, and using information from outside
experts, we have designed a set of recommended scoring
guidelines that you can use locally to award RMHC U.S.
Scholarships by conducting a balanced examination of
students’ qualifications in each of the following three areas:
• Academic achievement
• Leadership/Community service/
Recommendations of others
WHEN SCORING APPLICANTS, KEEP IN MIND
THE FOLLOWING BEST PRACTICES:
• Each applicant should be reviewed and scored at
least two times.
• Committee members should review no more
than 10-20 applications in order to keep process
objective and fair to all applicants.
• Academic Index (AI) and Estimated Family
Contribution (EFC) scores provided by ISTS
should be used as a guide only.
• Give your committee members a reasonable,
but deliberate deadline. You can send them
weekly reminders, but hold them accountable for
completing the process on time. Have a back-up
plan with two or three people that could help if an
existing judge declines or delays the process.
• Schedule enough time for your committee
members to complete their scoring and your final
selection meetings and/or recognition events/
announcements.
• When you need something from ISTS, expect
to obtain a response from ISTS within 1-2 days.
Email is the preferred method of communication.
©2015 RMHC
• Financial need
This formula enables local programs to recognize and equally
reward achievement, potential, commitment, and need.
The proposed guidelines incorporate the Preliminary Ranking
Score and Expected Family Contribution information that
International Scholarship and Tuition Services (ISTS)
prepares for each program. They are key elements of
our recommended scoring system. Education advisory
committees are encouraged to use this scoring system to
judge applications and select scholarship recipients.
ABOUT THE ACADEMIC INDEX (AI) AND THE
ESTIMATED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION (EFC) INDEX
ISTS provides scores to rank applicants based on their
academics and financial need. These scores are not meant
to be the only criteria used to selecting the scholarship
recipients. However, these are commonly used for other
organizations that offer financial aid to students through
scholarships. Here is an explanation of the two terms:
Academic Index (AI)
Academic Index is a proprietary calculation ISTS uses to
rank students academically on one scale. The calculation
takes into consideration each student’s GPA Scale, Class
16
RECOMMENDED
SCORING GUIDELINES continued
Rank/Size (if available), and test scores. When both
ACT and SAT scores are provided, the calculation will
automatically take the higher of the two scores. The total
possible AI score is 260. AI does not take into consideration
the type of courses taken, course load, or difficulty of
courses taken. When scoring academics you should take
these other elements into consideration.
Estimated Family Contribution (EFC)
Estimated Family Contribution is a calculation using
Federal charts and guidelines that provide an approximate
amount that the family should be able to contribute to the
student’s college costs for the following academic year. The
calculation takes into consideration the:
• Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
• Number of people in the household
• Number of people in the household attending
college in the fall.
An EFC score of $0 would be considered high financial
need. Scores between $5,000 – $10,000 would be considered
moderate financial need. EFC scores above $10,000 would
be considered lower financial need. Keep in mind that the
financial need of the student will fluctuate based on the
college/university they plan to attend. For example, an EFC
score of $10,000 for a student wanting to attend a state
school or community college would actually be low financial
need, while a student planning to attend a private college/
university would have high financial need. There are many
aspects you need to consider with financial need. The EFC
score is a guide to help you during the selection process.
SCORING
The information below describes how you can interpret the
information provided by ISTS to determine the academic
achievement and financial need scores:
Preliminary Ranking Score/Academic Achievement
The score in the top left-hand corner of the application can
be interpreted to mean the following:
©2015 RMHC
• Scores between 235 and the maximum of 259 or 261 are
Outstanding students. (Consider awarding students in
this category between 25 – 30 points.)
• Scores between 210 and 234 are Excellent, but not
outstanding students. (Consider awarding students in
this category between 20 – 25 points.)
• Scores between 185 and 209 are Above-average
students. (Consider awarding students in this category
between 15 – 20 points.)
• Scores between 160 and 184 are Average students.
(Consider awarding students in this category between
10 – 15 points.)
ISTS’s Preliminary Ranking Score Formula
The PR Score is derived from the following formula.
1. The class rank* is expressed as a percentile.
(1 out of 100 = 99 percentile)
2.The percentile is added to one of the following: the
ACT Composite Score multiplied by 4.5 or the first two
numbers of the SAT Verbal and the SAT Math (whichever
is higher.)
The highest possible score is 261, which is the highest ACT
score of 36 times 4.5 (162) plus 99. If the SAT is used, the
highest possible score is 259 (80 + 80 + 99). The highest
possible percentile is 99.
Examples:
1. A student ranks fifth in a class of 100 (95 percentile) and
has an SAT Verbal of 650 and an SAT Math of 650. The
formula: 95 + 65 + 65 = 225
2.A student ranks fifth in a class of 100 (95 percentile) and
has an ACT of 29. The formula: 95 + (29 x 4.5) = 225
*Note: We recognize that many high schools are no longer ranking their
students. In reviewing each application and high school transcript, ISTS
will estimate a class rank for those students who were not provided one
by their high school. This estimated rank will be based on the student’s
GPA and/or the grades provided on the transcript.
17
RECOMMENDED
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT (30 points)
2015/2016 RMHC Sch
Please evaluate the applicant’s academic achievement for
each of the following criteria on a scale of 1 – 10.
olarship Program
Student’s name: ______
Types of Courses Taken
Is the applicant taking challenging courses that are on
point with his/her grade level? Is the applicant taking
honors or AP courses? 1 – 10 (one being lowest and 10
being highest)
Evaluator’s name: _____
____________________
____________________
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMEN
Sheet
____________ ____________________
T (1-‐30 POINTS) __ •
•
•
Trend in grades (1-‐10 p
oints) Type of courses Taken (
1-‐10 points) Course load (1-‐10 points)
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVIT
IES/SERVICE (1-‐20 POINTS
) • Community involvemen
t thus far (1-‐10 points) • Extracurricular activiti
es (1-‐10 points) FINANCIAL NEED (1-‐10 POINTS) ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ •
Estimated Family Contrib
ution (EFC) which is the amount the family can c
student's education (1-‐5 ontribute per year to that points) • Unique personal or financial circumstances (1-‐5) PERSONAL STATEMENT – 4 QUESTIONS (1-‐30 P
OINTS) • Four (4) individual Essay scores/questions:
Trend in Grades
Has the applicant maintained consistent grades? Has
there been a noticeable improvement or drop off in grades?
Consider the applicant’s G.P.A., class rank, and other
information provided on the transcript. 1 – 10
______________ ______________ ®
®
®
®
Course Load
How well does the applicant balance his/her course load?
1 – 10
Essay question 1 (1-‐5) Essay question 2 (1-‐5) Essay question 3 (1-‐5) Essay question 4 (1-‐5) Spelling/Grammar (1-‐10) •
RECOMMENDATION (1-‐10 • If keeping the “Recom
______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ POINTS) mendation” as required: 1 – 10 • If the “Recommendation”
______________ is optional, use a 0 for recommendation and m
the “Extracurricular Activiti
ove the 10 points into es/Service Section” In addition to the recom
mendation points, please use the scoring below t
applicant, based on the o score the overall charac
information you have s
ter of the een within their applica
tion and through the recom
mendations. EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES/SERVICE
(20 points)
Please evaluate the applicant’s personal statement for
each of the following criteria on a scale of 1 – 10.
Note: If the “Recommendation” is not required, each
category would be up to 15 points for a total of 30
possible points for this section.
Application Evaluation
____________________
SUB-‐TOTAL SCORE (100 points maximum): DISCRETIONARY POINTS
(1-‐10 POINTS
) In addition to the previou
Discretionary points are s points (above) to award student qualities
such as perseverance, o
helping others in the future, vercoming great odds, s
individuality, unusual skills, incerity, unselfishness, i
creativity, as well as other representative of RMHC/H
ndication of factors that would make ACER. These points are intended for the purpose
a candidate a good are also used to reward of distinguishing between
special qualities not addresse
c
andida
tes in the event of a tie. They d in other evaluation criteria
. Please provide a brief e
xplanation for inclusion TOTAL SCORE (110 point
______________ of discretionary points:
s maximum): Community Service
Is the applicant currently involved in community service
projects? 1 – 10 (one being lowest and 10 being highest)
Extracurricular Activities
Is the applicant currently involved in extracurricular
activities? 1 – 10
PROPOSED SCORING FORMULA: 110 Point System
Academic
Achievement
Extracurricular
Activities/Service
Essay Page
(Four Questions)
Financial
Need
Recommendation
Form (optional)
Judges’ Discretionary
(in addition to previous points)
1 – 30 points
1 – 20 points
1 – 30 points
1 – 10 points
1 – 10 points
1 – 10 points
©2015 RMHC
18
RECOMMENDED
PERSONAL STATEMENT/ESSAYS (30 points)
RECOMMENDATION FORM (10 points)
Evaluate the applicant’s personal “Essay Page” for each of
the following criteria.
• If keeping the “Recommendation” as required: 1 – 10
• Short Answer 1
Has the applicant clearly answered question 1? 1 – 5
(one being lowest and 5 being highest)
• Short Answer 2
• Short Answer 3
• Short Answer 4
•Spelling/Grammar
Has the applicant provided short essays free of spelling
and grammar mistakes? 1 – 10
FINANCIAL NEED (10 points)
Please evaluate the applicant’s financial need on a scale of
1 – 10.
Unique Circumstances
Does the applicant have any unique personal or financial
circumstance that deserves consideration? 1 – 10
Note: This will apply for all applicants. Even if they “opt
out” of the “financial need” section, they will still be asked
to provide any information the Selection Committee should
consider appropriate.
• If the “Recommendation” is optional, use a 0 for
recommendation and move the 10 points into the
“Extracurricular Activities/Service Section”
ADDITIONAL DISCRETIONARY POINTS (10 points)
Special Circumstances
Does the applicant exhibit unique qualities such
as perseverance, overcoming great odds, sincerity,
unselfishness, and desire to help others, individuality,
unusual skills, creativity, as well as other factors that
would make a candidate a good recipient of an RMHC U.S.
Scholarship? 1 – 10 (one being the lowest and 10 being the
highest)
“The online process streamlined
everything for us. We have a very
small staff and using technology
this way made our Scholarship
Program more manageable. It’s one
of those things that once you get
used to using it you wonder
how you ever did without it.”
— BETTS MURDISON, M.ED., President & CEO,
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Augusta, Inc.
©2015 RMHC
19
HOW TO EXECUTE an
RMHC U.S. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
GETTING STARTED
There are 12 basic steps a local RMHC Chapter must
follow to establish and execute the RMHC U.S. Scholarship
Program. The content of these steps is a critical component
of your scholarship procedures/protocols or formal local
program guidelines/criteria.
STEP 1: DEVELOP A BLUEPRINT
Once a local RMHC Chapter has made the commitment to
establish or continue the RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program,
a blueprint should be developed. The blueprint must be
formalized in writing and includes program goals and
objectives, strategies, a fundraising plan and a program
budget. The first consideration must be to determine which
of the four Scholarships the Chapter will offer (i.e. RMHC/
ASIA, RMHC/African American Future Achievers, RMHC/
HACER and/or RMHC Scholars).
In preparing the budget, consideration should be given
to the need for collateral materials, publicity activities, a
scholarship presentation event, and other activities and
materials designed to create awareness and visibility for
the Program. It is important to note that the marketing and
publicity for the Scholarship Program is the responsibility
of the local RMHC Chapter. If Chapters wish to maintain/
increase the number of scholarship applications,
marketing/PR is critical.
TIP: In markets where local RMHC Chapters enjoy a
working partnership with McDonald’s owner/operators,
utilizing their local advertising and/or public relations
agency relationships can be a tremendous benefit.
For legal purposes, the number and amount of scholarships
to be awarded, as well as the process to be used for
selection, must be determined in advance by the local
RMHC Chapter Board and documented each year in
the minutes from the Chapter’s Board meeting. This
information is also required to be submitted to RMHC
Global. It is also critical that all key stakeholders (members
©2015 RMHC
of the Education Committee, McDonald’s owner/operators,
community leaders, etc.) understand the process. Matching
funds from RMHC Global will not be released without
this documentation.
Matching funds from RMHC Global will continue to be
distributed in one lump sum, rather than divided among
the four Scholarships (provided that Chapters minimally
offer the RMHC Scholars Scholarship). Local RMHC
Chapters will continue to have the flexibility to divide the
funds as their Board deems reasonable and appropriate.
Decisions will continue to be influenced by local Chapter
Education Committees comprised of a diverse group
of community leaders, educators, RMHC staff/board
members and McDonald’s owner/operators. While their
support is essential, for legal and tax purposes these
Committees may not be comprised solely of McDonald’s
owner/operators.
Local RMHC Chapters are responsible for raising
and allocating all funds received for the RMHC U.S.
Scholarship Program. The RMHC U.S. Scholarship
Program must operate at all times as a program of the
local RMHC Chapter. The individual Scholarships (RMHC/
HACER and RMHC Scholars) do not have non-profit/501(c)
(3) status and are trademarks that are owned by McDonald’s
Corporation/Ronald McDonald House Charities. All
fundraising on behalf of the Scholarship Program must
be done under the name of the local RMHC Chapter and
restricted for support of scholarships.
Individual, business and foundation donors may restrict a
donation to a particular ethnic group or Scholarship (i.e.
RMHC/ASIA, RMHC/African American Future Achievers,
RMHC/HACER or RMHC Scholars), but no donor may
restrict their donation to any particular individual or
require attendance at a particular college or university.
Additionally, if donations are restricted and the Program
limits awards to those restrictions, public disclosure
is required. As always, if donors make restrictions and
the Chapter elects to accept the restrictions, these
20
HOW TO EXECUTE an
restrictions must be honored by the local RMHC
Chapter. At the same time, funds raised specifically for,
and restricted to, scholarships may not be used by the local
RMHC Chapters for any other purpose. Funds must also be
used for the year in which they are designated.
If you have a question about accepting any type of
restricted donation and its handling, please call Stacey
Bifero, (630) 623-3700, at RMHC Global.
STEP 2: SUBMIT PROGRAM PARTICIPATION
NOTIFICATION FORMS
To initiate the RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program and receive
matching funds, a local Chapter must submit formal notice
to the Global office in Oak Brook. Participating Chapters
must complete the U.S. Scholarship Participation Form in
the Scholarship module in RADAR. RMHC Global requires
Chapters to upload “U.S. Scholarship Program Selection
Criteria” to RADAR at the same time the Participation Form
is completed. These protocols must include the Chapter’s
fundraising and selection procedures, as well as the names
and affiliations of all members of the Education Committee.
For questions about how to enroll via RADAR, please
contact Vicky Laws at [email protected].
Deadline for
enrollment in the
2015/2016 Program is
September 11, 2015
©2015 RMHC
STEP 3: FORM AN EDUCATION COMMITTEE
A local RMHC Chapter must form an Education Committee
(also known as a Scholarship Selection Committee)
to provide guidance and support for the successful
implementation of its RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program.
Other functions of the committee may include reviewing
scholarship applications and selecting the winners (with
final approval from the Board of the local RMHC Chapter),
and supporting efforts to raise funds, gain visibility and
recognition for the program. The Education Committee
must include members of the Board of the local RMHC
Chapter and may consist of as many members as deemed
appropriate. Committee members should have diverse
ethnic and professional backgrounds, and may not be
comprised solely of McDonald’s owner/operators.
Some local RMHC Chapters choose to have more than
one Education Committee, each of which focuses on one
particular Scholarship (RMHC/ASIA, RMHC/African
American Future Achievers, RMHC/HACER and RMHC
Scholars). However, these Committees are still only
responsible for application review and providing a listing
of recommended winners to the local RMHC Board. The
local RMHC Board makes the final awardee decisions
based on these recommendations. Note that the names
and affiliations of the Education Committee members
must be submitted to RMHC Global as part of the Program
Participation form. Committee members, their affiliations,
and relationship to any of the scholarship applicants and
recipients, must also be disclosed on the IRS Form 990.
Refer to IRS Requirements on page 31 in this manual.
Once the Education Committee is formed, members should
be given an overall orientation to RMHC and the Scholarship
Program. Leadership of the committee may be appointed or
selected, including designating a member as the chairperson
of the local RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program. The
committee should meet periodically to review and provide
support for the program and its operation, and should report
its activities to the Board of the local RMHC Chapter on a
regular basis for ongoing feedback and approval.
21
HOW TO EXECUTE an
STEP 4: ESTABLISH SCHOLARSHIP
SELECTION CRITERIA
With guidance from RMHC Global, the Board of the local
Chapter, and other local education professionals, local
Education Committees also have the opportunity to define the
criteria to be used for the selection of scholarship recipients.
In order to access administrative support from RMHC Global,
a minimum of one scholarship award must be given under
the RMHC Scholars Scholarship to a student without regard
to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender,
disability or national origin. To comply with IRS regulations,
the scholarship criteria must be fully documented and
approved by the local RMHC Chapter Board before the
selection process begins. The selection criteria must be
reported to the IRS in the local Chapter’s annual tax filing
(Form 990, Schedule I) which is available for public inspection.
This particularly applies if a Chapter chooses to restrict any
or all awards to a specific minority/ethnic group.
The spirit of RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program suggests
that the ideal scholarship selection criteria combine various
elements including academic achievement, financial need,
community involvement, and recommendations from others.
All selection procedures and criteria must be documented
formally in writing through Education Committee Protocols.
In order to give local Chapters and respective
Education Committees a better understanding of an
applicant’s leadership potential, all applications include
a comprehensive Community Involvement section.
Committees will have contact information for a reference
regarding each applicant’s Community Involvement in case
verification is needed or desired.
TIP: Based upon individual market needs and
characteristics, some Chapters weight the various elements
in determining their final selections (i.e., academic
achievement 50%, financial need 25%, community
involvement 15%, recommendations from others 10%). Many
Chapters also conduct phone or in-person interviews to
further personalize the selection process.
©2015 RMHC
STEP 5: LAUNCH AND PUBLICIZE THE PROGRAM
To effectively publicize the program, the local RMHC
Chapter should develop a plan. The most successful results
have been achieved by working in collaboration with a local
public relations agency. News releases announcing the
creation of the program and the availability of scholarship
applications should be distributed to all appropriate
media, with a focus on media that serves the designated
community and ethnic group.
RMHC Global creates and distributes postcards promoting
the Scholarships. However, the majority of the local
marketing/ PR efforts are led by the local RMHC Chapter
to achieve maximum effectiveness. Local programs may
develop fliers, tray liners and brochures that may be
distributed to schools, community youth centers, and at
McDonald’s restaurants. All publicity activities should be
reviewed and approved by the Board of the local RMHC
Chapter, and all publicity materials must be submitted to
RMHC Global for review and approval before production
and distribution. Please allow a minimum of five (5)
business days for RMHC Global and legal review. All
submissions should be directed to Clara Carrier at
[email protected] and Vicky
Laws at [email protected].
STEP 6: PLAN AND EXECUTE
FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES
As with all other programs of the local RMHC Chapters,
fundraising is essential for the continued success of
the RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program. Successful local
fundraising establishes a consistent base of support for the
program and determines the number and amount of the
scholarships to be awarded. Fundraising events also serve
to generate publicity and support for the local Chapters and
the program as a whole.
Fundraising activities for a local Chapter’s RMHC U.S.
Scholarship Program should be coordinated with all
other fundraising efforts. All funds for scholarships must
be raised and awarded in the name of the local RMHC
22
HOW TO EXECUTE an
Chapter, including locally raised funds, contributions,
and matching funds. Individual, business and foundation
donors may restrict a donation to your Scholarship Program
in general or to RMHC/HACER, RMHC/African American
Future Achievers, RMHC/ASIA or RMHC Scholars, but
no donor may restrict their donation to any particular
individual or require attendance at a particular college or
university. As always, if donors make restrictions, these
restrictions must be honored by the local RMHC Chapter.
It is important to note that funds raised or contributed
for RMHC U.S. Scholarships can only be used for
Scholarships and cannot be used to cover other programs
associated with the local RMHC Chapter. Funds to cover
administration, publicity, and other programs costs may
be raised or solicited as support for the local Chapter’s
RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program. Donors and contributors
should be advised that they are supporting all aspects of
the program’s operation, including its administration. If a
local Chapter continues to limit awards to a specific ethnic
group or groups, they will need to publicly disclose this
information during the application and selection process.
TIP: One way to increase your local scholarship funds is
through partnership efforts with McDonald’s restaurants
and/or the owner/operator community. These can
range from support by an entire market’s McDonald’s
Co-op to individual owner/operator advocacy groups,
such as the Asian McDonald’s Operator Association,
Black McDonald’s Operator Association, McDonald’s
Hispanic Operator Association and Women’s Operator
Network. Consider offering a “Fundraising Tip Sheet” for
distribution to groups or organizations working to help you
raise money for specific Programs.
distributed in one lump sum, rather than divided among the
four Scholarships (provided that Chapters minimally offer
the RMHC Scholars Scholarship). Local RMHC Chapters
will have the flexibility to divide the funds as their Boards
deem reasonable and appropriate. Decisions will continue
©2015 RMHC
to be influenced by local Chapter Education Committees
comprised of a diverse group of community leaders, RMHC
staff/board members and McDonald’s owner/operators.
Matching funds may only be used in the year they are
given.
RMHC Global’s financial support (comprised of
administrative support and matching funds) of RMHC/
HACER and RMHC Scholars has not and will not change.
Local RMHC Chapters will continue to have the flexibility
to raise funds in the manner in which they are accustomed,
understanding that there may be annual fluctuations in
contributions/awards based on market conditions, donor
restrictions, etc. Many local RMHC Chapters award
scholarships totaling more than the RMHC Global match.
That is to say, if a market wishes to award more scholarships,
the local RMHC Chapter is responsible for raising additional
funds in their own community through the support of the
McDonald’s owner/operators and other supporters.
STEP 7: CONTINUE TO GENERATE PUBLICITY
AND CREATE AWARENESS
To ensure the public’s awareness and recognition of
the local Chapter’s Scholarship Program and generate
scholarship applications, a year-round media outreach
campaign may be developed and implemented. Local
RMHC Chapters should tap into local print, radio, and
television contacts and resources to generate publicity for
the program throughout the year (best through a public
relations and/or advertising partner). Efforts should be
directed at building awareness and excitement for the
Scholarship Program and its supporters and the local
Chapter’s other initiatives.
STEP 8: SELECT SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
During the application period, scholarship applications are
available on https://aim.applyists.net/RMHC, and in other
key locations (such as McDonald’s restaurants, based upon
conversations and relationships with your local owner/
operator group) if local Chapters choose to print marketing
23
HOW TO EXECUTE an
materials. The application postmark deadline is January
20, 2016, and the online application deadline is 11:59
p.m. EST that same day. These deadlines will not be
extended. (This deadline does not apply to local Chapters
who conduct their own scholarship application distribution
and collection initiatives. They may adjust the deadline to
best suit their local Chapter needs.)
Unless you are conducting a customized program locally
and will be taking receipt of applications from students
directly, all nationally-distributed applications will be
sent by applicants to International Scholarship and
Tuition Services (ISTS) in Nashville, TN. ISTS is a private
scholarship management firm hired by RMHC Global to
support implementation of the programs.
ISTS receives all applications, conducts an initial review,
scores all applications and sends an .ftp site link and
password to local Chapters to access corresponding
applications. To ensure the integrity of the program, ISTS
will upload only complete applications that include all of
the information and documentation requested.
Local Chapters will access applications via a secured .ftp
site where sensitive data is stored behind a certified secured
firewall. Chapters will only have access to applications
for their respective geography and each application will
be presented in a comprehensive .pdf format in a unique
folder. ISTS will schedule instructional webinars over a
two week period prior to February 2016 to ensure Chapter
understanding of site navigational tools and features.
TIP: Selection protocols, including local RMHC Chapter
scoring methods, must be documented in writing and
approved by the local RMHC Chapter Board of Directors.
Upon receipt of the applications, local Education
Committees convene to review them, validate contents and
select the appropriate number of scholarship recipients.
The Board of the local Chapter is required to approve
and document the Committee’s selections.
©2015 RMHC
TIP: For local Chapters with very high volumes
of applications and/or which implement all four
Scholarships—or both, utilizing a data entry company to
catalog all applications is an efficient option. This type of
service organization can also duplicate the applications
for ease of reading by multiple judges. This is both a timeand labor-saving tactic.
STEP 9: NOTIFY AND PUBLICIZE RMHC U.S.
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
Once the Board of the local RMHC Chapter has ratified the
Education Committee’s selections, scholarship recipients
must be notified in writing by local Chapter representatives
as quickly as practical after their selection and no later
than June 17, 2016. Scholarship recipients must also be
reminded that they are required to submit verification
of enrollment before scholarship funds can be sent to
their school. For your convenience, notification letter
templates are available on Fileshare, http://legacy.rmhc.
Note: In addition to notifying the winners, local Chapters
are required to send notices to applicants not selected.
This step is a timely and important one, as RMHC Global
receives a tremendous number of calls from applicants
throughout the country who were not notified about
individual Chapter decisions.
TIP: Work with your public relations agency (if there is an
existing relationship) to announce and publicly recognize
scholarship recipients, the members of the Education
Committee, and all program partners and supporters.
TIP: Where no public relations agency relationship exists
already, consider asking for a pro bono contribution from a
local organization in your market. Two resources for finding
and selecting an agency are the industry membership
organizations like PRSA and Council of PR Firms.
24
HOW TO EXECUTE an
STEP 10: RECOGNIZE RMHC
U.S. SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
Scholarship presentation events are high-profile
opportunities to recognize the recipients and generate
publicity for the local RMHC Chapter and all of its
program partners.
Recognition events are also great opportunities to
invite educators, community leaders, elected officials,
and others to publicly show their support for the local
RMHC Chapter’s scholarship efforts. Just as importantly,
recognition ceremonies give the local Chapter, members
of the Education Committee, and program supporters the
opportunity to meet and interact with scholarship recipients
and their families. Many recognition events include a local
celebrity emcee as well as prominent community members
and past scholarship recipients as speakers.
Recognition events may be luncheons, dinners, receptions or
special ceremonies. These events are typically held at hotels,
universities, high schools, Ronald McDonald Houses or other
community venues and are sponsored by the local RMHC
Chapter, the co-op and/or McDonald’s owner/operators.
TIP: Consider presenting each scholarship recipient with
a gift such as picture frame, an engraved leather portfolio
that they may use at school, an Arch Card, or a gift card for
a retail outlet.
TIP: Many Chapters choose to host recognition events in
late May or early June, prior to the end of the school year.
TIP: Some RMHC Chapters host a single recognition
event to recognize all winners while others host separate
events based on scholarship type. Single events offer an
opportunity to honor a broader—and more diverse—number
of students and also can be a more cost-efficient way to
culminate a local program. Multiple recognition events
can be beneficial to further build brand awareness and
equity and/or if a donor wishes to underwrite an event for a
particular branded Scholarship (i.e. RMHC/ASIA, RMHC/
African American Future Achievers, RMHC/HACER or
RMHC Scholars). Regardless of the type of event(s) that
is held, the local RMHC Chapter Board must approve it’s
format and content.
“Our McDonald’s Co-op pays for our ceremony.
Since there is significant cost and time/effort involved with
organizing separate events, it was decided several years ago that
the events would be combined. It is also much more powerful in
terms of the number of students and the type of speaker
we can justify with the larger group.”
— VINCE BRYSON, Chief Executive Officer,
Ronald McDonald House Charities
of Southern California
©2015 RMHC
25
HOW TO EXECUTE an
STEP 11: CONSIDER FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
A local RMHC Chapter determines the amount of scholarships
it will award each program year based on the dollars it
raises and/or receives from donors, including community
organizations or businesses which may be interested in
supporting this type of program. While donations may
come from local colleges/universities, there can be no
restrictions to these donations that limit donated funds only
for students attending their respective schools. Likewise,
donations received from other individuals or corporations
can be restricted to a particular Scholarship but not
designated to particular students or educational institutions.
No students may be forced to attend a select college/
university in order to receive an RMHC U.S. Scholarship.
RMHC Global Matching Funds
In order to access RMHC Global funds, a Chapter must offer
at least one general market scholarship through the RMHC
Scholars Scholarship. General Market refers to a student that
has been selected without regard to race, color, creed, religion,
sexual orientation, gender, disability or national origin.
distributed in one lump sum, rather than divided among the
four Scholarships (provided that Chapters minimally offer
the RMHC Scholars Scholarship). Local RMHC Chapters
will have the flexibility to divide the funds as their Boards
deem reasonable and appropriate. Decisions will continue
to be influenced by local Chapter Education Committees
comprised of a diverse group of community leaders, RMHC
staff/board members and McDonald’s owner/operators.
Local RMHC Chapters are eligible to receive a match that
is reflective of the Chapter market size and population
distribution. This match will be a minimum of $3,000.
These funds can only be used for scholarship awards,
and cannot be used to cover local Chapter program
administrative costs.
Matching funds must be used in the year in which they are
awarded. If offering multi-year scholarships, local Chapters
©2015 RMHC
must budget accordingly for subsequent years and may not
retain funds for future payouts.
TIP: For a specific figure for your Chapter, please email
Vicky Laws at [email protected] or contact your
RMHC Global Field Team Leader.
Issuing Scholarship Checks
Local RMHC Chapters will submit their request for
RMHC matching funds no later than August 12, 2016, via
RADAR. A complete list of the names, addresses, ethnicity,
scholarship name and intended school for all scholarship
recipients will be part of the request for matching funds.
You will also be required to note whether the applicant,
or an immediate family member of the applicant is a
McDonald’s employee.
Upon receipt of this information, RMHC Global will issue
funds via electronic funds transfer (EFT) for the appropriate
matching amounts to local RMHC Chapters within six
weeks. Remember, local Chapters must be current with
financial statements/U.S. Form 990/quarterly reports in
order to receive matching funds from RMHC Global. Local
RMHC Chapters are responsible for issuing scholarship
checks for the total amount of the scholarship prior to
the start of an awardee’s academic year. Checks are to be
made only to the college or university the student will be
attending, not to the student. In addition, local Chapters
should be sending the check directly to the college
or university, not to the student. In other words, the
student should never have the check in their possession.
All matching funds from RMHC Global will be sent to the
local RMHC Chapter—no other outside parties.
Local RMHC Chapters and their Boards are responsible for
ensuring that scholarship funds are sent to all recipients’
college or university on a timely basis. Awards may not
be withheld from students pending receipt of matching
funds from RMHC Global.
26
HOW TO EXECUTE an
STEP 12: EVALUATE, REPORT, PLAN
AND BENCHMARK
Upon completion of the scholarship year, staff and
Board members of the local Chapter and members of the
Education Committee should meet to conduct a full review
and evaluation of the program and to begin planning for
the next year.
RMHC Global will require that local RMHC Chapters
track enrollment, education performance and graduation
status of scholarship awardees. This tracking process will
be relatively simple when offering multi-year scholarships
by requesting annual transcripts from awardees and will
certainly help RMHC realize a return on its investment
both locally and nationally.
Local RMHC Chapters must include a report of their
scholarship activities on their annual tax reports. The
scholarship(s) should be listed on IRS Form 990 as an
entirely separate program (see IRS Requirements on page
31 in this manual for more details and a sample of the
information which must be included in your IRS Form 990).
TIP: When local McDonald’s owner/operators are
partners in these Scholarships, providing recaps at
their meetings are powerful tools for reinforcing the
relationship and demonstrating the value of community
involvement. Also consider inviting a member of the local
McDonald’s co-op to your Chapter meetings to enable
a reciprocal acknowledgement if the co-op played an
integral role in the execution of the Scholarship.
In addition to planning and executing their own programs,
local Chapters also have the opportunity to provide input for
the continued growth and overall success of this program.
HOW TO REQUEST MATCHING FUNDS VIA RADAR
To review the step-by-step process on how to request
matching funds from RMHC Global, please reference
page 178, under “The Scholarship Awarded” section, of
the RADAR User Guide 2nd Edition. This guide can be
downloaded from Fileshare at: http://legacy.rmhc.org/
assets/Uploads/11.15-radar-guide-PAGES-lo-res2.pdf
Local RMHC Chapters are encouraged to provide
information about their program’s success and challenges
to RMHC Global. RMHC Global in turn will share this
information with other local programs and key stakeholders.
“The on-line review really streamlined the application review process
for our Scholarship committee. Everyone was able to review, score and
submit the applications in their own time and when we came together as a
group for the final recommendations, the resulting master ranking greatly
facilitated our decision making process. We give it an A!”
— KATHY KEISER, Executive Director,
Ronald McDonald House Charities – Bismarck, ND
©2015 RMHC
27
and RESPONSIBILITIES
Local RMHC Chapters and their scholarship program
partners are at the heart of the RMHC U.S. Scholarship
Program. Key supporters include members of the
McDonald’s family. Many local RMHC U.S. Scholarship
Programs have been established, operate and have
reached significant levels of success through the support
and participation of McDonald’s owner/operators and
corporate staff. Members of the McFamily help raise or
contribute scholarship funds and collaborate actively in the
implementation of their local programs.
McDonald’s owner/operators, through their local Coops and/or through their respective public relations/
advertising or marketing agencies, also provide essential
administrative, publicity, event coordination and other
scholarship program support.
Successful local RMHC U.S. Scholarship Programs also
enjoy the support and participation of other supporters
including educators, business and community leaders and
media representatives.
LOCAL RMHC CHAPTERS
• Local RMHC Chapters are responsible for coordinating
their scholarship programs. Local Chapters gather
supporters, develop and approve selection criteria,
manage all financial aspects of the program, and
are responsible for the preparation and filing of
documentation associated with awarding scholarships.
Only local RMHC Chapters may implement the RMHC
U.S. Scholarship Program. With appropriate approval
from the Board of Directors, local Chapters may delegate
responsibility for the implementation of its scholarship
program to a specially designated agent such as a public
relations or advertising agency, or community foundation
with experience in administering scholarship programs.
• All funds for RMHC U.S. Scholarships must be
managed by the local RMHC Chapter or its approved
agent. This includes locally-raised funds, contributions,
and matching funds.
©2015 RMHC
• Local Chapters are responsible for ensuring that
fundraising appeals specify the intended use of the funds.
Funds raised to support scholarships are restricted and
must be handled accordingly. Funds raised to support “the
Scholarship Program” may be used to cover program costs.
• In order to preserve the RMHC non-profit/501(c)
(3) status, the local RMHC Chapter, not McDonald’s
Corporation or its affiliates, must have direct control
of all scholarship program funds, including signatory
responsibility for check writing, handling of all
transactions, and reconciliation of all accounts. The
local Chapter is also responsible for acknowledging all
contributions received.
• To date, local RMHC Chapters that have had the most
success with their scholarship programs operate the
program as a collaboration of their staff, volunteers,
McDonald’s owner/operators and other community
leaders.
• With support from RMHC Global, each local RMHC
Chapter has overall responsibility for the execution
of its local program. Additional program execution
responsibilities include: fundraising, announcing and
publicizing all details of the program; ensuring the
availability of applications in area high schools; selecting
and recognizing scholarship recipients; ensuring that
scholarship awards are processed and paid; and proper
reporting of annual program activity on IRS Form 990
(Parts III and IX, Schedule I, Part IV). Also, see IRS
Requirements on page 31 in this manual.
• Per RMHC Global guidelines, local Chapters must
submit matching funds requests via RADAR annually,
no later than August 12, 2016. Local Chapters must
also provide verification of locally-raised or contributed
scholarship funds and a complete list of scholarship
recipients with their request for matching funds.
28
and RESPONSIBILITIES continued
INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP
AND TUITION SERVICES (ISTS)
RMHC U.S. Scholarship Programs operate in individual
local markets with distinct geographic boundaries. In
an effort to streamline administration of the program,
applicants for the RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program from
across the nation submit their applications and required
documentation to a centralized location. ISTS plays a key
role in the processing of these applications.
• ISTS is a nationally recognized private company with
many years of experience providing comprehensive
scholarship administration services for many clients.
• ISTS is responsible for processing and electronically
distributing scholarship applications in a manner that
facilitates how local programs select scholarship winners.
ISTS also provides consultation on general scholarship
program matters.
• ISTS receives, sorts, screens and scores scholarship
applications for the RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program to
ensure that only complete applications with the required
documentation are processed. ISTS uses the county
lists each Chapter submits to define the geographic
boundaries for each program, and to match each
application with its corresponding Chapter.
• ISTS completes an initial academic and financial need
screening of the applicants for each market and prepares
a preliminary report for use by the Committees reviewing
the applications. The report is designed to serve as a
guide only. Actual selection of scholarship winners is
done at the local level by each participating Chapter.
• ISTS offers additional services customized for each
Chapter. Some services are provided at no additional
cost to the Chapter; some have a minimal fee.
Winner Acceptance
Fee: No fee
scholarship award. Chapters are able to fully customize
this form. The scholarship recipients will have the
ability to upload a photo for publicity needs and their
enrollment verification. Chapters may also use this
form as an RSVP to any receptions, luncheons or award
ceremonies planned.
Issuing Scholarship Checks
Fee: $20 per check issued
Description: August 1st of each year ISTS would
issue the Chapter’s scholarship checks to its awardees’
universities. Checks are made payable to the college only
and are mailed directly to the institution. If ISTS issues
these checks, the company will also cover:
> Winner acceptance process
> Deferral requests by applicants
> Answer all questions and needs of schools for
documentation of forthcoming funds
> Reissue scholarship checks if there is a change in
college choice by the recipient
> Stop pay/reissue lost scholarship checks
> Ensure unused funds are returned to ISTS and not
refunded to the student
> Audit of the Chapter’s scholarship funds account
with ISTS on a yearly-basis. The Chapter will be
given the option to have unused funds credited for
the following year or refunded to the Chapter.
Renewal Processing
Fee: $50 (Includes issuing scholarship checks)
Fee: $30 (No issuing of scholarship checks)
Description: Each year, ISTS would contact the
Chapter’s previous awardees to make sure they renew
their scholarship (if renewable). The Chapter dictates
the renewal terms and requirements. ISTS would
require a transcript to verify grades as well as all other
documentation required by the Chapter.
Description: Once Chapters have notified their winners,
ISTS could provide them with instructions to log into
their online application and accept or decline their
©2015 RMHC
29
and RESPONSIBILITIES continued
ISTS TEAM STRUCTURE
In order to better address and respond to the needs of
RMHC Global and the local RMHC Chapters, ISTS has a
new team structure:
Becky Sharpe
Elena will continue to oversee and manage the overall
program, but Chapters would be working directly with the
PS as needed.
Owner/CEO
Bob Miller
Chief Operating Officer
Fredrick Campbell
Vice President of IT
— Chris Leslie
.NET Architect
— Karen Holt
Sr. Application
Developer
The Program Specialists (PS) will be trained by ISTS and
will be available and responsible for addressing each
Chapter’s needs and inquires (1 PS for 5 Chapters). Each
Chapter will be assigned a PS once applications are
available for scoring.
FAQs
Emily Johnson
Vice President of Operations
— Tonya Bogart
Director of Client
Services
Please link to your “SharePoint,” under the “Shared
Documents Section” to access this information. ISTS will
also include the FAQ PDF when they let Chapters know
your applications are available. You can also find the
FAQ via Fileshare at: http://legacy.rmhc.org/fileshare/
organizational-strengthening/program-management/
scholarships/.
— Elena Salorio
Program Manager
— Caroline Flynn
Director of Program
Specialists
— Angie Etheridge
Sr. Program Specialist
— Denyse Haymen
Program Specialist
— Hai Anh Dinh
Program Specialist
— PS 4 (TBD)
Program Specialist
— PS 5 (TBD)
Program Specialist
©2015 RMHC
30
IRS REQUIREMENTS/
INUREMENT ISSUES
If a Chapter has not previously given out scholarships and
it did not expressly tell the IRS in its original application
(Form 1023) for public charity status that it intended to
award scholarships, then, when preparing its Form 990, the
Chapter must answer “Yes” to Form 990, Part III Statement
of Program—Service Accomplishments, Line 2: Did the
organization undertake any significant program services
during the year which were not listed on the prior Form 990
or 990-EZ? And it must describe the scholarship program
criteria on Schedule O.
It is critical for all local RMHC Chapters to keep in mind
that as a public charity, RMHC is set up to benefit the
public at large; therefore, it cannot benefit any specific
individuals/parties. The local RMHC Chapter must take
care to ensure that none of its grants or scholarships unduly
benefit any individuals specifically.
• Each year the local RMHC Chapter must include
general information on the criteria utilized to select the
scholarship recipients in the Charity’s Internal Revenue
Service Form 990 Tax Return—Part III Statement of
Program Service Accomplishments, Line 4. This is also
where the Chapter should detail at a high level the
number and amount of scholarships issued and the
general purpose of the scholarship. This information is
available for public inspection. It is important that the
Education Committee follow these guidelines.
• In addition, the Chapter must report the total dollars
granted for scholarships on the Form 990, Part IX
Statement of Functional Expenses, Line 2, Grants and
other assistance to individuals in the U.S.
> If total Scholarships granted are $5,000 or higher,
the Chapter must answer “YES” to Form 990, Part
IV Checklist of Required Schedules, Line 22, Did the
organization report more than $5,000? on Part IX,
line 2.
> AND the Chapter must then complete the Form
990, Schedule I: Grants and Other Assistance to
Organizations, Governments and Individuals in the U.S.
©2015 RMHC
– Part I, Line 1 – Note: all scholarship applications and
committee decisions must be retained as tax return
support for future tax audit substantiation purposes.
– Part I, Line 2 – description of how recipients
are monitored should be provided in Part IV
Supplemental Information on the Schedule I.
– Part III, Grants and Other Assistance to
Individuals in the United States – complete for
each scholarship type offered.
• If your Chapter distributes its own applications, the
number and types of scholarships that will be awarded
must be disclosed to scholarship applicants in the materials
distributed along with the scholarship applications.
• Your Chapter should inform its tax preparer that the
Chapter is awarding scholarships and ensure they
comply with all required disclosures on the Form 990
related to this activity.
If you participate in the RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program, the
number and value of scholarships, along with your program’s
selection criteria must be determined by the Education
Committee and approved by your Board for public disclosure.
Based on the timing for the distribution of applications, this
decision must be made by September 11, 2015 and must be
available for sharing.
In order to uphold the core principles of transparency
and accountability, and to minimize the risk of a claim of
impropriety, Chapters should closely follow these detailed
instructions. The Education Committee must consist of a
broad cross-section of individuals including educators and
community leaders with the discussions of the objective
selection process (possibly including a scoring sheet) fully
documented and retained by your Chapter. Some of the
objective criteria used to select the scholarship winners
might be academic grades, leadership skills, community
involvement and extracurricular activities, etc.
31
IRS REQUIREMENTS/
INUREMENT ISSUES continued
INUREMENT ISSUES
Members of a local Chapter’s Education Committee will be
directly involved in the decision-making process, the issue
of “inurement” and self-dealing extends to the Committee
members as well. Therefore, care must be taken to ensure
that special preference is not given to members of the
committees’ families, a committee member’s specific
educational institution or place of business. This type of
activity by an RMHC board or committee can cause the
Chapter to lose its exempt status. For example:
• RMHC U.S. Scholarships cannot be set aside
specifically for McDonald’s restaurant employees.
McDonald’s restaurant employees are welcome to apply
for the scholarships; however, the fact that they are from
the McDonald’s system will not and should not give
them any advantage in winning the scholarship over
other applicants.
Note: Some local McDonald’s owner/operators and/or
owner/operator organizations offer their own—separate—
scholarship programs exclusively for employees outside of
RMHC involvement.
• RMHC U.S. Scholarships cannot be set aside for
students from a specific high school(s) exclusively
because a committee member is from that educational
institution. Students from the school are welcome to
apply for the scholarships; however, the fact that they are
from the Committee member’s educational institution
will not and should not give them any advantage
in winning the scholarship over other applicants.
• RMHC U.S. Scholarships cannot be set aside for
students attending a particular college or university.
Local arrangements made as part of any program
requiring students to attend a particular college or
university in order to receive a scholarship will not
be eligible for matching dollars from RMHC Global.
Scholarships may be set aside for a particular course of
study, however, as long as the student is not required to
attend a particular school.
©2015 RMHC
To keep this from occurring, it is imperative that
discussions of the objective selection process and ranking
of such criteria (possibly including a scoring sheet) be
fully documented. Again, as a safeguard, the Education
Committee must consist of a broad cross-section of
individuals including educators and community leaders.
Important: The Chapter must answer the Internal
Revenue Service, Form 990, Part IV Checklist of Required
Schedules, Line 27, Did the organization provide a grant or
other assistance to an officer, director, trustee, key employee
or substantial contributor or to a person related to such
individual?
In order to accurately answer this question as it relates to
scholarships granted, each Chapter must expand its conflict
of interest questionnaire to add a question that specifically
asks and answers this question. A separate questionnaire
should be completed by all members of the education/
scholarship committee who are directly involved in the
scholarship recipient screening/selection process.
If a person on the committee has a potential conflict, they
should excuse themselves from the deliberation process.
This should be documented in the committee minutes
and disclosed to the full Board prior to the approval of the
scholarship recipients. If the scholarship applicant, after a
full arm’s length disclosure and consideration, is granted
a scholarship, then the answer to Form 990, Part IV, Line
27 should be “YES” and Form 990, Schedule L: Part III
Grants or Assistance Benefiting Interested Persons must
be completed.
32
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND
MARKETING RECOMMENDATIONS
MARKETING GUIDELINES
LOGO USAGE
Local RMHC Chapters and McDonald’s, or other
supporting corporate donors, should utilize the following
guidelines when developing and executing marketing
and communications initiatives related to the RMHC U.S.
Scholarship Program. Please note that these are guidelines
and subject to legal review prior to printing or publishing.
• When developing PSAs, only the RMHC logo and/or
name may be used.
• McDonald’s cannot take credit for the Program
(the “RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program” umbrella or
one of the 4 individual Scholarships under the umbrella)
or provide an inference that the company is responsible
for the Scholarship Program.
• Other creative will be fact and circumstance dependent
as to whether one or both logos may be used.
• Below are the four approved logos for the RMHC U.S.
Scholarship Program. The “National Scholarship
Program” logo no longer exists.
• Logos are in the RMHC Field Resources on bottom of
the home page at www.rmhc.org.
> For example, we cannot say “McDonald’s
Restaurants of Greater Anywhere are offering
twelve $1,000 scholarships.”
> Similarly, we cannot say “McDonald’s African
American Future Achievers Scholarship has
provided $15 million in scholarships…”
• McDonald’s similarly cannot state that only
McDonald’s money is behind the funding.
> For example, “McDonald’s owner/operators
have raised $15 million in scholarship funds for
RMHC.” This money could be a combination of
public money, McDonald’s money, etc. Therefore,
McDonald’s cannot take credit for what is raised
from other sources or through donation boxes.
• McDonald’s can state that the company and/or its
owner/operators help support scholarships.
> For example, “McDonald’s is proud to support
Ronald McDonald House Charities and its RMHC/
HACER Scholarship.”
>Similarly, “McDonald’s, along with its owner/
operators, invites you to help support the RMHC/
HACER Scholarship.”
>Also, “McDonald’s is proud to support the RMHC/
ASIA Scholarship which has provided over $4.9
million in scholarships.”
©2015 RMHC
NOTE: All marketing and communication plans
and materials (print and/or broadcast) regarding
the RMHC-branded Scholarships must be reviewed
by RMHC Global and McDonald’s legal prior
to production and distribution. Please submit
all materials to Clara Carrier at clara.carrier@
breakingthroughconsulting.com or Vicky Laws at
[email protected], or have your agency upload
materials to the DMC for legal approval. Please be
certain to caption the item as RMHC material.
33
MARKETING RECOMMENDATIONS continued
TRADEMARKS
Local RMHC Chapters and McDonald’s should utilize the
following trademarks when using individual Scholarship
names in print.
• RMHC®/ASIA Scholarship
• RMHC®/African American Future Achievers Scholarship
• RMHC®/HACER® Scholarship
• RMHC® Scholars Scholarship
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS (PSAs)
Ronald McDonald House Charities
U.S. Scholarship Program PSA Recommendation
The following guidelines may be useful in coordinating a
consistent message for local RMHC Chapters throughout
the U.S.
In the message, we seek to educate our target, college hopefuls,
ages 17–20, about scholarship opportunities through RMHC
and motivate them to apply with the objective of increasing
RMHC scholarship applications in 2015/2016.
