Letter to the Editor: New name, same supportive mission

To the Editor:
Starting the week of February 9, seniors from Waukon High School will be calling Allamakee County residents requesting a scholarship pledge for Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc. This is the same call seniors before them have made for Allamakee Dollars for Scholars.
This past year the all local volunteer board of directors of Allamakee Dollars For Scholars, Inc. made the decision to end its affiliation with Scholarship America and form a new 501c3 non-profit corporation. In doing so we lose the rights to use the name Dollars for Scholars. The decision wasn’t made hastily.   We sought legal counsel and put into practice the new organizational guidelines that Scholarship America was imposing. After the 2014 school year, the decision was made to keep local control and autonomy of the scholarships funds held for graduating seniors at Waukon High School. Why? So we could better serve those who have donated to us in the past and more efficiently support the graduates of Waukon High School through local scholarships.
Much has happened this past year as we transition to Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc.  We have filed incorporation papers with the State of Iowa, adopted new policies, and have submitted to the IRS our 501c3 application.  Our annual phone-a-thon next week is our first major public appearance as Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc.
From your perspective very little will change as we transition to Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc. We will continue to make local decisions by the same volunteer board of directors. We will continue to fund scholarships to Waukon High School graduates who apply for and qualify for funding. We will continue to raise funds locally through events such as our phone-a-thon, and we will continue to work with local businesses, organizations and families on named scholarships. The only change the general public will notice is the name change to Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc.
Allamakee County citizens, businesses, families and organizations have generously supported Allamakee Dollars for Scholars since 1993. The same local volunteer board of directors who managed the scholarships for Dollars for Scholars remains in place to manage the scholarships for Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc. We plan to continue to encourage local students to reach for and achieve their educational goals. Since our first year in 1993, 1,345 graduates of Waukon High School have received $757,085 in scholarships. Those are very humbling and gratifying numbers.   We couldn’t have done it without your financial support. We sincerely appreciate all the community support in the past and look forward to supporting and encouraging future graduates of Waukon High School as Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc.

Sincerely,
Julie Rotach, President
Mary Jo Goodman, Vice President
Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc.