WO2004063868A2

WO2004063868A2 - Scholarship selection process

Info

Publication number: WO2004063868A2
Application number: PCT/US2004/000195
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christopher Horn; Robert Horn
Original assignee: Kennerley, Plc
Priority date: 2003-01-06
Filing date: 2004-01-06
Publication date: 2004-07-29
Also published as: WO2004063868A3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a business method for providing scholarships funded by a participating company to the child(ren) of eligible company employees. The scholarship program is administered by a third party charitable foundation that maintains a business relationship with the company.

Description

TITLE

SCHOLARSHIP SELECTION PROCESS

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application

60/438,204 filed January 6, 2003. The above-referenced application, and each document cited in this text ("application cited documents") and each document cited or referenced in each of the application cited documents, and any manufacturer's specifications or instructions for any products mentioned in this text and in any document incorporated into this text, are hereby incorporated herein by reference; and, technology in each of the documents incorporated herein by reference can be used in the practice of this invention.

It is noted that in this disclosure, terms such as "comprises", "comprised", "comprising", "contains", "containing" and the like can have the meaning attributed to them in U.S. Patent law; e.g., they can mean "includes", "included", "including" and the like. Terms such as "consisting essentially of and "consists essentially of" have the meaning attributed to them in U.S. Patent law, e.g., they allow for the inclusion of additional ingredients or steps that do not detract from the novel or basic characteristics of the invention, i.e., they exclude additional unrecited ingredients or steps that detract from novel or basic characteristics of the invention, and they exclude ingredients or steps of the prior art, such as documents in the art that are cited herein or are incorporated by reference herein, especially as it is a goal of this document to define embodiments that are patentable, e.g., novel, nonobvious, inventive, over the prior art, e.g., over documents cited herein or incorporated by reference herein. And, the terms "consists of and "consisting of have the meaning ascribed to them in U.S. Patent law; namely, that these terms are closed ended.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of business methods for use in the implementation and administration of corporate scholarship programs, the selection of recipients for such scholarships, and the distribution and management thereof. BACKGROUND

It is well known that various companies, especially Fortune 500 companies and other similarly situated companies, often utilize the possibility of scholarships for the educational expenses of employees' children. Most of these programs do not guarantee scholarships to the children of employees; rather, in situations where the employee and/or their child(ren) meet various requirements, the child(ren) can apply for a scholarship provided by the hiring company, just as one would apply for scholarships provided by other sources. The ability of companies to provide such scholarship opportunities are limited by their ability to provide adequate resources, including the personnel, which would be necessary to coordinate the application, selection, and distribution processes for such scholarships.

The present invention lessens the impact of this problem by providing a business method whereby a corporation can form a relationship with a third-party charitable foundation who handles the administration of such scholarships, with no direct involvement of the corporation, while still maintaining the corporation as the ultimate source of funding of the scholarship.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a business method for providing scholarships funded by a participating company to the child(ren) of eligible company employees comprising a) establishing a business relationship between a third party charitable foundation and the participating company wherein the company provides information regarding eligible employees to the third party charitable foundation; c) soliciting scholarship applications by the third party from eligible company employees or their child(ren); d) detennining the number of possible scholarships in a given year by the third party; e) establishing a scholarship selection committee that is separate from the third party; f) evaluating the scholarship applications by the scholarship selection committee; g) providing funding from the company to the third party charitable foundation for distribution of scholarships; h) determining recipients of the scholarships by the scholarship selection committee; and i) distribution of the scholarships to the recipients by the third party charitable foundation. The present invention also relates to methods and tools for use in obtaining scholarship applications and evaluating such applications to determine the recipients of said schoarlarships.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is flow chart describing a method of providing scholarships administered by a third party charitable foundation for a participating company.

Figure 2 is a sample communications plan regarding the contacting of eligible employees of the target company. Figure 3 is a sample communication to eligible employees and expatriates containing information pertaining to the scholarship program.

Figure 4 is a sample communication to schools listed in the scholarship applications forwarding information pertaining to the scholarship program.