While all of the communication surrounding RMHC and its
programs seeks to strengthen our position as a charity that
creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve
the health and well-being of children, our challenge with
the RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program is that many people
think of RMHC as a charity which only helps sick children
in need. We need to create awareness that RMHC has a
scholarship program.
• Our message should be hopeful, inspiring and genuine.
• Our message should encourage college hopefuls that
along with their hard work and a little help from RMHC,
a bright future through education is possible.
Please be sure to include a call to action to inform people
how to apply. For example:
Note: For local RMHC Chapters with their own Web sites,
it is permissible to alternatively re-direct readers to that
domain for local scholarship program information.
Included in this section, you will find an example script of
how you might create a local public service announcement.
Also, note that all portions of this story—names, places,
situations—are fictional and the script is to be used only as
a tool and template to inspire local Chapters to organize a
true story specific to their own community.
Ideally, the voice of these spots would be a real recipient
of the scholarship or a real parent of a recipient as the
slickness of actors may take away from the authenticity
and emotion of the spot. The setting can be handled in
many ways. One option is to have the on-camera talent in
studio as a talking head. While this option is certainly the
easiest, another choice that may add to the spot’s charm is
the option of having the student walking through a college
campus or sitting in front of a college building, especially
if it’s the actual college they attend. Similarly, the parent
could be set on a front porch or a living room of their home.
These are just suggestions for how you can approach the
PSA creatively. Ultimately, how you stage the PSA should
be visually interesting and add to the persuasiveness
of the story.
NOTE: All marketing and communication plans
and materials (print and/or broadcast) regarding
the RMHC-branded Scholarships must be reviewed
by RMHC Global and McDonald’s legal prior
to production and distribution. Please submit
all materials to Clara Carrier at clara.carrier@
breakingthroughconsulting.com or Vicky Laws at
[email protected], or have your agency upload
materials to the DMC for legal approval. Please be
certain to caption the item as RMHC material.
• To learn more about it go to www.rmhc.org [or insert local
application information here].
©2015 RMHC
34
Sample PSA script
RMHC
TV :30
SCHOLARSHIP PSA
2 options
• Option 1. “STUDENT”
SCENE: 20-year-old student is walking through a leafy
college campus.
STUDENT: “I was a pretty good student in high school.
But the smartest thing I ever did was apply for a Ronald
McDonald House Charities Scholarship. Financially,
I wasn’t sure college was an option for me, but when I
got the scholarship, everything changed. What seemed
impossible before, is now...my life. And everyone’s eligible
[or insert local program information here]. To learn more
about it go to www.rmhc.org [or insert local application
information here]. It can change your life.”
• Option 2. “PARENT”
SCENE: 50-year-old woman is talking to camera.
WOMAN: “It was my daughter’s dream to go to college.
Financially, we weren’t sure it was gonna happen. Then
she applied for the Ronald McDonald House Charities
Scholarship. A few years later, a very proud mom watched
her daughter accept her college diploma. If you think
college isn’t an option for your child, I’m here to tell you
it is. And everyone’s eligible [or insert local program
information here]. To learn more about it go to www.rmhc.
org [or insert local application information here]. It can
happen.”
TALENT RELEASE FORM
When working with local talent for PSAs or other
marketing materials, it is imperative to have the talent
sign consent and release forms. Both an English and
Spanish version of the RMHC Consent and Release Form
template can be found on Fileshare, http://legacy.rmhc.
©2015 RMHC
e Charities® (RMHC®) Ronald McDonald Hous
m Consent and Release For
, I hereby are hereby acknowledged
s, and sufficiency of which McDonald House Charitie
consideration, the receipt
s and licensees and Ronald
For good and valuable t limited to, advertising ald’s Corporation, its affiliate
foregoing, including, but no
irrevocably grant to McDon
all the
and ents of
display
, any ag
publish
Chapters, and
unrestricted right to use, the ”), Inc., and its system of Local style, Parties
ed f myself, in any form,
s (collectively, “Releas
ification or representation o
, and promotional agencie
eness and/or any other ident
out limitation, photographs
n the future (including, with
distribute my name, voice, lik
, for any , now existing or developed i
t and electronic media)
color or medium whatsoever
broadcast, internet, intrane
ship sound recordings, print, House Charities Scholar
film, ald pes, McDon
videota
Ronald
gs, drawin
for a tion with an application lawful purpose in connec
(“Application”). without tation of myself (including,
ny identification or represen
sole and ining a
l conta
materia
shall be and remain the I further agree that all such photographs, film or tapes) eleased Parties, any of their plates and masters of any lease and forever discharge R
limitation, all negatives, y and aive, re
rom an
reby w
signs, f
ies. I he
and as
ed Part
mployees, agents, successors
exclusive property of Releas
or ficers, e
cation tors, of
identifi
ir direc
other ll of the
s and/or any affiliates and licensees, and a
of my name, voice, likenes
es relating to the use . all liability and damag
lication
the App
nnection with representation of myself in co
t eof tha
part or element ther
e the finished work, or any of myself. y have to inspect or approv
ntification or representation
I hereby waive any right I ma
likeness and/or any other ide
, voice,
y name
rates m
incorpo
any questions regarding its ocument and that I have had
s ly read and understand this d
ast 18 years of age unless thi
I acknowledge that I have ful
ction. I certify that I am at le
erms answered to my satisfa
effect or the meaning of its t
guardian. rent or
y my pa
igned b
document has been s
Name (please print) Address Signature Date Signed City, State, Zip code se s a minor. I consent to the u
rson identified above, who i
r as set forth above. nt or legal guardian of the pe
or representation of him/he
I represent that I am a pare
ss and/or other identification
of his/her name, voice, likene
ian Signature of Parent or Guard
(please print) Name of Parent or Guardian Minor’s Date of Birth Ronald McDonald Hous
e Charities® (RMHC®) Forma
de Consentimiento y D
erecho Para Usar Yo por la presente otorgo
a Ronald McDonald House agencias promociónale
Charities® (RMHC®), sus s, y sus agentes (colect
capítulos y programas iva, locales, “RMHC
publicar, desplegar y ”), el derecho irrevocable distribuir los materiales y sin restricciones para conteniendo mi nombr
usar, representación que me ident
e, voz, parecido o cualqu
ifique. Este material puede ier otra de ahora en adelante aparecer en cualquier forma
(incluyendo, sin limitac
, estilo,
color o
medio ahora o ión, fotografías, videos,
pinturas, impresiones, transm
películas, sonido registra
isiones, Intranet y medios ele
do, programas, ctrónicos). Estoy de acuerdo que todos los materiales que contengan cualqu
(incluyendo y sin limitación, ier representación que los negativos, placas y origin
me identifique serán la propiedad exclusiva
ales de cualquier fotografía, de RMHC, y por la presente
archivos, retratos o cintas) los materiales a RMHC. Por le otorgo el derecho propie
la presente libero y para siem
tario que he adquirido sobre
los daños relacionados con e
pre exonero a RMHC de cua
l uso de mi nombre, voz, pare
lquier y toda obligación y de cido o cualquier otra represe
ntación que me identifique. Por la presente renunc
io a cualquier derecho que pueda yo tener para terminado o cualquier inspeccionar o aproba
parte, o elemento que r el producto pueda incorporar mi nombr
representación que me ident
e, voz, parecido o cualqu
ifique. ier otra Yo, estoy de acuerdo con lo descrito anteriormente
en consideración con para aparecer en estos mate
la oportunidad que RMHC riales. Reconozco que he leíd
me ofrece cualquier pregunta con resp
o completamente y he enten
ecto a su efecto o al signific
dido este documento y que ado de sus términos ha sido
Yo certifico que tengo por lo
contestada a mi satisfacció
menos 18 años de edad, de n. mi padre/madre o guardián lo contrario, este documento
legal. está también firmado por Nombre (favor imprima) Firma Dirección Fecha de Firma Ciudad, Estado, País, Código P
ostal Yo represento que soy el pad
re/madre o guardián legal de
Consiento el uso del nombr
la persona identificada arriba
e de él /ella, voz, parecido y
, quien es menor de edad. /o otra representación que l
descrito anteriormente. a / lo pueda identificar con lo
Firma de Padres o Guardián le
gal Fecha de Nacimiento de
l menor Nombre del Padre o Guardi
án (favor imprima) Examples of RMHC Consent and Release form,
available in English and Spanish
35
A fact sheet about the RMHC U.S.
Scholarship Program can be found
on Fileshare, http://legacy.rmhc.
org/fileshare/organizationalstrengthening/programmanagement/scholarships/.
RONALD McDONALD
HOUSE CHARITIES®
U. S. SCHOLARSHIP
PROGRAM
The RMHC® U.S. Scholar
ship Program is designed
to provide financial
assistance to eligible grad
uating high school seniors
who face limited access to
educational and career opp
ortunities. Scholarships are
awarded by local Chapter
of Ronald McDonald Hou
s
se Charities, with support
from RMHC Global.
Students are
selected and awards are
distributed based on demo
nstrated
academic achievement,
community
involvement, leadership
and financial
need. The RMHC U.S. Scho
larship
Program is comprised of
four individual
Scholarships including
:
RMHC®/ASIA (Asian Stud
ents
Increasing Achievement)
RMHC®/African American
Future Achievers
RMHC®/HACER® (Hisp
anic American
Commitment to Education
al Resources)
RMHC® Scholars
ELIGIBILITY
Eligible scholarship appli
cants must:
• Live within a participat
ing
program’s geographic boun
daries.
• Be a legal U.S. resident.
• Be less than 21 years
of
age.
• Carry a minimum 2.7
GPA.
• Be eligible to enroll and
attend an
institution of higher educ
ation or a
vocational/technical scho
ol.
• Plan to enroll at an accre
dited postsecondary education instit
ution
during the academic year
following
their graduation.
• Complete and submit
the online
scholarship application
and send
required supporting mate
rials and
documentation to Inter
national
Scholarship & Tuition Servi
ces no
later than January 20, 2016
.
