Named Unendowed Scholarships: The minimum required to create a named unendowed scholarship is a commitment of $2,500 a year for a minimum of four years. This gift/pledge is confirmed (by the donor) by completing a Letter of Intent (LOI) outlining the terms and criteria of his/her gift plan. Signature(s) of the donor(s) and the appropriate official(s) of the Grand Rapids Catholic Secondary Schools are needed. The scholarship would terminate at the conclusion of the four-year period or could be extended if the donor wishes to continue funding annually. An exception to this exists when memorial contributions are received to establish a named unendowed scholarship. In this case, the funds received will be awarded annually until the fund corpus is expended.

Named Endowed Scholarship: To create a named endowed scholarship fund, a minimum contribution of $25,000 is required. With an endowed scholarship, the total contribution is invested and a portion of the annual earnings (approximately 4.0%) is awarded annually to one or more recipients. 

In the case of either a named unendowed or endowed scholarship, a LOI will be completed by the Development Office and forwarded to the donor for review and signature.  This LOI serves as a guideline as to how the funds are to be administered in accordance with the donor’s intentions.  In completing a LOI, several questions must be answered, including:

 A.       What is the name of the scholarship?

 B.        Who is eligible for the scholarship?

• Is the scholarship available to freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors—or some subset of these?
• Are any specific groups to be given preference in the selection process (e.g., individuals from a specific geographic location, parish, male, female, etc.)?
• The pool of students to draw from in selecting scholarship recipients is greatest if the conditions are as broad as possible.

 C.        Are financial need/academic merit a consideration?

• If based on academic achievement, what is the minimum grade point average required?

 D.        What is the amount of the scholarship?

• The amount of the scholarship shall be determined by the CSS based upon the endowment’s available spendable dollars.

 E.         How many awards can be given? How will it be funded?

• A minimum of one scholarship shall be awarded annually, if sufficient spendable dollars are available. However, it is the discretion of the CSS to determine whether more than one scholarship will be awarded.

 F.         Who will select the student?

• A standard selection committee with a representative from the Guidance Office and the Office of Financial Aid.

 G.        How does the student receive the award?

• The scholarship funds are credited directly to the recipient’s tuition account for tuition and fees.

 H.        When will the award be made?

• Usually one half of the award is given in the fall semester and the other half is given in the spring semester.

 I.          Is the scholarship renewable?

• If so, what are the specifics for renewing the scholarship?

 J.          What happens if the student is ineligible at semester's end?

• Can the funds remaining be awarded to another student as early as the next semester or should they be awarded the next academic year?

 K.        What if there is no qualified applicant?

• The unused available spendable dollars remain invested in the endowment fund and are added to subsequent year awards.