Foundation announces new scholarship application, website

The Greater Jefferson County Foundation has announced a new online scholarship application and website.

The Scholarship Committee for the Foundation has spent the last year discussing the necessity for changing the scholarship application process to an online application. With 20-plus applications, the challenge was to design an application that would not only encompass (and honor) the criteria specified by the donors but would also streamline the judging process as well. The Scholarship Committee chose to begin with the 10 scholarships that are judged by the Foundation's Scholarship Committee. In addition to the new scholarship applications, a new scoring rubric was also created.

Scholarship Chair Lori Stever said, 'The Scholarship Committee was mindful to adhere to our donor's original wishes while developing our digital application. These students are very fortunate to have multiple opportunities to earn scholarship dollars to help with their continuing education. By developing an online application and the new website, our committee is excited about the possibilities of streamlining the application process for both the students and the selection committees.”

The Scholarship Committee reviewed each of the 10 scholarships for keywords on criteria and judging specifications to use for the new online scholarship application and scoring rubric. The committee plans that this new online application process will be used next year as well for the other 10 Foundation scholarships that are judged by additional committees.

Using the new website application means that the students will only need to complete one application, instead of repeating the same information over and over on multiple scholarship applications. The applications will then be emailed to the Foundation for dissemination. Senior students eligible for Greater Jefferson County Foundation scholarships are Fairfield High School students, Pekin High School students, and Homeschool students. While not all of the scholarships are available for both Pekin and Homeschool students, using this new website will enable students from both high schools and homeschool to apply more easily.

The new scholarship website is https://gjcfscholarships.org

The website will be available for Jefferson County high school senior applicants on December 1. The deadline for application is February 1, 2021, at 4:00 pm. Students are asked to create a confidential account and then proceed through the application form filling out the information completely. In addition to the application, a list of scholarships is on the webpage with a brief history and criteria for student eligibility for each scholarship.

The Scholarship Committee worked with Kyle Rappenecker of Rappenecker Designs, Yarmouth, IA to design and launch their new online scholarship application and website. The committee met with Rappenecker several times, virtually and in person, to describe their vision of the new application format. After overcoming several hurdles, the result will aid Jefferson County high school seniors apply for the multiple opportunities they have to win scholarship dollars to help reduce the cost of higher education. Stever added, 'We are extremely grateful to our generous benefactors who have established memorial scholarships to make this possible.”

The Scholarship Committee of The Greater Jefferson County Foundation includes Lori Stever, Frank Redeker, Ron Haines, Peggy Mottet, and Kathy Winkelman.

For more information about The Greater Jefferson County Foundation, visit the main website at www.greaterjeffersoncountyfoundation.org, email gjcf0758@windstream.net, or phone at 641-472-0758.