• Apply for only one of
the
scholarships offered by
the local
RMHC Chapter. If a stude
nt is
multi-racial, they must
choose one
scholarship for which to
apply.
ADDITIONAL REQUIRE
MENTS
INCLUDE:
• RMHC/ASIA: Applicant
must
have at least one paren
t of AsianPacific heritage.
• RMHC/African Ame
rican Future
Achievers: Applicant
must have at
least one parent of Afric
an American
or Black Caribbean herit
age.
• RMHC/HACER: Appl
icant must
have at least one paren
t of Hispanic/
Latino heritage.
• RMHC Scholars: All
students
are eligible to apply regar
dless of
race, color, creed, religion,
sexual
orientation, gender, disab
ility or
national origin.
2015 /2016 RMHC U.S.
SCHOLARSHIP PRO
GRAM
Applications, participat
ing areas
and additional informati
on for the
2015/2016 Scholarship
Program will
be available on October
1, 2015 at
https://aim.applyists.net/
RMHC.
TIMELINE
October 1, 2015 – appli
cations and
scholarship criteria poste
d online at
www.rmhc.org
January 20, 2016 – appli
cation deadline
May/June 2016 – appli
cants are
selected, notified and recog
nized by
local RMHC Chapters
FUNDING
Since inception of the RMH
C U.S.
Scholarship Program and
the partnership
between RMHC Global
and participating
local RMHC Chapters,
over $56 million
has been awarded to dese
rving students.
Below is a break out of each
Scholarship.
RMHC/ASIA — $6.3 milli
on since 2001
RMHC/African American
Future
Achievers — $13.8 milli
on since 2001
RMHC/HACER — more
than
$26.1 million since 1985
RMHC Scholars — more
than
$10.2 million since 2005
©2015 RMHC
FACT SHEET
Scan with your smart
phone to learn more about
the
RMHC U.S. Scholarship
Programs.
Message and data rates
may apply.
©2015 RMHC
36
PRESS RELEASE TEMPLATE
A press release template is available
on Fileshare, http://legacy.rmhc.org/
fileshare/organizational-strengthening/
program-management/scholarships/.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEA
SE RONALD McDONALD HO
USE CHARITIES U.S. SCHO
LARSHIP PROGRAM HONORS [INSERT TOWN N
AME] STUDENT Scholarship Pr
ogram Recognizes Top Perf
INTRODUCTION PARAG
ormance in Educational Exc
RAPH — OPTION #1 ellence and Community Involvement [INSERT CIT Y, STATE ] , [ IN
SERT DATES ] — [Insert nam
e of winner ] of [Insert h
prestigious Ronald McDon
ometown ] has been award
ald House Charities® (R
MHC®) scholarship by R
ed a due to his/her [Fill in backg
MHC of [Insert Local Ch
round on community in
apter name] volvement and academ
ic performance]. INTRODUCTION PARAG
RAPH — OPTION #2 [INSERT CIT Y, STATE], [INS
ERT DATES] — [Insert n
ame of winner] of [Insert h
prestigious [Insert nam
ometown] has been aw
e of scholarship: RMHC
arded a ®/HACER®, RMHC®/Afri
RMHC®/ASIA or RMHC®
can American Future Achie
Scholars] scholarship, p
vers, art of the RMHC U.S. Sc
Local Chapter name] du
holarship Program, by R
e to his/her [Fill in backgro
MHC of [Insert und on community invo
lvement and academic performance]. Every year, RMHC of [Ins
ert chapter name] distr
ibutes more than [Inser
scholarships] in scholarship
t dollar amount distributed
dollars to area high sch
in a year for ool s
tudents. The goal of the RM
is to provide resources to s
HC U.S. Scholarship Progra
tudents who need finan
cial assistance to attend co
m llege. “The RMHC U.S. Schola
rship Program provides
all high school seniors in pa
continue their educatio
rticipating markets who
n the opportunity to ap
wish to ply for a scholarship and rec
college,” said [Insert local c
eive financial assistance to
hapter president name] . “I
attend t is our goal to help mak
education a reality for s
e the dream of a college
tudents who may not ot
herwise attend college.” [INSERT RMHC LOCAL C
HAPTER BOILERPLATE] Ronald McDonald House
Charities (RMHC), a no
n‐profit, 501 (c) (3) corp
directly improve the healt
oration, creates, finds an
h and well being of child
d supports programs that
ren. Through its global regions, its three core pr
network of local Chapters ograms, the Ronald McD
®
in 52 countries and onald House ®, Ronald M
Mobile , and millions o
cDonald Family Room ® and f dollars in grants to sup
Ronald McDonald Care port child
to families so they can ren's programs worldwid
get and keep their child
e, RM
HC p
rovides stability and reso
ren healthy and happy. A
quality health care and urces ll RMHC‐supported prog
give children and families rams provide a bridge to
the time they need toge
information, visit www.r
ther to heal faster and mhc.org, follow us on T
cope better. For more witter (@RMHC), or like u
s on Facebook (Faceboo
k.com/RMHC Global). Ronald McDonald House
Charities, RMHC, Ronald McDonald House, Ronald
Care Mobile are all regis
McDonald Family Room, tered trademarks of McD
and Ronald McDonald onald’s Corporation or its
affiliates and are used w
ith permission. For more i
nformation, contact: Name, Local RMHC Cha
pter Rep (XXX) XXX‐XXXX Office (XXX) XXX‐XXXX Cell Phone or <Insert Email Address> www.rmhcof<InsertC
hapterURL>.org ### 1 | P a g e ©2015 RMHC
37
MARKETING MATERIALS
Various marketing materials have been created and
editable files can be found on Fileshare, http://legacy.
rmhc.org/fileshare/organizational-strengthening/
program-management/scholarships/. These
templates include layouts for a McDonald’s tray liner,
REVISION No.
an 01
informational flier and options for invitations to
ucted at: 100%
File Constr
Scholarship
Award recognition events.
ELEMENT ID:
Snipe:
Live Area: 13.5” x 10.5”
TRAYLINER
TRIM: 14 X 11
The future is bright.
The future
is bright.
Every year, Ronald McDo
nald House Charities®
of [Chapter
name] awards scholarships
to high school seniors
who face
limited access to educa
tional opportunities.
Students are selected and
awards are distributed
based
on demonstrated academ
ic achievement, community
and financial need.
The RMHC U.S. Schola
rship Program is compr
ised of four
individual Scholarships
including:
a college education may
With education costs rising, ip between Ronald
®
seem out of reach. A partnersh
® and <RMHC of insert name
McDonald House Charities
for
door to higher education
of Chapter>, opens the
seniors. The RMHC U.S.
graduating high school
who are
seeks to invest in students
Scholarship Program
have the
in their communities and
exemplary role models
educational goals.
initiative to fulfill their
• RMHC®/ASIA (Asian
Students Increasing Achiev
ement)
• RMHC®/African Ameri
can Future Achievers
ABOUT RMHC U.S. SCHO
• RMHC®/HAC
LARSHIPS
ER® (Hispanic American
Commitment
The RMHC
to Educational
Schola
Resources)
Apply today!
11 in
ed based
and awards are distribut
Students are selected
ity
achievement, commun
on demonstrated academic
p and financial need.
involvement, leadershi
d of
ip Program is comprise
The RMHC U.S. Scholarsh
ips including:
four individual scholarsh
Students
®
• RMHC /ASIA (Asian
Increasing Achievement)
n Future Achievers
®
• RMHC /African America
® (Hispanic American
®
• RMHC /HACER
nal Resources)
Commitment to Educatio
assista
Visit
®
• RMHC Scholars
Visit www.rmhc.org to
more and apply today.
learn
phone
to learn more about the
Programs. Message and
data rates may apply.
zone—trayliner
NAMEHERE—counter
MCDADT/15 PROMOTION
America.
in the United States of
©2015 RMHC. Printed
DIE
NT_R1
JOBNUMBER_SEGME
Example of tray liner
Disclaimer type size
10pt minimum.
14 in
ELIGIBILITY
rships are designed to provid
e financial
• RMHC® Scholarsnce to eligible graduating high school seniors
who
face limited
access to educational and
career opportunities.
Scholarships are awarde
d by local Chapters of Ronald
McDonald House Chariti
es (RMHC), with suppor
wwwRMHC
.rmhGlobal
c.organdto learn
t from
more. Studen
.
generous donors
ts are selected
and awards are distributed
based on demonstrated
academic
achievement, community
and
financial need. The RMHC
U.S. Scholarship Progra
m is
comprised of four individ
ual Scholarships:
• RMHC®/ASIA (Asian
-Pacific Students
Increasing Achievement
) Scholarship
Applicant must have at
least one parent of
Asian-Pacific heritage.
• RMHC®/African Americ
an Future Achievers Schola
rship
least one parent of African
American or Black Caribb
ean heritage.
• RMHC®/HACER® (Hispa
nic American Commitment
to Educational Resour
ces) Scholarship
least one parent of Hispan
ic/
Latino heritage.
Five RMHC/HACER® Nation
al Scholarships will be
awarded through a donatio
n from McDonald’s U.S.
Owner/
Operators to students of
Hispanic/Latino descen
t (who
also meet all other eligibil
ity requirements). These
national
scholarships will be awarde
d to five outstanding studen
ts
selected from the nationa
l pool of RMHC/HACE
R
applicants.
Each scholarship will total
$100,000 for eligible
undergraduate expenses
payable over four consec
utive
years ($25,000 per year),
provided the student can
provide
verification of enrollment
each year at an accredited
institution providing post-se
condary education.
These five (5) RMHC/HACE
R National Scholarships
do not replace local RMHC
Chapter participation
in the
RMHC/HACER progra
m. If a student resides in
a county
that is covered by a particip
ating local Chapter, then
that
student’s RMHC/HACE
R application will automa
tically be
considered for either the
national scholarship or
a locallyawarded scholarship.
• RMHC® Scholars Schola
rship
All students are eligible
to apply regardless of race,
color, creed, religion, sexual
orientation, gender,
disability or national origin.
