5C | Successful Practices for Managing a Scholarship Award Program Focused on Strengthening Donor Relationships

Wednesday, Sept. 27
10:30 - 11:30 AM

Sector
Private College/University, Public College/University

Experience Level
Newcomer (0 - 3 years), Early-career (4 - 7 years), Mid-career (8 - 12 years)

Shop Size
Suitable for any size shop

Category
Engagement

The University of Oregon College of Education distributed $670,000 dollars to more than 100 students in 2016-17. How does one person manage to distribute those awards in a timely, professional, and organized manner, while communicating with donors about the impact of their gift on a student’s life? How do you meet the challenge of managing individual scholarship criteria for multiple donors while utilizing your scholarship program to further your donor relations goals?

This session presents a comprehensive look at how to manage a scholarship award program focused on strengthening donor relations. We will examine the annual processes of scholarship application and award, managing a scholarship award committee, ensuring donor criteria are met, diversifying the scholarship applicant pool, creating a relationship between student and donor, and assisting fundraising professionals in making their next ask.

Andrea Olson

As the Associate Director of programs that advance donor stewardship activities and board relations, Andrea Olson's job includes scholarship program management, donor recognition, donor relations, and fund management at the University of Oregon's College of Education in Eugene, Oregon. Andrea has spent the last seven years at the College of Education removing common challenges in managing individual scholarship criteria and assuring that the students who are most likely to fulfill the criteria of each donor’s scholarship are selected to receive funding. In her free time she promotes African music and culture in Eugene, floats down Oregon's rivers with a fishing rod, and enjoys time with her family.