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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC20-047 YouthPower 365 MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN YOUTHPOWER 365 AND EAGLE COUNTY CONCERNING ADMINISTRATION OF ALEXANDER J. ALLEN TRUST SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is entered this __________________ by and betweenYouthPower365, hereinafter referred to as "YP365" and the County of Eagle, State of Colorado, hereinafter referred to as "County". YP365 and the County may be referred to herein as the Parties. WHEREAS, County desires to expend the balance of the Alexander J. Allen Trust, hereinafter “Trust”, in accordance with the Trust’s intent to provide students in Eagle County with college scholarships and that “preference be given to intelligent and needy students to encourage and assist them in gaining a college education”; and WHEREAS, YP365 Dollars for Scholars is an umbrella for local scholarships, including the Alexander J. Allen Trust Scholarship, managed through a national organization, Scholarship America, that has been operating in Eagle County since 2014, coordinating the award review and distribution of hundreds of scholarships representing an award total of about a million dollars in financial aid to Eagle County students since inception; and WHEREAS, YP365 and County desire to enter into this MOU as a master document to set out the nature of the program and the relationship of the parties. NOW, THEREFORE, the parties do hereby agree to expend their best efforts to conduct and support the Alexander J. Allen Trust Scholarship, hereinafter “Allen Scholarship” under the following terms and conditions: Section 1. County agrees: (a) To provide permission for YP365 to manage and facilitate the Allen Scholarship award process. (see Section 2 for details). (b) To send the Allen Scholarship payments based on the schedule determined by YP365 directly to the student’s institutions of attendance, never to the student directly, and only after YP365 acknowledges in writing that it has received all the required documentation and directs the County to the make payment. (c) No later than February 1st each year, to send to YP365 a statement of current-year Allen Scholarship funds available for award or distribution to prior-year student-recipients who continue to qualify for multi-year awards. On this statement, Eagle County will provide notice of suggested changes, if any, to the criteria for the Allen Scholarship for the next round of awards. DocuSign Envelope ID: B4F2774F-A4A9-4033-9336-7DA6C1859E9E 1/28/2020 (d) To send a representative of the County to participate in the Dollars for Scholars Award Ceremony where student scholars are presented with Allen Scholarship awards. Section 2. YP365 agrees: (a) To solicit Eagle County High School student applications to the Dollars for Scholars system thereby ensuring a diversity of Allen Scholarship applicants. (b) To review Allen Scholarship applications and award Allen Scholarships based on the YP365 Dollars for Scholars Scholarship Review Process (see attachment) and the Allen Scholarship criteria as follows: (i) student financial need, (ii) student academic merit with preference given to students who have between a 3.0 to 3.5 GPA, and (iii) a preference to students who additionally show financial need by working in paid part or full-time employment in Eagle County. YP365 will consider any recommended changes to these criteria proposed under Section 1(c). (c) To make multi-year Allen Scholarship awards of up to $20,000 (at up to $5,000 a year for four years) to the Allen Scholarship recipients based on the County’s statement of funds available pursuant to Section 1(c) of this MOU, until the funds are expended. (d) To gather required documentation (such as proof of enrollment) from the students to monitor and ensure ongoing enrollment and qualification for Allen Scholarship funds. (e) To account for multi-year awards in connection with available funds each year in making future-year Allen Scholarship award decisions. (f) By October 1st each year, deliver to the County detailed instructions for distribution and payment of Allen Scholarship funds pursuant to Section 1(b) of this MOU. (g) To provide professional and administrative staff support for the management of the Allen Scholarship program without cost to the County as a service to the Eagle County community. (h) In the fall of each year of this agreement to provide an updated annual report to the County showing student payment schedules. (i) At the summation of the Allen Scholarship program, when all funds are expended, to provide the County with an evaluation report on the impact of the Scholarship. Section 3. YP365 and County mutually agree: (a) To notify the other party in writing at least sixty (60) days prior to any expected major change in program that would affect the professional personnel or support of the program. DocuSign Envelope ID: B4F2774F-A4A9-4033-9336-7DA6C1859E9E (b) YP365 as a non-profit organization ensures that all programs, activities and employment opportunities are available without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability. Section 4: This MOU shall remain in full force and effect from year to year until terminated by either party by written notice given sixty (60) days prior to the anticipated time of termination. