Page 24 - 2020 October Report

October Report 2022
Grant Program Committee minutes (draft)
September 11, 2022
Members Present: Bea Awoniyi, Sherry Salway Black (via Zoom), David Blaikie, William Corwin (via Zoom), I. King Jordan, Jr., Richard Krause, Robert Krause (non-voting), Malcolm
Macleod, Mike Miller
Others Present: Rick Williams, Lady Hereford, Sharon Wood, Angie Francalancia
Malcolm chaired the meeting.
1. March 2022 meeting minutes
The minutes of the Committee’s March 2022 meeting had been circulated and were approved with 2 changes. On page 4, the second sentence under the heading “Discovery Project” should read: “The project originated with Diane Johnson’s recommendation at the December meeting to fund an initiative aimed at finding promising grantees, similar to Eye to Eye in its early years.” Also, on page 6, the next- to-last sentence in the first full paragraph pertaining to the Fort Lewis College endowment should read “He would like to get to a point in the future in which all eligible students could receive funding.”
A brief discussion took place about the term American Indians, which appears on page 5 in the minutes. It was agreed that the term Indigenous Peoples is preferred and will be used going forward. It was further agreed that staff and Indigenous Consultants will continue the discussion regarding the appropriateness of these terms.
2. Business arising from the minutes
There was no business arising that was not either on the Agenda or addressed in the Program Notes.
3. Update on programs
Regarding the Achieve Palm Beach County report, a question was raised about why Pell-eligible students in Florida are leaving an estimated $300 million in grant dollars unclaimed by not completing the FAFSA. This is an area in which Achieve could have an impact. Several factors contribute to this, including language barriers, a general lack of knowledge about the process and the mistrust some immigrant groups harbor toward government agencies.
Scholarship America reported that because of the increased core funding from JSF, 141 bonus scholarships were awarded to UPS scholarship recipients for a total of $803,700. Due to the tremendous growth in the JSF portfolio, the annual grant distribution to this program has grown substantially. The Committee questioned whether this core distribution (calculated as a percentage of the JSF portfolio) has grown to exceed the financial need of its students. A possible change in the Bylaws could remedy this. The Committee directed staff to explore this concern through Scholarship America, consider legal advice on the feasibility and strategy to change, and report back to the GPC.
The report from Florida School for the Deaf and Blind lists a total of $1,682,770.42 raised by the Advancement Department. A question was asked about whether this amount includes the distribution from JSF. FSDB’s unused JSF dollars are recommended to be placed in a contingency fund. However, the amount currently in the contingency fund is not listed in the report. Staff will inquire about this.
Bobby reported that JSF’s Grantee Perception Report conducted by the Center for Effective Philanthropy is under way and scheduled to be complete by November. A report will be presented to the Committee in December.
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