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The Ellis Foundation: Thinking big
"THINK." It's a the word that you can find on signs in in nearly every office of The Ellis Foundation. And thinking inside and outside the box and acting on those thoughts appears to be what Danny, Chris and Willa Ellis do best when it comes to funding educational scholarships for low-income students.
A recent trip to the Missouri Capitol, arranged by Missouri State Representative Barney J. Fisher, resulted in a visit with Governor Matt Blunt, a standing ovation by the Missouri House of Representatives, and an official proclamation extolling the Foundation's many successes. Most importantly, however, is the possibility that The Ellis Foundation soon may be working with the state of Missouri to extend Blunt's recent efforts to provide scholarships to thousands of Missouri's students that cannot afford college on his/her own.
The Ellis proposal that Representative Barney Fisher will present to the governor could save the State up to 40 percent on scholarships the Ellis Foundation manages. The Ellis Foundation would expand their scholarships for high school students from about a dozen counties to most of the 114 counties in the state. It's just a thought for now; but "you have to think it before it can happen," said Danny Ellis.
Blunt has proclaimed that education is his top priority as governor. "Education is the most important, critical, and significant investment we can make in our future," said Blunt in a recent news release. "To ensure future prosperity, Missouri students must have access to the knowledge and skills they need to compete in a global economy." To that end, The Ellis Foundation has played a vital role in providing scholarships to low-income students for the past 10 years in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kentucky. In the 2006-'07 school year, The Ellis Foundation provided scholarships to 545 students from 47 high schools. These students were enrolled in 76 colleges and universities. This scholarship program grew out of a desire to honor their daughter, Kathy Ellis Adriance, a beloved teacher, who died of breast cancer in June of 1997.
During their meeting with Blunt, Danny and Chris Ellis proposed a joint effort with the state of Missouri to provide as many as 1,000 new scholarships this year. "If the state of Missouri is willing to invest $6 million with our program, The Ellis Foundation will be responsible for an additional $2 million," said Danny Ellis. "We would not be duplicating the governor's efforts, but would be extending the program to those students that may not meet the state eligibility guidelines. There are lots of kids that are being left behind," continued Danny Ellis.
The Ellis Foundation provides up to $8,000 ($1,000 per semester for each of eight consecutive semesters) in scholarship money to eligible students. According to Chris Ellis, "the majority of our students come from low-income, single-parent families." The Foundation pays the scholarships directly to the designated college or university.
"I'd say we've found a good formula for selecting the right students for the scholarships," said Danny Ellis. "We start with guidance counselors at about 50 different high schools who identify quality applicants that have a significant need. Then we personally interview every student," continued Ellis. "We look for students with a financial need and also students that know what they want to do."
Chris Ellis added that in addition to the personal interview, The Foundation maintains contact with each scholarship recipient throughout the school year to improve his/her odds of graduating. "We believe it is important to check in with our scholarship recipients," said Chris Ellis. "We want to know how the students are doing and we want to encourage them to complete their degrees."
"We also work with the students to make sure the college or university they want to attend is a good fit for the student," said Danny Ellis. "Some kids aren't equipped to attend a huge university at first, so we try to give the kids lots of options. But a student who wants to attend a large university certainly can do that with our scholarships."
Until this year, Danny and Chris Ellis have driven thousands of miles to personally interview every student; however, since the number of scholarship recipients has grown over the years, The Ellis Foundation is implementing a new form of technology in the recipient interview process. "This year we hope to interview at least half of our scholarship candidates via web-based video conferencing," said Chris Ellis. "This is new technology for us and new technology for many of the schools. We still believe it is important to interview every student and this technology will help us do that."
Currently, The Ellis Foundation works with a very small, but dedicated staff. That may have to change as the program continues to grow commented Danny Ellis.
"We cover the administrative costs for the program so all of our donations go toward scholarships," said Danny Ellis. "We don't want a huge staff because we want to provide as many scholarships as possible."
In order to identify 1,000 new students as scholarship recipients, The Ellis Foundation will need to at least double the number of high schools with which it works currently.
"Our trip to the Missouri Capitol was very meaningful for Chris and me," said Danny Ellis. "We are honored to be able to work with Representative Fisher. He understands our program and knows the importance of educating our youth. His leadership in the House will take this area far."