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have set their hands as indicated below: COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF COLORADO, by and Through Its BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ________________________ Kathy Chandler-Henry, Chair Date:_______________ ATTEST: _______________________ _______ Clerk to the Board Date YOUTHPOWER365 ______________________ By: (print name/title)______________________ Date: ______________ DocuSign Envelope ID: B4F2774F-A4A9-4033-9336-7DA6C1859E9E Senior VP of Education & the Arts 1/23/2020 Sarah Johnson 1/28/2020 1/28/2020     YouthPower365 Dollars for Scholars Selection Committee Policy and Procedures   The following outlines the policy and procedures for the YouthPower365 Dollars for Scholars Selection  Committee scholarship process. A single Selection Committee will be established by YouthPower365  (“YP365”) on an annual basis with no fewer than 8 members. Members of the committee may be  assigned duties including but not limited to interviewing, evaluating profiles, essay review, and final  selection. The Board of Directors of YP365 has adopted the following policy and procedures pursuant to  which scholarships will be awarded from all scholarship funds, including where donors or designees  have advisory privileges or participation in the selection of scholarship recipients. These policies and  procedures will be interpreted to ensure YP365's compliance with all applicable requirements of the  Internal Revenue Code, including Section 4966, and any guidance thereunder, as amended.  Selection Committee  The following criteria will be used to select Selection Committee members:   The Selection Committee can be made up of YP365 staff members, representatives from the  scholarship programs, and/or community members.   The donor (or designee) may participate in selection of scholarship recipients only as a member  of a larger evaluation committee. The donor (or designee) cannot be the leader or chair of the  awards evaluation committee and may not be given a veto power. Donors (or designees) may  not prescreen applications and choose those to be referred to the committee.   The awards Selection Committee cannot be controlled, directly or indirectly, by any combination  of the donor, donor’s designee or any related party of the donor (or designee).   For Example, the number of donors and/or donor representatives (e.g., designees and  related parties) cannot be a majority of members of the committee.    This prevents the board of a professional or alumni group, church, or other organization that  has established a scholarship from serving as the entire award evaluation committee.  Similarly, a fund donor or sponsor’s family cannot constitute the entire award Selection  Committee or even a majority of the group.   Each committee member will complete and sign a Statement of Confidentiality and Conflict of  Interest before he or she reviews any application.  No individual may serve on the committee if  their relative is an applicant for a scholarship award.  For the purposes of this restriction,  relative includes an individual’s parents, grandparents, great grandparents, spouse, siblings,  children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and the spouses of such.  Scholarships covered by this policy may not be awarded to any member of YP365’s Board of Directors,  any employee of YP365, or any other disqualified person with respect to YP365.  Further, scholarships  may not be awarded to any substantial contributor to the scholarship fund, to any member of the  Scholarship Committee, or to any members of their families.  Criteria for Scholarships  YP365 staff will work with donors to establish scholarships that fulfill the donor’s charitable goals and  selection criteria.  Criteria for scholarships may include, but are not limited to: (i) prior academic  DocuSign Envelope ID: B4F2774F-A4A9-4033-9336-7DA6C1859E9E     performance; (ii) performance of each applicant on tests designed to measure ability and aptitude for  educational work; (iii) recommendations from persons who have knowledge of the applicant’s  capabilities; (iv) additional biographical information regarding an applicant’s career, academic and other  relevant experiences, financial need; and (v) the committee’s conclusions as to the applicant’s  motivation, character, ability, or potential.  Criteria may also include the applicant’s place of residence,  past or future attendance at a particular school, past or proposed course of study or evidence of his or  her artistic, scientific or other special talent.  