Heard today from a Gifthub reader, Jonathan Bydlak, who is starting a non-profit called DiscoverScholars.org, the goal of which is to award scholarships to the types of students valued by donors in the marketplace. Donors specify any combination of characteristics, from grades and majors to extracurricular and athletic activities, with the knowledge that worthy students possessing those attributes will benefit from their donations. The website, not surprisingly, is http://www.DiscoverScholars.org
He is also blogging about the project on the regular basis, and has written a piece about the troubles that come from tying financial aid to individual schools. Jonathan feels there’s little reason for donors to give to colleges in order to financially support students who need it. Instead, he would rather that students had the same amount of financial aid regardless of where they choose to go to school. All that’s needed is an organization like Discover Scholars.
Jonathan has also blogged about the troubles in the securitized loan industry and how they limit a students’ ability to get financial aid.
Here is Jonathan's bio:
Jonathan Bydlak, Founder and Executive Director, is the former Director of Fundraising for the Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign, where he oversaw a fundraising apparatus that raised over $35 million. Jonathan plans to apply his experience with using web 2.0 social networking tools to build a dedicated donor base for DiscoverScholars.org.
Prior to his service on the campaign, Jonathan worked as an investment analyst at one of the largest hedge funds in the world. Philosophically committed to market-based solutions to problems, Jonathan graduated in 2005 with an A.B. in economics from Princeton University.
Very interesting concept. Scholarships are a hot topic with donors these days. Private foundations have to go through some hoops to offer them. Community Foundations are one way donors get scholarships done. Discover Scholars could be an interesting alternative. I wonder if it will evolve into a Kiva style site where Scholars could also borrow money? As the securitized student loan industry seizes up, an alternative linking private lenders and specific scholars might be in order. (Could turn into a program related investment or mission aligned investment for foundations?) Anyway, Discover Scholars is a very interesting addition to the philanthropic landscape. I have not done detailed due diligence on the execution, but the concept is intriquing.
