Robert and Bertha Bird Scholarship Fund Application Instruction Packet
1. Background. In 2004 Robert and Bertha Bird bequeathed assets to Faith Presbyterian Church specifying the establishment of a scholarship fund to be awarded annually to a candidate(s) who is associated with Faith Church and demonstrates outstanding qualities of church and community service, scholastic excellence and a desire to continue his or her education beyond high school. The ideal candidate is a graduating high school senior who combines these qualities to the highest degree and is going on to college.
2.Purpose. The purpose of this packet is to assist you in completing your application and understanding how your application will be evaluated, and the decision made to award the scholarship.
3.Who can apply. Anyone who is a member of or is related to a member of Faith Presbyterian Church and is planning on attending an institution of learning beyond the high school level is eligible to apply.
4. Who will receive the award. The award will be given to the most highly qualified candidate(s) on an annual basis. The candidate(s) must acquire a total score of at least 60 out of 100 possible points. The Session of Faith Presbyterian Church makes the decision on who receives the annual award based on the recommendation of a three-person group, appointed annually by the Session. This committee will be made up of a member-at-large of the Faith congregation, a member of the Christian Education Youth sub-committee and a member of the Finance committee. A staff liason will act as the moderator of the committee. The Session, via the three-person group, evaluates each completed application and uses the criteria outlined in this packet to rank applicants and determine which are most deserving. There is no annual limit on how many applicants can receive the award but the total dollar amount dispersed cannot exceed annual interest earned from the Robert and Bertha Bird Scholarship Fund. Priority will be given to graduating high school seniors planning on attending college. The money will be distributed directly to the award recipient's school of attendance. The Session may make the decision to defer scholarship award to subsequent years.
5.Timeline. Applications must be completed online no later than 11:45 PM on March 31st, 2022. Personal interviews with applicants by the committee will be held during the month of April. The committee will evaluate the applications after the completion of the interviewing process and will present their recommendation(s) to the Session at their April meeting. A decision will be made and announced in May. Funds will be dispersed no later than the end of July each year. A plaque commemorating the award will be placed in a prominent place in the church and an individual trophy presented to the recipient(s) annually.
6.Application. The application can be found on the Cape Coral Community Foundation's Web page at http://www.capecoralcf.org/.
The application asks candidates to submit information in six areas. These six areas are:
2.Purpose. The purpose of this packet is to assist you in completing your application and understanding how your application will be evaluated, and the decision made to award the scholarship.
3.Who can apply. Anyone who is a member of or is related to a member of Faith Presbyterian Church and is planning on attending an institution of learning beyond the high school level is eligible to apply.
4. Who will receive the award. The award will be given to the most highly qualified candidate(s) on an annual basis. The candidate(s) must acquire a total score of at least 60 out of 100 possible points. The Session of Faith Presbyterian Church makes the decision on who receives the annual award based on the recommendation of a three-person group, appointed annually by the Session. This committee will be made up of a member-at-large of the Faith congregation, a member of the Christian Education Youth sub-committee and a member of the Finance committee. A staff liason will act as the moderator of the committee. The Session, via the three-person group, evaluates each completed application and uses the criteria outlined in this packet to rank applicants and determine which are most deserving. There is no annual limit on how many applicants can receive the award but the total dollar amount dispersed cannot exceed annual interest earned from the Robert and Bertha Bird Scholarship Fund. Priority will be given to graduating high school seniors planning on attending college. The money will be distributed directly to the award recipient's school of attendance. The Session may make the decision to defer scholarship award to subsequent years.
5.Timeline. Applications must be completed online no later than 11:45 PM on March 31st, 2022. Personal interviews with applicants by the committee will be held during the month of April. The committee will evaluate the applications after the completion of the interviewing process and will present their recommendation(s) to the Session at their April meeting. A decision will be made and announced in May. Funds will be dispersed no later than the end of July each year. A plaque commemorating the award will be placed in a prominent place in the church and an individual trophy presented to the recipient(s) annually.
6.Application. The application can be found on the Cape Coral Community Foundation's Web page at http://www.capecoralcf.org/.
The application asks candidates to submit information in six areas. These six areas are:
- Administrative data. This section allows the candidate to provide information necessary to transact business with the church.
- Service to Faith Presbyterian Church. This portion of the application is worth a maximum of 40 points. 20 of those points can come from the total number of hours the applicant has served Faith Church. Additionally, a maximum of 20 points will come from a subjective evaluation of the quality of the service provided. This scoring rubric takes into account the fact that long-term continuous dedication to church works are of genuine value while allowing consideration of works of an especially difficult or meaningful nature, but of shorter duration, on an equal basis. Examples of Service to Church are: Choir Member, Bell Ringer, Youth Group Leadership, Youth Elder, Youth Missions Work, Vacation Bible School teacher or Assistant, Youth Usher, Door Greeter, Nursing Home Visits, or Set up coffee Hour Table, etc.
- Scholastic Aptitude. This portion of the application is worth a maximum of 30 points. Ten points each can be earned by the applicant in the areas of Cumulative Grade Point Average, SAT or ACT Score and Earned Academic Honors.
- Request for Transcript. The applicant should request their transcript from his or her guidance counselor. Transcripts can be uploaded with your application.
- A Personal Essay. This portion of the application is worth a maximum of 20 points. The applicant is asked to provide an original typed-written essay on why they feel themselves qualified to receive the scholarship. The essay's content should focus on how the applicant meets the Bird's ideal candidate qualifications combining service to Faith Church, their community and scholastic achievement. 15 possible points can be earned from the subjective evaluation of the essay's content. 5 points maximum can be earned from the correct mechanics of the essay. Spelling, grammar, punctuation and structure are important.
- Service to Community. This portion of the application is worth a maximum of 10 points. 5 of those points can come from the total number of hours the applicant has served the communities in which he or she has lived. Additionally, a maximum of 5 points will come from a subjective evaluation of the quality of the service provided. Long-term dedication and high quality works are considered on an equal basis. Examples of Community Service are: Hurricane Relief Assistance, Habitat for Humanity, Hospital Volunteer, Veterinarian hospital Volunteer, Boy/Girl Scouts, Other Volunteer efforts, etc.
- Personal Interview. In addition to the application, the committee will meet with each candidate to clarify their understanding of the Bird Scholarship requirements and to review the applicant's package.
- Review Scholarship Award Program. The selected committee will review the scholarship Award Program annually. Recommended revisions will be presented and