Scholarships: What’s a Donor to Do?

Giving away money for scholarships should be an easy process.

With higher-education costs soaring beyond what many students can reasonably afford, it would appear to be pretty simple for motivated donors to find worthwhile recipients.

But Nancy DeFauw, the owner of the consulting firm Practical Philanthropy Group in Chicago, says the process is far from easy.

In fact, Ms. DeFauw’s research into the topic has found that the system is anything but efficient.

“The most interesting and frustrating revelation for me has been the complete absence of systematic information about who needs scholarships and therefore, what I, as a donor, should do with my scholarship criteria to make sure my investment addresses those needs,” she writes on the blog PhilanthroMedia

The major problem, Ms. DeFauw finds, is many donors are operating under the false perception that students with the greatest needs are those coming out of high school.

But her research has found that many “needy” students are adults returning to school, single parents, and students who hope to transfer from community colleges into four-year institutions.

Unfortunately, she writes, many donors are simply unaware of this need.

“There must be better mechanisms to connect the supply of scholarship capital on one side with the students who need it on the other side,” Ms. DeFauw writes. “Our future depends on an educated, flexible thinking work force. More of the same isn’t going to do it.”

Is Ms. DeFauw correct? If so, how can nonprofit groups deal with the mismatch Ms. DeFauw discovered? Click on the comments link just below this posingt to share your thoughts.