Steps 1 and 2
No family receives assistance on a feeling.
Every recommended family clears the same bar, backed by the same kinds of evidence. By the time a family reaches a decision, we can explain in one page exactly why they qualify, and point to the paper behind it.
What we require
The full Blackbaud financial aid process: tax return, W-2s, and pay stubs. The same third-party system schools use nationwide.
Either the application shows need on its face, or there are documented circumstances the annual form could not capture.
A specific document for anything the form does not show: a layoff notice, a profit-and-loss statement, bank statements, a medical-cost summary.
How we sort
Every family we help is sorted into one of three tiers. The tier decides whether the family is funded from the fund, or carried by the school on its own.
The financial aid report shows it and the family's story matches. Modest income, few assets, complete documentation. These are straightforward, and we lead with them.
A standardized form regularly misses things: self-employment income that looks high but is not liquid, a job loss after the form was filed, heavy medical costs, a family quietly supporting relatives. Here our firsthand knowledge is the proof, and we document it: what the form shows, what it misses, and the evidence behind the gap.
If the form does not show need and we have no true, evidence-based reason it is wrong, the family is not brought forward for funding. Where we made a commitment, the school carries it on its own. The fund is reserved for need we can stand behind.
The line that protects the fund
Only Tiers 1 and 2 are funded, and only with evidence. We would rather bring forward fewer families we can fully defend than a longer list we cannot. That discipline is what keeps the assistance going to the families who genuinely need it.