Eligible scholarship applica
nts must:
• Live within a particip
ating program’s geogra
phic
boundaries.
• Be a legal U.S. residen
t.
• Be less than 21 years
of age.
• Carry a minimum 2.7
GPA.
©2015 RMHC
• Be eligible to enroll and
attend an institution of
higher
education or a vocational/tec
hnical school.
• Plan to enroll at an accred
ited post-secondary educat
ion
institution during the academ
ic year following their
graduation.
• Complete and submit
the online scholarship
application and send require
d supporting materials
and
documentation to Interna
tional Scholarship & Tuition
Services no later than Januar
y 20, 2016.
• Apply for only one of
the scholarships offered
by
the local
RMHC Chapter. If a studen
t is multi-racial, they must
choose one scholarship
for which to apply.
Application deadline is
January 20, 2016
HOW TO APPLY
There are two easy steps
for submitting scholarship
applications:
1. Apply Online
Online applications are
available at
https://aim.applyists.net/R
MHC.
2. Mail Documentation
Mail the required suppor
ting
documents to:
RMHC Scholarship Progra
m
International Scholarship
& Tuition Services (ISTS)
1321 Murfreesboro Road
Suite 800
Nashville, TN 37217
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Submit application only
once.
For more information, visit
www.rmhc.org
or call (855) 670-4787.
©2015 RMHC
Trayliner
Part #: N/A
PROMONAME
Keyliner: Name/Date
Project: MCDADT/15
X.ai
ship_trayliner_XXXXXX
TA YELLOW BLACK
File Name: RMHC_Scholar
Process Colors: CYAN MAGEN
11”
Trim Size: 14” x
Spot Colors Used:
phone to learn more about
the
Programs.
Message and data rates
may apply.
Example of informational flier
©2015 RMHC
38
CHAPTER NAME
2016 • 6:00 pm
Thursday, Month 10,
City
Location of Event •
©2015 RMHC
CHAPTER NAME
123 Street Address
City, ST 12345
Thursday, Month 10,
You are invited to the
Ronald McDonald Hou
se Charities®
of Chapter Name
2016
6:00 pm
Location of Event
Location Address
on, please contact
For more informati
) 000-0000
Contact Name at (000
Thursday, Month 10, 201
6
6:00 pm
Location of Event
Location Address
©2015 RMHC
For more information,
please contact
Contact Name at (000
) 000-0000
©2015 RMHC
Example of save the date postcard
for recognition event
CHAPTER NAME
Example of recognition event invitation
©2015 RMHC
39
TEMPLATES
The following templates for RMHC U.S. Scholarship
Program correspondence letters are available for
download on Fileshare, http://legacy.rmhc.org/fileshare/
organizational-strengthening/program-management/
scholarships/.
1. Award Letter
The award letter/contract template notifies a student of
their scholarship award and explicitly details the terms
and conditions of the award.
2. Decline Letter
The decline letter template informs an applicant that
they were not selected for a scholarship.
3. Letter to College/University
A letter should be sent along with the scholarship
recipient’s check to his or her college or university,
which explicitly details the terms and conditions
of the award.
2015/2016 Scholarship Program
Enrollment Deadline
The deadline for enrolling a Chapter
into the 2015/2016 Scholarship Program
Date, Year <Insert Award Winner N
ame> <Insert Address> <City, State, Zip Code> Dear <Insert Name>: Congratulations! You have b
een selected as one of the
recipients of a Ronald McDo
Scholarship Type Name>
nald House Charities® <Inser
. Based on your outstan
t ding academics, person
community, you have been a
al successes and commi
warded a <Insert $Amount> tment to your scholarship. We are very pro
educational excellence ud of your commitmen
and encourage you to c
t to ontinue along the path of success you have set. I would like to review the te
rms and conditions of this <
Insert $Amount> scholarship
payable in <Insert # of p
award. This award will be
ayments> consecutive a
nnual payments in an a
year. These funds may mount not to exceed <Insert only be used for tuition $Amount> per fees, computers, and/or with the University. These fu
other approved expense
nds should not be used for a
s incurred directly ny room or board charges or funds may only be used taxation may occur. These for undergraduate expense
s – they are not available
funds will only be paid for graduate level course to your University for c
work. These redit to your account. You will also be required t
In no event will funds b
o provide on an annual bas
e sent directly to you. is acceptable proof of contin
institution. This will be ued academic success at yo
required prior to any subseq
ur uent disbursements. In the <Insert $Amount> of each event that you do not annual disbursement in on
use all e school year, your school w
difference. ill be required to send back t
he Additionally, at the time of your application, you certifie
d the information contained
and correct to the best in your application was true
of your knowledge. RMHC®
and/or McDonald’s® reserve
information in your applicat
the right to verify any ion – including after awardin
or all g the scholarship. If RMHC in their sole discretion, that
and/or McDonald’s determi
the information you provid
ne, ed is misleading, RMHC reser
award and seek a refund ves the right to rescind you
of any funds previously r d
isburse
d t
o your university. Furthermore, you (or your parent/guardian if you are under 18 years of a
release form included herei
ge) will be required to e
n prior to awarding any scho
xecute the talent larship. You may also be req
events at selected times uired to participate in med
to promote the scholar
ia ship program and agree (unless excused for cause) that your attendance at is a condition of being a
such events warded any scholarship. failure to appear at any Failure to execute the t
events (unless excused alent release or for cause) may lead to authorize RMHC or its In the n
revoca
tion of the award. You hereby
<Insert ext few
RMHC weeks
, we wr ill send
local Chapte
Name> you and addition
McDonal infor
your application for the award of <Ins
mation
ald’s to about use any our loc
inform
purpose of pert $Am
al awar
ation ds cere
contain
romoting ount> will be sent d
ed in mony. The scholarship the scholars
irectly oto the hip program
school r as legally that yo ou will b
your enrollment (i.e., tuition
required
e atten
r permitte
ding on
d by law. ce we receive proof of receipt, letter from the registrant’s office certifyi
information to my attentio
ng enrollment). Please send n, to the mailing address this below, as soon as possible
. RMHC has supported educa
tion opportunities for youth
for many years and is extre
1 | P a g e helping you attend college.
mely proud to play a part in
If you have any question
s, please call <Insert name of local Chapter represe
ntative>. Please sign below where indicated (and, if under 18 years of age, have acknowledging that you und
your parent/guardian erstand the terms and cond
sign as well) itions of this award as outlin
return this form to my ed above. You will need to
attention at the address above. Should you have me directly. any questions, please feel free to contact Again, congratulations o
n your award and best w
ishes as you make your final plans for college. Sincerely, <Insert Name of Chapter
President, Selection Commit
tee Chair> <Insert Title> Ronald McDonald House Charities of <Insert Local Chapter’s Name> <Insert Address> City, State, Zip Code Phone: (XXX) XXX-‐XXXX <Insert Email address> is September 11, 2015.
I understand the terms and c
onditions of the award as ou
tlined above and agree to be
conditions as a conditio
bound by those terms and n of receipt of the award. ________________________
_______________________ Student Signature ________________________
_______________________ Parent/Guardian (if under 18) All Chapters must use RADAR
for the enrollment process.
For more information, please contact
Vicky Laws at [email protected],
phone (630) 623-6753.
2 | P a g e Example of RMHC U.S. Scholarship award letter
©2015 RMHC
40
TEMPLATES continued
Date, Year <Insert Name> <Insert Address> <City, State, Zip Code> Dear <Insert Name>: ld like to thank you cholarship Program, we wou
Donald House Charities® S
On behalf of the Ronald Mc
tion. pplica
a
for your of am made the selection ed this year by the progr
ion Committee er of applications receiv
cholarship Program Educat
The unprecedented numb
ittee. The RMHC® U.S. S
ial need, omm
inanc
f
c
t, ur o
or f
emen
ask t
chiev
t a
ic recipients a difficul
ecipients including academ
nately, you were not actors when selecting r
looked at a number of f
letter of reference. Unfortu
rship ur personal statement and a certain number of schola
community involvement, yo
were only able to select e w
s a
rship,
chola
s
MHC selected to receive an R
recipients. courage you to seek ue higher education and en
ver, on your efforts to purs
best of luck in your We wish you the very We congratulate you, howe
s and financial assistance.
arship
rship.
schol
chola
S
other
on MHC R
information
time to apply for a he t
aking
t
or f
gain a
you college career and thank Sincerely, ommittee Chair> r President, Selection C
<Insert Name of Chapte
<Insert Title> Chapter’s Name> ocal L
Insert
<
f o
Charities Ronald McDonald House <Insert Address> City, State, Zip Code Example of decline letter
Month, Date, Year University/Student Name Address Dear Sirs: Enclosed is a check for <INSERT AMOUNT $> to be credited to <INSERT NAME> account. <He/
STUDENT’S she> was awarded a <INS
ERT NUMBER OF YEARS> from the <INSERT LOCAL
scholarship CHAPTER NAME AND SC
HOLARSHIP TYPE NAME> program. This is the <first scholarship year> of payment. These funds should only be applied to tuition and other related expenses. not be applied to any room
These should or board costs. In the event the student is at a
deemed ineligible for the later date scholarship, Ronald McDon
ald House Charities <INSER
CHAPTER NAME> reserv
T LOCAL es the right to seek a refun
d of the funds disbursed. If you have any questions
, please feel free to conta
ct us directly at <ENTER NUMBER OF INDIVIDUA
L RESPONSIBLE FOR SCHOL
PHONE ARSHIP PROGRAM>. Sincerely, < NAME AND LAST NAME
TITLE Ronald McDonald House
Charities CHAPTER NAME
> Example of letter to college/university to be sent
along with the scholarship recipient’s check
©2015 RMHC
41
Together,
let’s continue making a difference in the lives of
outstanding students through these prestigious awards.
©2015 RMHC

RMHC US SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM TIMELINE continued

Transcription

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