wfn.org | [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 565-Foundation triples its matching scholarship

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Foundation triples its matching scholarship program

Oct. 6, 2005

NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Linda Green*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The United Methodist Church's popular matching
scholarship program for college students is being expanded to a triple
dollars concept next fall.

The denomination's "Double Your Dollars for Scholars," administered by
the United Methodist Higher Education Foundation in Nashville, matches
$1,000 for local churches raising $1,000 for a member of their
congregation enrolled or planning to enroll in a United
Methodist-related college, university or seminary.

Beginning with the 2006-07 academic year, the foundation, in cooperation
with United Methodist colleges and universities, will expand the program
to include a Triple Your Dollars for Scholars concept. The Double Your
Dollars program will still exist.

Depending on which school a student plans to attend, the student may be
eligible for an additional $1,000 match, bringing the total possible
award to $3,000, according to the foundation's board of trustees, which
met Sept. 15-17 in St. Paul, Minn.

Additional information, guidelines and applications will be available
online at the foundation's Web site at www.umhef.org beginning in
November. Applications will only be accepted with postmark dates of
either Feb. 15 or 16, and all recipients will be selected from eligible
applications received with those two postmark dates.

The foundation wants to make it economically possible for any qualified
United Methodist student to be educated at a United Methodist-related
institution of higher education. It established the matching scholarship
program in 1997 to award 100 scholarships. The number of first-come,
first-served scholarships awarded increased as more funds became
available.

"The Double Your Dollars for Scholars program was expanded into Triple
Your Dollars as a way of trying to leverage the foundation's resources
to establish better connections between United Methodist churches and
United Methodist-related colleges," said Thomas S. Yow, president and
chief executive officer of the foundation. "It was a way to make parents
and students more aware of the United Methodist colleges within their
annual conferences."

During the 2006-07 academic year, Double Your Dollars will provide 315
scholarships on a first-come, first-served basis for a total of
$630,000. These include 25 matching scholarships specifically designated
for Hispanic, Asian, and Native American students eligible for HANA
funds, provided through the United Methodist Board of Higher Education
and Ministry.

In addition to expanding the matching program, the foundation's trustees
approved a total of $1.47 million for scholarships for all 2006-07
academic year programs. During the 2004-05 year, the foundation provided
1,019 scholarships totaling $1.5 million.

In response to a scholarship fund established by the Board of Higher
Education and Ministry in honor of retiring staff executive Ken Yamada,
the foundation's trustees voted to match funding of at least $25,000 to
be placed in the endowment. Yamada retires Oct. 7 as an executive in the
Division of Higher Education, and the Ken Yamada Scholarship Fund was
created in recognition of his service to United Methodist higher
education. The scholarship will be a joint effort by foundation and the
Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

"The members of our board of trustees recognize Ken Yamada's substantial
contributions to United Methodist higher education, to the work of the
GBHEM, and to the mission of our foundation, as well as Ken's excellent
model for servant leadership," Yow said. "Therefore, our effort is one
small way of saying, 'Thank you, good and faithful servant.'"

The foundation's $25,000 will match the $25,000 that the Board of Higher
Education and Ministry has committed to raising, giving the fund an
initial endowment of $50,000, said the Rev. Jerome King Del Pino, top
executive at the agency.

"Across more than a quarter of a century of service, (Yamada) has made
significant contributions to the work of our board and the schools,
colleges, and universities related to the United Methodist Church," he
said, in a letter announcing the scholarship fund and seeking
contributions.

Foundation trustees also voted to change the Foundation Scholars Program
to the Foundation Merit Scholars Program, requiring a 3.0 grade point
average and demonstrated financial need in addition to membership in the
United Methodist Church. The board voted to limit recipients to one
scholarship from the foundation per year.

For more information regarding foundation programs, visit the Web site
at www.umhef.org, call (800) 811-8110 or e-mail to umhef@gbhem.org.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in
Nashville, Tenn. This article was adapted from a release from the United
Methodist Higher Education Foundation, and Vicki Brown, an associate
editor and writer in the Office of Interpretation at the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, contributed to this
report.

News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

----------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this group, go to UMCom.org, log in to your account,
click on the My Resources link and select the Leave option on the list(s)
from which you wish to unsubscribe. If you have problems or questions, please
write to websupport@umcom.org.

Powered by United Methodist Communications http://www.UMCom.org