Page 24 - Dec 2021 Report

December Report
22
Grant Program Committee meeting minutes (draft) (4) B. Linkage
Carried over to the Committee’s March 2022 meeting because Sherry was suffering from laryngitis.
C. Programing Options
Carried over to the Committee’s March 2022 meeting because Sherry was suffering from laryngitis.
7. Disadvantaged programing A. Sonoma State University
Malcolm welcomed Mark Stapp, Director of Development for Sonoma State University, and Mario Perez, Vice President of Advancement. Both appeared before the Committee via Zoom. A letter from Sonoma had been circulated, along with notes from a videoconference held on November 15, 2021.
In May 2019, JSF entered into a grant agreement with SSU for $500,000 over 5 years to fund the Wine Industry Scholars Program (WISP). The WISP Program focus is disadvantaged students with family ties to the wine and agriculture industries. The agreement was amended in 2020 to extend the Year 2 fundraising deadline from July to November in response to COVID. Sonoma now is requesting 3 changes to the existing grant agreement and addendum: a focus on direct scholarship support rather than WISP endowment funds; that qualified matching funds could include dollars raised for sister programs that serve a similar demographic; and a change in the matching terms from a ratio of 10:1 to a new ratio of 2:1.
Mark said the events of the last 2 years, mainly the pandemic and a focus on issues of diversity, drastically changed the wine industry. Today the priority for donors is direct scholarships for economically disadvantaged students rather than endowments. In response to donor requests, SSU created the Wine Business Inclusive Excellence Program (WBIEP) in 2020. That program is modeled after WISP but it seeks to encourage all underrepresented students, not just those with family ties to the wine and agriculture industries, to pursue wine business careers. WISP students, on the other hand, can pursue any career, not just those related to the wine business. SSU raised $783,000 for the WBIEP program and $180,000 for WISP. The combined total of $963,000 is just short of the $1 million SSU was required to raise this year to qualify for $100,000 from JSF. Mark said the 1:1 match in the first years of the agreement brought new donors to the table, but he does not believe the 10:1 ratio would incentivize donors in the same way. He suggested that 2:1 would be better way to continue to bring in new donors. Mario explained the WISP endowment would remain a focus but would become part of a larger capital campaign that SSU is preparing to launch. The current thinking is that WISP will be under the umbrella of a comprehensive program potentially called the Wine Country Promise Program. Recruiting students from the surrounding region is a priority for SSU, and the hope is that this collection of scholarships will become a centerpiece in their recruiting. Meanwhile, mechanisms are being put into place to help with fundraising. Mark and Mario left the meeting.
In the discussion afterward, it was noted that Years 3 through 5 of the grant were not structured as a 10:1 match but rather as an incentive for SSU fundraising. The Committee asked Bobby for his recommendation, and he said that he supports this request. SSU has been a good partner and complied with reporting. In addition to concerns about sustainability, another issue for the Committee is whether WISP scholarships might become overshadowed as the industry shifts its focus. One way to ensure this is to require that the scholarship dollars be used for WISP students only.
The Committee authorized staff to restructure the agreement with Sonoma State University in accordance with SSU’s requests to focus on direct scholarship support rather than WISP endowment funds; to allow qualified matching funds to include dollars raised for sister programs that serve a similar demographic; and to change to the matching terms to a ratio of 2:1. The agreement will specify that scholarship funds raised will benefit WISP students.
B. Take Stock in Children/Johnson Scholars Program
Malcolm welcomed Gbolade (“Bo”) George, Instructional Specialist with the School District of Palm Beach County; Nancy Stellway, Executive Director of Take Stock in Children Palm Beach County; and two recent