5 years in the past, Greg Dehn launched a university scholarship platform by way of which college students might discover and apply for personal grants from corporations, nonprofits and different locations. Referred to as Kaleidoscope Group, the corporate additionally supplied a twist—mixing model promotion and monetary support. That’s, Kaleidoscope would work with scholarship sponsors to design and administer their applications through its platform, with a branded brand clearly displayed with every scholarship description.
Kaleidoscope goals to assist college students win scholarship cash.
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Right this moment, the corporate has launched over 10,000 scholarship and grant applications which have awarded greater than $1 billion in complete, Dehn says. Final fall, he launched what the corporate calls its Award Builder service, a do-it-yourself free model. And within the spring, it can introduce a service slicing transaction charges on donations, in addition to disbursing cash to college students a lot quicker than earlier than. “We’ll be growing the worth of each greenback that’s donated,” he says.
How It Works
College students first full a profile with their grade level common and different vital intelligence. After submitting all that, the system does its factor and comes up with seemingly applications becoming the scholar’s profile. Scholarships are displayed on tiles sporting the emblem of the model sponsoring that program, together with a hyperlink to an utility. If a program is of curiosity, customers click on on it and begin making use of.
The unique possibility, which continues to be obtainable, a Kaleidoscope staff works with a corporation that pays the corporate to design the method, from the net utility to managing the system for conducting opinions. The work may embody, for instance, creating the aptitude to combine the applying with more-sophisticated candidate choice and evaluate processes, in addition to disbursement companies and the power so as to add issues like references from third events.
Newer Options
With the free Award Builder self-service program, manufacturers can use the platform to publish a scholarship program on the location on their very own, with out working with the corporate’s consulting staff or paying for its different companies. “We acknowledged that some small organizations are restricted within the funding they will make and we wished to supply a device that may assist them launch a program rapidly at a decrease funding,” says Dehn. If the model desires so as to add extra advanced instruments in a while, they will begin working with Kaleidoscope’s consultants.
Greg Dehn
Kaleidoscope
As for the brand new about-to-be-introduced companies, they’ll cut back the transaction prices on donations and disbursements. That, in response to Dehn, can doubtlessly pay for one yr of in-state tuition for 25,000 college students. Additionally the corporate will have the ability to get cash within the arms of scholars in a matter of minutes, as a substitute of weeks and even months, he says.
Childhood Inspiration
Throughout prime season, fall and early winter, there are literally thousands of applications on the location. Now, because it’s off-peak, college students will discover fewer. Some examples: at the very least 5 $5,000 scholarships from the Younger Girls’s Alliance (YWA) in Austin and $5,000 in support from the Speaking Rain Beverage Firm’s scholarship, known as the Glowing Ice® Flavorful Future—Go Inexperienced Scholarship.
Inspiration for the corporate got here from Dehn’s childhood expertise. His household struggled to make ends meet after his father was recognized with ALS and couldn’t afford to ship him to varsity. Dehn ended up making use of to a number of scholarship applications, finally receiving grants from such locations because the Howard Hughes Undergraduate Analysis Fellowship and Nationwide Science Basis Grants, and attending Colorado School. Afterward, he obtained an MBA from the College of Chicago Sales space Faculty of Enterprise, with help from his employers.
Dehn just lately closed a $10 million Collection A spherical; he’s raised $15 million in complete.