Figure 5 contains sample materials for evaluating the scholarship applications by the scholarship selection committees.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a business method for providing scholarships funded by a participating company to the child(ren) of eligible company employees. The scholarship program is administered by a third party charitable foundation that maintains a business relationship with the company. In a prefeπed embodiment of the invention, the company is a multinational corporation.

Under the present invention, a scholarship program is provided wherein a participating company and a third party charitable foundation have a business relationship, wherein the third party charitable foundation solicits scholarship applications from eligible employees and their children of the company. In a preferred embodiment, the third party charitable foundation determines the number of scholarships that can be awarded for a given year, and organizes a separate scholarship selection committee. In yet a further prefeπed embodiment, the scholarship selection committee evaluates the applications and ranks the applicants. The third party charitable foundation further notifies the company of the amount of scholarships that can be awarded, and the company can determine whether or not to provide a donation to the third party charitable foundation, of which a portion is used to provide funding for the scholarships, and a portion is used for overhead expenses of the third party charitable foundation. In yet a further embodiment, should the company make a donation to the third party charitable foundation, the third party charitable foundation can contact the schools at which the scholarship applicants are enrolled in order to verify enrollment and costs of attending. Yet further still, the third party charitable foundation can then distribute scholarships for the cost of attendance, beginning with the most highly ranked applicant and proceeding down the rankings until the portion of the company's donation designated for funding scholarships is depleted. The present invention contemplates that the business relationship between the participating company and the third party charitable foundation can be initiated by either party. In one embodiment, a company can contact an already established third party charitable foundation that administers such scholarship programs. In another embodiment, the third party charitable foundation can actively solicit companies that may be interested in starting a scholarship program.

In a further embodiment, a third party charitable foundation that desires to solicit companies for enrollment in a scholarship program first identifies their own capabilities for administering such programs. For example, a third party charitable foundation can consider developing relationships with more than one company for the administration of scholarship services. It is a prefeπed embodiment of the present invention that any such relationship between a third party charitable foundation and a scholarship-funding company remain separate from any other such relationship with other scholarship-funding companies, requiring that the third party charitable foundation have the capability and capacity to simultaneously and separately administer multiple scholarship programs. For example, a third party charitable foundation can determine their selling capacity by determining an estimated number of companies which are both servicable and salable. It is within the gambit of the present invention that such determinations can consider staffing availability and closing percentage, along with the amount of the third party charitable foundation's time that was required in order to close the business relationship with target companies in previous years.

