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Establishing a Scholarship

Purpose of the SMCC Foundation Scholarship Program

  • To provide financial assistance for worthy and deserving SMCC students
  • To encourage academic excellence
  • To recognize student leadership and achievements

 

General Scholarship Fund

A monetary gift of any amount may be designated for the General Scholarship Fund. Many friends of the College also choose to make memorial contributions to this fund, which provides general scholarship support for students.

 

Annual Scholarships

Annual scholarships may be established with a minimum gift of $500 or more deposited into the Foundation Office by March 15 each year. This allows the SMCC Scholarship Committee adequate time to select a recipient who will be honored at Awards Day each spring. The Foundation Office will work with the individual, family, business, or organization making the annual contribution to develop the selection criteria for the scholarship. 

 

Endowed Scholarships

  • Endowed scholarships provide ongoing scholarship assistance for worthy and deserving individuals enrolled at Southwest. The continuous source of revenue generated from the investment of the endowment gift ensures perpetual benefits for future SMCC students. A minimum of $25,000 is required to endow a scholarship and may be given as a one-time payment or paid over a five-year period.
  • The endowment must reach $25,000 before any scholarships are awarded from the fund. Any endowment fund that does not reach the required $25,000 minimum within five years of the initial gift will be transferred to the General Scholarship Fund.
  • Endowments may be established by individuals, families, businesses, or organizations as a memorial to or in honor of someone. The Foundation Office will work with the donor to establish the criteria for selection of the scholarship award. Some donors may prefer to designate the scholarship for a particular major, department, or county.

 

Quasi-Endowed Scholarships

  • Quasi-endowed scholarships are established with a minimum donation (i.e. $2,500)
  • A specific amount is disbursed every year with the option of invoicing the donor if the interest paid does not meet the disbursement goal.

 

Other Scholarships

Occasionally, donors want to establish a scholarship in memory or in honor of a loved one, friend, or colleague; to provide scholarships for a specific area of study; or simply because of a desire to help SMCC students. 

  • Memorial/Honor scholarships may be established with a minimum donation of $2,500.
  • Donor can choose if scholarships are to be awarded until the fund is depleted or if it will be renewed annually.  

 

Scholarship Policies

  • All scholarship recipients will be selected and/or approved by the SMCC Foundation Scholarship Committee. All scholarship awards must be approved by the vote of the SMCC Foundation Board of Directors.
  • Criteria to determine eligibility for designated scholarships will be based on a written agreement between the donor and the SMCC Foundation, Inc.
  • Relatives of a donor will be ineligible to receive scholarship assistance from said donor’s scholarship funds.
  • Scholarship gifts received after April 1 shall not be awarded until the following year.
  • Scholarship endowment funds will be invested and managed by the SMCC Foundation Board of Directors-Financial Committee.
  • Named memorial scholarship funds with a balance of less than $5,000 will be transferred to the General Scholarship Fund after two years unless there is a commitment for annual deposits to meet the minimum requirements.

 

Making a charitable gift is an important and very personal decision. The satisfaction in giving to SMCC comes from knowing that you are investing in the lives of students who benefit each day from the education and experiences they receive while at SMCC and also in knowing that you are playing a crucial role in not only their future, but the future of our community, as well.

For more information on how you can help build bridges to the future, please call the SMCC Foundation Office at 601-276-4809 or contact Foundation Director, Leanne Andrews, by email at landrews@smcc.edu.   

The SMCC Foundation, Inc. is classified as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and all gifts and contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Checks may be made payable to SMCC Foundation, Inc. and mailed to:

SMCC Foundation, Inc.
1156 College Drive
Summit, MS 39666  

 

SMCC Foundation Criteria Form