Cloverdale Dollars for Scholars effort receives $10,000 matching grant

CLOVERDALE -- Cloverdale Community Dollars for Scholars program has announced it has been awarded a $10,000 matching grant from Scholarship America, the parent organization to Dollars for Scholars affiliates across the country.

The grant, matched with an equal amount of funds raised by Cloverdale Community Dollars for Scholars, will provide deserving students the opportunity to receive financially impactful, renewable scholarships, further aligning itself with Scholarship America's renewed focus of helping students complete their degree or program with a reduced level of debt.

"Renewable, financially impactful scholarships that are directed to students with the greatest financial need will be an important tool to improving educational outcomes in our Dollars for Scholars communities," Scholarship America's President and CEO Lauren Segal said. "Our goal with the Dollars for Scholars Affiliate Matching program is to partner with our affiliates and their local supporters to build and sustain renewable scholarship opportunities so that more students across the country can complete their degree or program with a reduced level of debt."

In addition to receiving the $10,000 grant, the affiliate is also receiving personalized support and tools from Scholarship America to ensure the program will remain successful in the future.

The Cloverdale Community Dollars for Scholars Board approved a new renewable scholarship named "The Robert Steele Family Scholarship" as a result of this grant which was matched with funds raised in the 2014 and 2015 Phone-A-Thons and a recent raffle of a guitar autographed by county music artists which was donated by Emmis Communications and HANK-FM.

The grant is open to all Cloverdale High School graduates who have completed or expect to complete at least one year of postsecondary education. It is a need-based scholarship. The total award is $1,650 to be awarded over a maximum of a 3-year period, i.e. $500 in year 1, $550 in year 2, and $600 in year 3. Additional requirements can be found on our website, www.cloverdale.dollarsforscholars.org. Applicants must complete the online application by midnight on Friday, May 29, 2015.

For questions or additional information, persons may contact Vivian Whitaker at 812-229-1147 or vwhitaker@iendeavor.com.

Cloverdale Community Dollars for Scholars was established in 1994 and has been an affiliate of Scholarship America since 2004.

Over the past three years, Scholarship America has awarded $21,000 in grant monies to the Cloverdale chapter. As of May 2014, the chapter has awarded more than $285,000 to 351 graduates of Cloverdale High School.

"The continued support of the Cloverdale community is deeply appreciated," Cloverdale Dollars for Scholars Secretary Whitaker said.

Since 1958, Scholarship America has distributed more than $3.1 billion in scholarship assistance to more than two million students, funding both entry-level and multi-year scholarships and emergency financial grants.

More information is available at www.scholarshipamerica.org.