Guidelines for the Chiu Family Foundation Scholarship Fund
The Chiu Family Foundation Scholarship Fund was created for resident(s) of El Paso County, Texas, who will enroll or are currently enrolled at a Top Tier University[1] (“University”) in their undergraduate programs. In order to apply for this scholarship, a candidate must:
1. Be a resident of El Paso County, Texas or have established residency in El Paso County, Texas within the prior five year;
2. Be a senior at or graduate of any high school in El Paso County, Texas.
3. Be enrolled in University as an undergraduate student in their first, second, or third year of study or will be enrolled in University as an undergraduate student in their first, second or third year of study during the year of the scholarship award;
4. Have maintained a grade point average of at least 3.2 at your University and/or have maintained a grade point average of at least 3.5 at their high school;
5. Submit a 150-word essay explaining why you need financial assistance to attend University.
6. Have completed at least 20 hours of community service during high school;
7. Complete an application and include a one-page essay explaining the impact of being from El Paso on your life and how it influenced your choice to attend University.
An Advisory Committee will select the scholarship winner (subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of the Foundation). The Advisory Committee retains the right to withhold scholarship grants in any year if no candidate is determined to be qualified. Amounts for an individual scholarship shall be determined by the Advisory Committee based on the individual applicant’s demonstrated need. The application deadline is July 30th of any year. The Advisory Committee reserves the right to extend that deadline if deemed appropriate. Scholarships awarded hereunder are not renewable, but previous applicants can reapply.
The Foundation shall notify the chosen scholarship recipient(s) of its decision. The scholarship payment will be made after the Foundation’s July Board of Directors’ meeting and after the selected student notifies the Foundation of acceptance of the scholarship. All scholarship checks will be made payable to the university for the student.
Non-Discrimination Policy:
Scholarship recipients may be selected on the basis of criteria reasonably related to the charitable purposes of the Foundation and may benefit members of selected ethnic minorities or may be limited to a certain age group or gender. From the charitable class of individuals that could meet the established scholarship criteria, all scholarships shall be awarded on an objective and nondiscriminatory basis within the meaning of Internal Revenue Code § 4945 and Treasury Regulation § 53.4945-4(b). In selecting scholarship recipients, the Foundation shall not take into account a candidate’s employment relationship with any person. Family members of past or present directors and/or employees of the Foundation shall not be eligible to receive scholarship grants, nor shall any person who is a “disqualified person” with respect to the Foundation within the meaning of Internal Revenue Code § 4946(a). Typically, no employee or family member of a donor, an advisor, or a member of the Advisory Committee or Board of Directors, is eligible to receive scholarship grants.
Record Keeping:
The Foundation shall keep records, which shall include:
1. all information that the Foundation secures to evaluate the qualification of potential scholarship recipients;
2. the name, address and other contact or identifying information for each scholarship recipient;
3. any information on relationships that would cause the scholarship recipient to be a disqualified person with respect to the Foundation within the meaning of Internal Revenue Code § 4946(a);
4. the amount and purposes of each scholarship;
5. a copy of the letter notifying the recipient of the scholarship grant; and
6. the follow-up information obtained under Item #5.
Investigation and Enforcement Procedures:
If a recipient fails to submit transcripts and reports as provided in this policy, after a reasonable time has elapsed from their due date, the Foundation shall initiate an investigation. The Foundation shall withhold any further payments to the extent possible until it has determined that no part of the scholarship has been used for improper purposes, until any delinquent transcripts and reports have been submitted, and has received assurances from the recipient that future improper diversions will not occur. In the unlikely event that any individual causes the misuse of scholarship award funds, the Foundation will pursue the following investigation and enforcement measures. It is the policy of the Foundation to require the educational institutions that have received funds on behalf of the scholarship recipients to return unused funds to the Foundation if the student transfers, or otherwise ceases to be enrolled at the institution, or if the funds cannot be used on behalf of the student for academic purposes or for room and board expenses payable to the institution. The Foundation does not intend that scholarship awards be made available directly to students. If the Foundation determines that any part of a scholarship has been used for improper purposes, it shall take all reasonable and appropriate steps to recover improperly expended grant funds and to ensure that any grant funds held by the recipient will be used exclusively for the purposes of the scholarship. Such steps may include legal action unless such action in all probability would not result in satisfaction of execution of a judgment. The Foundation shall not make any future scholarship payments on behalf of a recipient who has improperly diverted funds until it has received any delinquent transcripts and reports, and has received assurances that future improper diversions will not occur. The Foundation shall require the recipient to take appropriate precautions to prevent further diversions. If a scholarship recipient has previously diverted funds and the Foundation determines that the recipient has done so a second time, the Foundation shall take all reasonable and necessary steps to recover the diverted funds and may at its discretion discontinue all future payments. Alternatively, if the diverted funds are in fact recovered or restored and the Foundation receives delinquent transcripts or reports and receives adequate assurances of future compliance, upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, the Foundation may in its sole discretion make further payments if it determines that to do so would further its charitable purposes.
[1] Top Tier University will only include to Top 25 United States Universities as determined by the U.S. News and World Report for that particular year.