Generosity Project Scholarship Recipients Announced

It all began with a simple idea, born from a 22-car “pay it forward” moment at the drive-thru line at Chick-Fil-A. The question was asked, “What would happen if STARTers were invited to participate in an act of contagious generosity? Could the kindness of many open the door for someone to attend the START Conference?”  The answer proved to be an overwhelming “yes!” as the #STARTjoy Generosity Project raised more than $5000 in just one week.

In the first 90 minutes of the campaign, STARTers raised $1,000 for the first START Conference scholarship – and then challenged the #STARTjoy team not to stop there. Even Jon Acuff got involved in the #Drivefor5 goal. And by the campaign’s end on Saturday morning, 5 scholarships had been funded through the generous contributions of those participating in the START Experiment.

Not only did the #STARTjoy Generosity Project exceed all donation goals, but 95 applications were submitted for scholarships – more than double the number anticipated. “The majority of the responses we received were detailed,” shares Casey Lewis, #STARTjoy founder. “STARTers shared their goals, dreams, fears, and action plans. The applications made me wish #STARTjoy had unlimited funding.”

To make the review process as fair as possible, all applications were put into an Excel spreadsheet, with names, phone numbers, and email addresses removed (each submission was identified only by row number and time-stamp).  The document was then emailed to a team of six people who read through the applications, reviewing each for how specifically the three questions were answered. Each member of the team independently submitted their recommendations. The field was narrowed to 22, then 14. On Friday morning, the final five were selected. As part of the screening, those applicants who requested only tickets to the START Conference were earmarked for the tickets generously donated by fellow STARTers.

Though the selection process was a difficult one, Lewis is thankful one hurdle was removed. “Had #STARTjoy only raised the initial $1000, the applications of the five finalists would have then been posted for a vote by all START Experiment participants. But because of the generosity of so many, all five finalists will now be attending the START Conference! Additionally, four “ticket only” scholarship applicants are being matched with donors! That’s right – NINE people are now attending the START Conference because of the generosity of others!”

The five #STARTjoy Generosity Project scholarship recipients are Heather Villalta (Orangevale, California), May Bohon (Fort Worth, Texas), Rob Beaudreault (Lakeland, Florida), Ashlee Rohnert (Boise, Idaho), and Malori Fuchs (Plano, Texas). Ticket- only recipients are Stacey Brasier, Paul (Pablo) Ellsworth, James Kiriazes, and April Best.

“The Generosity Project was an experiment in awesome. We were all truly winners. We saw a group of strangers – raise $5000 in six days to help others move closer to fulfilling their dreams.” The #STARTjoy team is currently working on future opportunities, investigating other ways STARTers might help people chase their dreams and change the world around them.

Want to meet the five #STARTjoy scholarship recipients? Join FrankenSTART this Friday as we share their stories!