For years, the Isac Amaya Foundation has been raising funds for scholarships to distribute to Arizona students to attend college and/or a university.
But now they have a new strategy: empower students to raise money themselves.
To make that happen, they're asking for creative fundraising strategies from innovative people, like you. Think you might have the right moves to help students raise some cash for higher education? Submit an idea and you could also walk away with $2,000.
See also:
- Phoenix Art Museum Announces 2013 Contemporary Forum Award Winners
- Voice Media Group and Phoenix New Times Announce Summer Multimedia Internships
The foundation aims to help minorities and disadvantaged youth enroll in higher education institutions both in Arizona and around the country. Since 2006, they've given dozens of students more than $15,000 in scholarship money. They've also educated more than 1,000 Phoenix-area families about the college admissions process.
So far, they've been raising money through fundraising and events but realized that if they want to be able to sustain their work, they need a new strategy. That's why they're looking for innovative ways students can pay for school themselves. To generate ideas they're holding the Eureka! contest.
"Our organization generally works to raise funds and give them to students in the form of scholarships so they can pay for school," said Eduardo Bernal of the foundation in a press release. "We want to continue to do that but we also want to find ways to help students pay for their own education in a sustainable way; we want to build fundraising capacity."
To enter they ask those interested to submit a one to two-page plan for a campaign that students could use to raise money to pay for school. Ideas should incorporate a range of platforms including for example: social media, fundraising web pages and events. Ideas will be judged on the their potential effectiveness, ability to be implemented and innovation.
The top five campaigners will get to pitch their ideas at a community event on June 27 at Seed Spot. That event will be open to the public and it's when a winner -- who will take home the $2,000 prize -- will be selected.
His or her idea will be presented to students at workshops and future events and will be shared with other organizations that help students pay for school.
You can download the application or find it at the Isac Amaya Foundation website. The deadline is on June 8 at 5 p.m.