In one embodiment, third party charitable foundations that desire to solicit companies to engage in such scholarship programs can use standard methods of determining suitable companies to which to market, as are known to those of skill in the art. For example, the third party charitable foundation can utilize the Fortune and Forbes lists, along with their personal contact list, in order to determine which companies will be approached and in what order to do so. In yet a further embodiment, third party charitable foundations can also consider gross expatriate numbers, expatriate locations, salability, and strength of the organization's contacts in finalizing the year's target list. Factors such as gross expatriate numbers and expatriate locations are especially relevant when considering multinational companies. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, upon creating a target list, the third party charitable foundation's staff can meet in order to make primary and secondary assignments for each target company. It is prefeπed embodiment that the staff members assigned to such target companies can gather local knowledge regarding the company itself, including contacts, locations, and salability. It is considered that the assignment of target companies to staff members can be based according to relationships, geography, capacity, and previous assignments.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, assigned staff members of the third party charitable foundation can confirm contacts within the assigned target companies, including identifying the contact information for the chief financial office and any personal contacts between the third party charitable foundation and the target company. As is known in the art, the assigned staff members can utilize any standard business methods of obtaining such contact information, including in- house databases of contact information for personal contacts of the third party charitable foundation. In yet a further embodiment, the assigned staff members can secure appointments with representatives or contacts of the target companies, and can customize marketing meeting materials as appropriate to each target company. The preparing of such marketing meeting materials can include preparing a presentation, an estimated financial model for company, and preparing a letter of intent. In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, assigned staff members can conduct marketing meetings with executives or representatives of the target companies to present the scholarships model/basic operation and estimated financial model. In yet a further prefeπed embodiment, the meeting can be used to gather and/or confirm information relating to the target company, including but not limited to, executive contacts, expatriate statistics, and expatriate locations, where appropriate, i.e. in the case of a multinational target company. Furthermore, it is a prefeπed embodiment of the present invention that assigned staff members document open questions raised by target company executives and/or representatives in meetings, and that follow-up meetings be scheduled if required. Yet further still, it is contemplated that assigned staff members will send meeting follow-up coπespondence, including coπespondence to target company executives and or representatives thanking them for the meeting, and confirming meeting outcome, open questions, and, if appropriate, confirming follow-up meeting timing. It is also contemplated that assigned staff members will perform the necessary research in order to answer open questions raised in meeting and to update customized marketing materials with answers to open questions (if appropriate), revise estimated financial model, etc. In a further prefeπed embodiment, the revised customized marketing materials can be presented to target company executives and/or representatives during a follow-up meeting. In a further embodiment, it is prefeπed to obtain a verbal commitment (if appropriate) from the target company executive or representative that the target company will participate in the scholarship program. If necessary, it is further contemplated that a closing meeting can be conducted in order to obtain confirmation from target company executives or representatives to secure participation in scholarship program. Preferably, the target company executive or representative will sign a letter of intent for the third party charitable foundation confirming their participation in the scholarship program.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, the established business relationship between a third party charitable foundation and the target company allows the company to provide information regarding eligible employees to the third party charitable foundation, including contact information for the eligible employees. Furthermore, it is an embodiment of the present invention for the third party charitable foundation to identify the expatriate dependent population of the target company, and to obtain any available information about the expatriate dependent population, which can include communicating with regional target company management and/or human resources personnel. In a prefeπed embodiment, the third party charitable foundation and the target company develop a communication plan for contacting the eligible employees, including eligible expatriates where applicable. Preferably, the communications plan can be customized based on the company, location, and other appropriate factors. Furthermore, such communications plan should preferably be approved by both the target company and the third party charitable foundation. In one aspect, the communications plan can be similar to the one shown in Figure 2.

In a further embodiment, the third party charitable foundation contacts eligible employees, including expatriates to provide them with information regarding the scholarship program. This communication can be made by e-mail, postal mail, or a combination of methods. Further, it is contemplated by the present invention that the communication includes basic program description, application instructions, timetables, and contact information, etc. An example of a communication of this type can be found in Figure 3. In a yet further embodiment of the present application, the third party charitable foundation maintains a scholarship help desk that can respond by e-mail and telephone to scholarship applicant inquiries.

In another aspect of the invention, the third party charitable foundation provides eligible employees and expatriates with applications for the scholarship program, and additionally collects such applications. In a prefeπed aspect, applications which are faxed to the third party charitable foundation are input to a website database on a regular basis, preferably weekly, more preferably daily. In another prefeπed aspect, applications which are submitted by mail as hard-copy scholarship application forms are also collected by the third party charitable foundation and are input to the website database on a regular basis, preferably weekly, more preferably daily. In yet another prefeπed aspect of the present invention, the third party charitable foundation collects application information submitted on-line to a program website and incorporates such information into the database on a regular basis, preferably weekly, more preferably daily. In yet another aspect of the invention, the third party charitable foundation downloads the database on a regular basis for analysis and reporting. Such analysis can include summarizing the application information and generating regular reports of scholarship applications based on the applicant's company affiliation, by company and grade level, by school, etc. It is within the gambit of the invention to sort and analyze the application information in any manner that will be beneficial in the organizing or administration of the scholarship program.

In yet a further embodiment of the invention, the third party charitable foundation can identify all of the schools identified in the received scholarship applications and provide each such school with basic scholarship program information. For example, a communication forwarding such information to the schools can be similar to that of Figure 4. Additionally, besides any information communications such as Figure 4, it is contemplated that the schools can be sent a standard school scholarship program information packet, including a school information request form. The third party charitable foundation can utilize information gathered from such a school information request form to confirm: contact information (address, phone number, fax number, address); tuition and fee schedules; name of headmaster, business manager, and coπesponding secretaries; website address; bank account information; and other relevant information. It is yet a further aspect of the invention that the third party charitable foundation, following collection of all scholarship applications and necessary information, determines the number of possible scholarships in a given year to be funded by a single company.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the third party charitable foundation establishes a scholarship selection committee that is separate from the third party charitable foundation. Accordingly, it is a prefeπed embodiment that the third party charitable foundation determines the number and location of the selection committees. It is contemplated that the number and location of the selection committees can be based on the number of scholarship applications for each company. Furthermore, it is also contemplated that the third party charitable foundation will determine which committees will work on which the scholarship applications for which companies.

In a prefeπed embodiment, the third party charitable foundation identifies universities or other education providers from which to solicit scholarship selection committee members. The third party charitable foundation can work with the College of Education of a given university, or another related segment of the university to solicit members. It is contemplated that the third party charitable foundation can work with the Dean of the College of Education to develop potential committee members, or can post advertisements for positions, or hold information sessions to develop a list of volunteers for committee membership positions. In yet another prefeπed embodiment, the third party charitable foundation selects and confirms members of the scholarship selection committees. In one embodiment, the third party charitable foundation identifies five potential members (three primary, two alternates) for each scholarship selection committee. The invention further includes the third party charitable foundation aπanging dates and locations for the meeting of the scholarship selection committees, including identifying hotels and/or office complexes with adequate facilities to handle such sessions and reserving small conference rooms for session. The invention further contemplates the third party charitable foundation contacting the primary members and confirming dates and locations for meetings of the committees. Furthermore, contacting the alternates and informing them of the meeting dates is also contemplated. It is further contemplated by the invention that selection committee members may or may not be compensated for their time and participation in the selection committees.

In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, the third party charitable foundation provides means of evaluating the scholarship applications by the scholarship selection committee. It is contemplated that such means include the printing and sorting of scholarship applications by the individual sponsoring company. In a prefeπed embodiment, the third party charitable foundation creates scholarship selection packages that include the determination of the number of scholarships available for each company, as described above. Furthermore, the scholarship selection package can contain summary reports by each individual company together with printouts of all the scholarship applications for a company. In yet a further aspect of the invention, the third party charitable foundation can conduct facilitated selection sessions, wherein for each company, the number of scholarship recipients and alternates is provided. Furthermore, it is contemplated that each scholarship selection committee be provided with a session agenda by the third party charitable foundation as well as criteria for evaluating individual applications and formats for tallying application scores and determining a ranking of all applicants. Such materials can be similar to those included in Figure 5. It is a further aspect of the invention that the forms and programs provided to the scholarship selection committees by the third party charitable foundation by used by the committee members to rank each individual applicant, to break any ties between applications, and to create lists of potential scholarship recipients and alternates for each participating company.

In a further aspect of the invention, after the scholarship selection committee has created lists of potential scholarship recipients and alternates for each participating company, the third party charitable foundation will confirm with the schools of each potential recipient the students' cuπent enrollment status, the cost of tuition and fees. This information can be obtained from the information previously assembled from the school information request forms, or schools can be contacted individually as necessary. After confirming the information for each potential recipient, the invention further includes the third party charitable foundation calculating the scholarship cost for each individual recipient and alternate, and for the company as a whole.

In still a further aspect of the invention, the third party charitable foundation communicates with the participating company to provide the total scholarship cost and recommended contribution to the third party charitable foundation. Typically, the recommended contribution will be such that a percentage of the contribution will fund the total scholarships to be awarded, and the remainder will cover overhead of the third party charitable foundation. These percentages can be determined in any configuration such that the two percentages together equal 100% of the donation. For example, a company whose total scholarship cost equals $750,000 can donate a total of $833,333, such that 90% of the donation, or $750,000 will fund the scholarships, and $10% of the donation, or $83,333 will be used for overhead and other expenses. In yet a further aspect of the invention, monies left over after payment of overhead and other expenses can be used to provide grants to eligible schools or to provide college scholarships for students who have been recipients of a scholarship previously. It is contemplated that in communicating to the participating company the recommended contribution, that the company is reminded that if less funding is received, there will be a decrease in the number of scholarships granted, meaning that scholarships will only be granted for which monies have been received by the third party charitable foundation by the participating company.

As a further aspect of the invention, after the third party charitable foundation receives a participating company's contribution, the third party charitable foundation will coπespond with the participating company to confirm receipt of the contribution amount and date received.

In yet another aspect of the invention, after a participating company's contribution has been received, the third party charitable foundation will determine the final list of scholarship recipients based on the amount of contributions received from each individual participating company. In yet a further aspect of the invention, upon completion of the final scholarship recipient list, the third party charitable foundation will communicate preliminary results to the scholarship recipients' schools requesting confirmation that they will still be attending the school for which the scholarship was granted. It is contemplated that upon receipt of confirmation from the recipients' schools, potential recipients' who will no longer be attending the school for which the scholarship was granted will be replaced by an alternate, and the alternate's school will be contacted for confirmation of enrollment. It is a further aspect of the invention that these steps will be repeated until a final list has been created that contains the number of scholarship recipients for which funding has been received by the participating company. If alternates are to be included on the list, it is contemplated by the present invention that the participating companies' total cost for all scholarships and alternates will be updated and communicated to the company. In yet a further aspect of the invention, the third party charitable foundation will communicate the scholarship results to the affected schools, informing them of the scholarship recipients and explaining the scholarship funding process. In a still further aspect of the invention, the third party charitable foundation will communicate with all applicants to inform them of the status of their applications. In yet a further aspect of the invention, the scholarships will be distributed to the schools of the scholarship recipients by the third party charitable foundation. It is contemplated that the third party application will confirm with the scholarship recipients' schools the intended use of the scholarship funds (student name, school year) and request the schools' prefeπed distribution of funds, whether funds should be paid directly to the school or to the original payor. Such communication can be made through a standard letter to the schools accompanying the scholarship notification. It is a further aspect of the invention that where electronic transfer of funds is requested, the third party charitable foundation will confirm bank account information prior to transfer of scholarship funds. In a further embodiment of the application, the third party charitable foundation will transfer the scholarship funds directly to the schools or to the original payor of tuition and fees, in accordance with the requested payment information received from the school. It is contemplated that the third party charitable foundation will receive confirmation of receipt of the scholarship funds, after which the third party charitable foundation can provided follow-up communications with the participating companies confirming use of scholarship funds.

In a further embodiment, the present invention also relates to methods and tools for use in helping a company determine whether it would be beneficial to engage in such a scholarship program, and additionally to methods and tools for use in obtaining scholarship applications and evaluating such applications to determine the recipients of said scholarships.

In a still further embodiment, the present invention also relates to methods of providing scholarships wherein the third party charitable foundation contracts out to one or more other organizations for various services or products related to the administration of the scholarship program.

Claims

1. A method of providing scholarships funded by a participating company to the child(ren) of eligible employees comprising: a) establishing a business relationship between a third party charitable foundation and the participating company; b) providing information regarding eligible employees to the third party; c) soliciting scholarship applications by the third party from eligible employees or their child(ren); d) determining the number of possible scholarships in a given year by the third party; e) establishing a scholarship selection committee separate from the third party; f) evaluating the scholarship applications by the scholarship selection committee; g) providing funding from the company to the third party for distribution of scholarships; h) determining recipients of the scholarships by the scholarship selection committee; and i) distributing the scholarships to the recipients or their schools by the third party.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the company is a multinational company.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the eligible employees are expatriate employees

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the third party charitable foundation solicits the business relationship with the company.

5. The method of claim 1 , as herein substantially described.