One other thing - you might want to talk to the counselor and collect some samples NOW while they are easy to find. A lot get awarded at this time of year. Certainly you can look at any you choose, but I'd probably focus on the smaller, local scholarships from community organizations/businesses. No point making it more complex than it has to be.

Excellent - and if you do move forward with this, don't feel you need to start from scratch on your own. Talk to one of the high school counselors and she can probably acquaint you with common practices and point you to some other similar scholarship givers. You can examine their application and processes to decide what to implement.

It's amazing once you start to work on this how detailed it is - especially when you need to put all the rules in writing. For instance, ours was based on an application form with a an essay that had a strict maximum word count. One applicant also included a very compelling high school resume with all her accomplishments. Our rules didn't say you couldn't submit additional documentation. But then - if you consider everything except the application form part of the "essay", it far exceeded the word count.

So did her submitting the resume show initiative on her part or violate the spirit of the apples to apples comparison? At one extreme we could read it and have info from her but not the others. At the other extreme, we could disqualify her.

We decided the fairest thing was to not show the resume to the committee so that all the applicants truly had the same information presented: questions we asked on the application, plus essay.

Well, I'm finally getting back to this thread. Thanks so much for your help. Once we really sat down with Schedule H, it didn't seem so daunting - great advice JHB!

So, I sent the whole package off on May 4, 2009 and it looks like it may be awhile before we hear anything. Wish us luck.....

I encourage your group to offer PTO sponsored scholarships for your graduating seniors. Our PTO has awarded scholarships since the school opened in 2000. We now budget 10 for $1000 each, however, we also collect additional donations specifically for the scholarships. (it's an option on our membership form) Last year almost $3000 donations came in, so that we rounded up at the end of the year and awarded a record 13. It's something that we're proud of. One of the most critical pieces to this is that parents have absolutely no say in the award process. We set scholarship guidelines, with eligibility requirements, provide the application and teacher recommendation forms. Our college counselor forms a scholarship committee made up of teachers, staff and administrators--no parents! We basically provide paperwork and the money. We revamped some of our forms last year, and I'd be happy to share any of it with you. FYI, there were two (that I know of) PTO officers, including the prez (me), whose kids applied for and did NOT win scholarships.
Unfortunately, I can't help you with the IRS form, since that was before my time. However, when I worked on the 501(3)(c) application for our middle school booster club, I found the folks on the phones at the IRS really nice and helpful. I'm kind of going on and on, but our "PTO Spirit Scholarship" is one of the things we're known for and are really proud of.

JHB;146735 wrote: I think they have to show proof of payment of tuition.

... things you don't think about until the one person mis-uses the money, and everyone is up in arms and you have trouble getting donations for the next year.

Looking at schedule H, I'd go ahead and complete it, stating as future plans. It's all narrative and looks easy enough to create.

Plus thinking through these questions will help you solidify some of the processes you need to consider anyway.

If you need help, post here and we'll put our heads together.

I chaired the Scholarship committee for our high school PTA a couple years ago, so I have an idea of policies. For instance, even though the scholarship is awarded in the spring, the organization doesn't pay it out until after the person is registered the next fall. I think they have to show proof of payment of tuition.