Ahead
of the Curve
by Ashley Brown
Each year, the Elks National Foundation scholarship staff
attends the National Scholarship Providers Association annual conference. The
NSPA is a national network of foundations, corporations, and higher education
institutions who support and encourage college success for all students through
the power of scholarships.
For the last three years, I’ve had the privilege of
attending and learning from peer organizations on the best practices in
scholarship program management. Besides being inspired by the great work of
organizations who are making college possible for many students, I have
continually been reminded of the great work the Elks and the Elks National
Foundation are doing for students nationwide.
As my colleagues Jenna and Maryann will detail, the ENF is
at the forefront of excellent scholarship programming and scholar relations
efforts. From Elks Scholar Service Trips and Campus Meet-Ups, to our Scholar
Advisory Board, we are connecting scholars to one another and the Elks and
showing them the real meaning of Elks family. In addition, our responsive
scholarship programming and dedicated volunteers ensure we are reaching the highest
achieving students with the most need and helping them obtain their dreams of a
college education. Every day and every year, ENF staff and Elks volunteers are
making college possible for thousands of students nationwide and introducing
them into a network of like-minded and charitable individuals.
63% of Elks scholars receive on average one to four other
private scholarships, so engaging Elks scholars with their Elks family is an
important and achievable goal. Read on to hear from Maryann and Jenna on how
the Elks National Foundation is ahead of the curve on scholar relations
programming and how we shared our knowledge with similar organizations.
The
Gold Standard
By Maryann Slater
This year, the ENF got to present on how we provide “More
Than Just a Check” to our Elks scholars through our scholar relations efforts.
From encouraging scholars to meet-up on their campuses, to social media
campaigns, to our Elks Scholar Service Trips, we offer scholars many
opportunities to get involved with their Elks family across the country.
As an Elks scholar alum, I had the opportunity to take
advantage of these opportunities in college and am extremely thankful for the
opportunities that have been afforded to me by the Foundation.
I never realized, until attending NSPA last year for the
first time, how unique the ENF’s scholar opportunities are when compared to other
scholarship providers. The community provided by the National Scholarship
Providers Association is one of a kind, as we learn from other providers’ best
practices, and share about our programs with providers from across the country.
As I was preparing our presentation for the conference, I
realized that as a scholar alum and ENF staff member, I had the opportunity to
share my story of how the Foundation has touched my life and how I have seen
scholars’ connections with their Elks family touch theirs and impact their
college experience in a positive way.
When your story becomes your work, it’s a pretty special
opportunity to do what you love and share that with others. When an attendee of
our session called us the “gold standard” in what we do, we couldn’t have been
happier and enjoyed reflecting upon how much we’ve grown in the past few years
thanks to ENF donors’ and Elks’ support.
Connecting
with the Elks Family
By Jenna Johnson
Regardless of where we are, we love the opportunity to
connect with our Elks family! After our second day of conference sessions we
met up with Elks scholar Hussain Rao, who attends the University of
Missouri-Kansas City. Hussain received a Most Valuable Student scholarship in
2015 and is enrolled in a six year fast-track medical program. We loved getting
to know him and hear how he first learned about the MVS scholarship and what he
has been doing as an Elks scholar ever since.
We are constantly impressed not only by the accomplishments
of our scholars, but by their character. We know they’re doing incredible work
in the classroom and in their communities, but meeting up in person is such a
rewarding opportunity.
The Elks National Foundation is passionate about our scholarships
being more than just a check. We want our scholars, current and alumni, to
understand that we consider them to be family. Therefore, we are intentional
about building community wherever we go. Three times a year we offer service
trips taking place in locations across the U.S. for our scholars to come
together and serve in the name of the Elks. From selecting eight Elks scholars
to serve on an advisory board to the Foundation, to hiring two Elks scholar
alumni to work full-time in our office, the Foundation is proactive about
scholar engagement, and meeting up with scholars while traveling is just one
example of our commitment to building stronger community.
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