Scholarship Program

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Scholarship Program

• Ruth Lehmann, WTS Scholarship
• Pippa Woods, WTS Scholarship
• Diane James, Executive Director WTS

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• What is the WTS Scholarship Program?
• The future of transportation!
• National program, managed by the WTS Scholarship
  Board WTS Scholarship
• WTSS is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization
• WTSS provides tax benefits to donors
• Why should Chapters participate?
• Give local scholarships, advance your winners to
  national competition for 4 national scholarships
• Great access to students interested in
  transportation, new membership opportunities
• Connect students to your corporate partners and
  public sector agencies, their future workforce

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WTSS/F
Investing in Transportation Leaders of
Tomorrow by providing scholarships today!
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WTSS Goals

• Fully fund national scholarships in perpetuity
• Present and award national winners at every
  Annual WTS Conference
• Seek innovative funding opportunities to increase
  tax-deductible donations
• Adopt a bequest policy
• Increase value of each national scholarship
• Support chapters scholarship programs

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Chapter Scholarship Program

• To Start a Chapter Scholarship Program
• Chapter board approves commitment to participate
  in national scholarship program
• Chapter affirms that their President and
  Treasurer will comply with the specific federal
  financial accounting requirements
• Chapter president sends letter to WTS Executive
  Director advising of board action
• WTS Executive Director and staff provide
  direction on financial requirements specific to
  our federal 501 (c)(3) status, to ensure IRS
  compliance
• Contact WTS Intl for forms and procedures
• WTS website for other documents for program
  implementation

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National Scholarships
Helene M. Overly Memorial Graduate Scholarship
6,000 Sharon D. Banks Memorial
Undergraduate Scholarship 3,000 Molitoris
Leadership Scholarship (for undergrads)
3,000 Presidents Legacy Scholarship (Elaine
Dezenski) 3,000

• Candidates may only be nominated for a single
  national award
• Candidates are nominated by chapters
• Updated scholarship package and timeline for
  selection is released every summer and sent to
  Chapter Presidents
• Nominations (national application form) are due
  back in November
• Reviewed by Selection committee
• Results and chapters notified in February
• Awards in May at WTS Annual Conference
• Attendance of award winners is highly recommended

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Roles and Responsibilities

• WTSS
• Financial accounting of all scholarship funds
• Investment policy
• Disbursements
• Filing taxes
• Quarterly reports
• Set scholarship criteria
• Select national winners
• Fundraise
• Send donor tax-deduction receipts
• Support chapters
• Project Connect
• Compile data on all applicants

• WTS Chapters
• Fundraise
• Segregate chapter and WTSS/F funds
• Document info on local donors (keep records)
• Select chapter scholarship winners
• Nominate local winners for national scholarship
  competition
• Maintain contact with local donors corporate
  partners
• Participate in quarterly WTSS/F conference calls
• Forward all applications

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Tax Benefits
WTS Scholarship is a charitable
organization Section 501(c)(3) Provides tax
benefit to donors To receive tax benefit

• Contributions for scholarships
• Should be payable to WTSScholarship (WTSS)
• Forwarded directly to WTS Intl. Office
• Be accompanied by donor spreadsheet

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Key Points about Participation in Scholarship
Program

• WTSS is responsible for all scholarship funds,
  national and chapter
• WTS Executive Director and staff manages all
  accounting and federal compliance
• Chapters are responsible for proper financial
  management
• All scholarship funds are submitted directly to
  WTS Intl Office
• Maintain separation from other, locally
  controlled chapter funds

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Financial Management

• Scholarship funds are managed separately from all
  other WTS funds, International and chapter, by
  law
• Separate chart of accounts
• Separate financial statements
• Separate investments
• Investment Portfolio invested per WTSS Investment
  Policy
• Chapter revenues (fundraising for scholarships)
  and expenses are strictly tracked to comply with
  IRS and 501 (c)(3) requirements
• Investment earnings assist in defraying the costs
  of chapter accounting, audit and federal
  compliance

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Financial Reports

• Quarterly financial reports are issued to each
  chapter treasurer (notify WTS Intl. Office of
  additional individuals who should receive the
  report)
• Chapter treasurers can access, via the WTS Intl
  website, a list of contributors to its local
  scholarship
• Donations processed through the WTS Intl. office
  such as membership renewals and fundraising
  campaigns
• Updated on a regular basis updated as entered

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Use of Funds

• Scholarship funds can only be used for
• Scholarship awards
• Scholarship fundraising
• Allow at least 3 weeks for WTS office to process
  your request to use scholarship funds
• Advance notice recommended - particularly for
  events
• 29 active scholarship programs, many have events
  around same time of year avoid delays, plan
  ahead
• Federal taxes filed by WTS Executive Director
• Chapter Treasurer scholarship record keepers

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Dos and Donts

• DO
• Participate in Scholarship Chair conference calls
• Document and record all contributions to WTSS
• Submit records/donor information with checks
  submitted to WTS Office
• Use spreadsheet, include appropriate
  documentation
• Plan ahead, and give a heads up to WTS of
  upcoming check requests
• Allow 3 weeks for check requests
• Stay in touch and thank your local donors
• Engage students in chapter activities

• DONT
• Forget to notify WTS office when Scholarship
  Chair changes
• Send cash to WTS office
• Forget to send donor information (address,
  amount) to WTS office (for accurate tax
  deductible receipt)
• Loose touch with student applicants even if
  they dont win - encourage them to participate in
  WTS
• Forget to thank your donors

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Contribution Acknowledgement

• Contributions must be made payable to WTS
  Scholarship, with donor contact information
  (checks made payable to chapter intended for
  scholarship should be sent/handled as if made
  payable to WTSS)
• WTS Intl. Office generates acknowledgement
  letters to all WTSS donors for donation amounts
  of 250 or more per IRS rules
• In addition, thank you letters are sent to all
  WTSS donors by WTS Intl. Office
• Chapters may also wish to acknowledge local
  scholarship donors

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Working Together

• Build better communication on scholarship matters
• Quarterly conference calls
• Notify WTS Office when Scholarship Chair changes
• Build stronger relationships with your Corporate
  Partners Project Connect
• Support and continuously improve/make connections
  between chapters, scholarship applicants, and
  firms
• Connect your corporate partners, public agencies
  to students and to scholarship applicants ---
  win-win-win---!
• Improve Accountability
• Timely deposits!
• acknowledgements and tax benefit

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Next Steps WTS Foundation

• Increase access to educational opportunities to
  women in transportation
• Provide scholarships to women studying
  transportation
• Provide/promote educational opportunities to high
  school students
• to introduce them to careers in transportation
• Initiate, encourage, sponsor research
• in transportation industry related to position,
  development and advancement of women in
  transportation
• publishing or aiding in the publication of
  results of research
• Provide/promote educational, career development
  opportunities to women in transportation industry

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WTS Scholarship Board

• Sue Lai President
• Pippa Woods Vice President
• Jolene Molitoris Past President
• Julia Kuhn Secretary
• Karen Gelman Treasurer
• Bonnie Scheeland Selections Chair
• Marci Benson Director
• Mike Kennedy Director
• Alan Wulkan Director
• Ruth Lehmann Director
• Elizabeth Stepp Director
• Karen Schilling WTS Liaison
• Diane James Executive Director - WTS

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For Questions and Help

• Sue Lai, President WTS Scholarship
• slai_at_portla.org
• [phone]
• Diane James, Executive Director WTS
• djames_at_wtsinternational.org
• 202-955-5085