I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1560
To authorize an endowment grant to support the establishment of area
program centers to promote and organize locally based, volunteer-oper-
ated, private citizens’ scholarship programs, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 31, 1993
Mr. PENNY (for himself, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr.
FAWELL, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. HUGHES, Mr. ZELIFF, Mr. FIELDS of
Louisiana, Mr. WALSH, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. CLINGER,
Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. FROST, Mr. HAMILTON, and Mr. MUR-
PHY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Education and Labor
A BILL
To authorize an endowment grant to support the establish-
ment of area program centers to promote and organize
locally based, volunteer-operated, private citizens’ schol-
arship programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dollars for Scholars
Community Scholarship Foundation Development Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) the local community, when properly orga-
nized and challenged, is one of the best sources of
academic support, motivation toward achievement,
and financial resources for aspiring college students;
(2) local communities, working to complement
or augment services currently being offered by area
schools and colleges, can raise the educational expec-
tations and increase the rate of college attendance of
their youth by forming locally based organizations
that provide both academic support (including guid-
ance, counseling, mentoring, tutoring, encourage-
ment, and recognition) and tangible, locally raised,
effectively targeted, publicly recognized financial
assistance;
(3) proven methods of stimulating these com-
munity efforts can be promoted through Federal
support for the establishment of area program cen-
ters to organize and challenge community efforts to
develop educational incentives and support for local
students; and
(4) using Federal funds to leverage private con-
tributions to help students attain educational and
career goals is an efficient and effective investment
of scarce taxpayer-provided resources.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE; ENDOWMENT GRANT AUTHORIZED.
(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to estab-
lish and endow 25 area program centers to promote the
development of locally based, volunteer organizations
which promote higher education goals in students by (1)
providing academic support, including guidance, counsel-
ing, mentoring, tutoring, and recognition; and (2) provid-
ing financial assistance for the pursuit of post-secondary
education.
(b) AUTHORITY.—From the funds appropriated
under section 5, the Secretary shall make an endowment
grant to an eligible organization to support the establish-
ment, or ongoing work, or both, of 25 area program cen-
ters to foster the development of locally based, volunteer
organizations to improve high school graduation rates and
postsecondary attendance through the provision of aca-
demic support services and tangible financial assistance
for the pursuit of postsecondary education.
SEC. 4. ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.
(a) NATIONAL
ORGANIZATION.—An organization
shall be eligible for an endowment grant under section 3
if such organization—
(1) has extensive experience in creating, devel-
oping, and sustaining broadly based, volunteer-oper-
ated, community scholarship foundations;
(2) has demonstrated the capacity to sustain
newly created community scholarship foundations in
towns, cities, and neighborhoods through ongoing
training and support programs;
(3) is exempt from income taxes under section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(4) is a publicly supported organization within
the meaning of section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of such
Code;
(5) is not a private foundation within the mean-
ing of section 509(a) of such Code;
(6) ensures that any of its local affiliated chap-
ters meet the criteria specified in paragraphs (3),
(4), and (5);
(7) has received a ruling that provides the op-
tion of each community scholarship foundation affili-
ated with the organization to file Form 990 under
the organization’s group roster; and
(8) has a program for or experience in cooper-
ating with secondary and postsecondary institutions
in carrying out its scholarship and academic support
activities.
(b) REGIONAL CENTERS.—The area program centers
established under this program shall—
(1) be part of, responsible to, and overseen by
the eligible national organization; and
(2) be staffed by professionals trained to create,
develop, and sustain broadly based, volunteer-oper-
ated, community scholarship foundations in towns,
cities, and neighborhoods.
(c) LOCAL AFFILIATED CHAPTERS.—Each local affil-
iate of an eligible organization shall—
(1) be a nonprofit organization, recognized as
tax exempt under section 501(3)(C) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (or shall meet this criteria
through affiliation with the eligible implementing
parent organization in accordance with subsection
(a) of this section);
(2) be formed for the purpose of providing edu-
cational scholarships for local residents;
(3) solicit broad-based community support in its
fund-raising activities;
(4) be broadly representative of the local com-
munity in the structures of its volunteer-operated or-
ganization and have a board of directors that in-
cludes leaders from local neighborhood organizations
and neighborhood residents, such as school or college
personnel, parents, students, community agency rep-
resentatives, and representatives of the business
community;
(5) agree to award scholarships without regard
to age, sex, marital status, race, creed, color, reli-
gion, national origin or the presence of any mental,
sensory, or physical disability; and
(6) agree to give priority in awarding scholar-
ships to needy students in its local community.
SEC. 5. CONDITIONS FOR GRANT.
The Secretary shall make the endowment grant under
this Act on the basis of an agreement with an eligible or-
ganization that—
(1) contains such terms and conditions as may
be necessary to ensure that the endowment funds
will be used to support an area director and area
program office that will work with local communities
to establish volunteer community scholarship foun-
dations and provide ongoing technical assistance,
training workshops, and other activities to help en-
sure the ongoing success of the local organizations;
(2) contains terms and conditions requiring the
organization to establish or support, or both, area
program centers serving each area of the United
States (including the territories and possessions of
the United States);
(3) contains terms and conditions specifying
that, if appropriated funds are not sufficient to sup-
port 25 area program centers, the implementing or-
ganization will give preference to those areas of the
country with higher than average dropout rates and
lower than average postsecondary institutional en-
rollment;
(4) requires the eligible organization to submit,
for a period of up to five years following award of
the grant, an annual report to the Secretary that—
(A) contains a description of the programs
and activities supported by the endowment
fund;
(B) contains the audited financial state-
ments of eligible organization for the preceding
fiscal year;
(C) contains a plan for the programs and
activities to be supported by the endowment
during the 3 succeeding fiscal years; and
(D) contains or is accompanied by such
evaluations of the programs and activities sup-
ported by the endowment fund as the Secretary
may require; and
(5) contains such assurances as the Secretary
may require with respect to the management and op-
eration of the endowment funds.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated $40,000,000
to carry out this Act.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Education; and
(2) the term ‘‘community scholarship founda-
tion’’ means a tax-exempt, publicly supported, locally
organized, volunteer-operated, broadly representative
organization (formed in towns, rural communities, or
neighborhoods of large cities) whose purpose is to
raise funds for local scholarships, make scholarship
awards to local deserving students, and provide aca-
demic support activities to encourage educational
achievement.
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