Application and Nomination Process   Applicants for scholarships will be required to submit such application forms and supporting materials as  YP365 may deem appropriate on a schedule to be determined by YP365. The schedule is normally as  follows but is open to revision by YouthPower365 at any time.    November to December   YP365 staff & counselors attend college readiness nights, meet with students to explain  process and start creating profiles in Dollars for Scholars, and promote the program on  the YouthPower365 website.   October to March  Students fill out profiles in Dollars for Scholars.   March 1st  School Counselors ensure that applications are complete, final deadline for applications.     Phase 1: Interviews  The Selection Committee conducts interviews with high school seniors who have applied for Dollars for  Scholars scholarships and met the requirements for matching to scholarship programs.   One student will be interviewed by 2‐6 members of the evaluation committee   15 minutes will be allotted per interview   The interviewers will arrive in time to receive instructions from the scholarship manager and  prepare for the day   They will participate in asking from the approved list of questions   They will take as many notes as possible in the allowed time   Interviewers will quickly debrief at the end of every interview   Students will be sorted into three piles based on their answer to questions and rubric scores;  ‘likely to award,’ ‘maybe,’ and ‘not likely to award.’  Roles and Responsibilities of Selection Committee members assigned to the Interview Phase   The interviewers will commit to being present to at least one half day at interviews during the  evaluation process (March 11‐15; March 18‐22; April 1‐5, 2019)   Members of the committee will evaluate students to the best of their ability using the answers  to their questions and the following rubrics as determining factors.  DocuSign Envelope ID: B4F2774F-A4A9-4033-9336-7DA6C1859E9E      Interviewers may or may not be a part of the selection committee   The interviewers must evaluate all students fairly and without any type of bias   Time commitment: 4 ‐120 hours, depending on volunteer availability  After interviews are complete, the committee moves on to the evaluation and selection phase. This is  the final review phase and committee members donate a significant amount of time to awarding every  scholarship program under YouthPower365 Dollars for Scholars.  Phase 2: Evaluation and Selection    Preliminary sorting and identifying  o Selection committee will cross reference all students identified as ‘likely to be awarded’  with those that matched to scholarships in SA.  o During this time, students may be manually matched to scholarships based on criteria  and information gathered at the interview.  o Additional students that did not make the ‘likely to award’ list may be evaluated if they  matched to scholarships in SA and scored highly.    Scoring  o Selection committee will evaluate each file separately and decide on the student’s  ranking for each scholarship matched to using a 1‐10 scale.   o Essay review will happen during this time.  o The top scoring candidates for each scholarship are identified. A list of finalists is  secured.    Final evaluation and awarding  o Using the list of awarding criteria ranked in order of importance obtained from the  scholarship sponsor, the evaluation committee reviews the candidates again and will  make recommendations to the Board of Directors.   o The Education Committee of YP365 will approve each award of a scholarship under this  program.  Roles and Responsibilities of Selection Phase   Members of the Selection Committee must commit to being present during all committee  meetings. (Approximately 3‐5 days during, April 8‐25th)   Members of the committee will evaluate students to the best of their ability using the answers  to their questions and the following rubrics as determining factors.   Interviewers may or may not be a part of the Selection Committee   Committee members must evaluate all students fairly and without any type of bias   Time commitment: 16‐20 hours or more  Recordkeeping Requirements   YP365 will maintain records with respect to all scholarships made to recipients. Such records will be  maintained by YP365 based on the current Document Retention Policy. Scholarship records include, but  are not limited to: (i) all information YP365 secures to evaluate the qualification of potential scholarship  recipients; (ii) identification of the applicants, including any disqualified relationship with YP365 staff  DocuSign Envelope ID: B4F2774F-A4A9-4033-9336-7DA6C1859E9E     members or directors, donor or donors or any member of the Scholarship Committee; (iii) specification  of the amount and purpose of each scholarship; and, (iv) any follow‐up information YP365 obtains or  requires in the short‐ or long‐term administration of awards. Information pertaining to unsuccessful  applicants for awards shall be kept along with information on successful applicants.  This policy and procedures was approved by the Board of Directors on _____________.    DocuSign Envelope ID: B4F2774F-A4A9-4033-9336-7DA6C1859E9E