1. Executive Summary

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Foundation is a non-profit philanthropic organization whose members include civilian and military employees and retirees who have served with DLA. The Foundation pursues its mission by raising funds to provide services and programs related to scholarships, recognition, commemoration, and transition of former and current DLA employees.

The DLA Foundation Scholarship Program Policy describes the purpose and scope of the program, roles and responsibilities of Foundation members in relation to the program, the eligibility and selection criteria for applicants, and the administrative procedures in executing scholarship award and monitoring.

2. Purpose and Scope of the DLA Foundation Scholarship Program

The purpose of the DLA Foundation Scholarship Program is to defray the cost of post-high school education for students with high-potential and financial need. Scholarships are competitively awarded and can be used for accredited two- and four-year colleges and universities as well as trade and technical schools that require a high school diploma or equivalent. Scholarships will not be awarded for post-graduate education.

All scholarships are for a single year of study. Eligible applicants may re-apply for successive scholarships on an annual basis, contingent upon the sustainment of at least a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale and no adverse disciplinary or academic probation.

The program is competitive; not all applicants will be selected for scholarship awards.

3. Determining the Annual DLA Foundation Scholarship Program Awards

The DLA Foundation will award multiple scholarships each year. All scholarships will be for the same amount. Decisions on the scholarship amount and the number of scholarships are made by the Board of Directors at its Winter meeting. The Board’s decisions consider what best meets the educational objectives of the organization, without jeopardizing the organization’s financial stability and long-term goals.

The goal is to award up to 75% of the funds available each year in scholarships, with awards in the $1,000 to $3,000 range.

Prior to the discussion and decision meetings on the scholarships, the DLA Foundation Treasurer reviews fundraising results, annual operating expenses, and the need for prudent reserves and provides to the Chair of the Scholarship Committee a planning number or range for the scholarship fund for the next scholarship year. The  Scholarship Committee then develops options for a scholarship number and amount. The Treasurer and Committee Chair present their recommendations to the Board.

4. Roles and Responsibilities

Successful execution of the Scholarship Program requires the engagement of several DLA Foundation Committees as well as the Board of Directors, particularly while the program is being administered within the Foundation. As the program grows, the Board may choose to consider engaging a third-party organization to manage and administer the program. Until such a decision is made, the following roles/responsibilities are identified for each committee.

• Resources and Program Committee – This Committee’s responsibilities include:
  • Providing assistance to and participation in the Scholarship Committee

• Scholarship Committee – This Committee is responsible for managing the Scholarship Program, including:
  • Developing Scholarship policies and procedures, reviewing them annually based on lessons learned from the prior application season, and recommending changes to the Board of Directors
  • Developing draft announcements of Scholarship Program events (e.g., upcoming season, opening, awardees) for the Communications Committee
  • Developing and maintaining the evaluation and scoring criteria
  • Providing training and assistance to evaluators
  • Overseeing processing of applicant packages
  • Maintaining records on the program, applicants, and awardees
  • Collecting demographics and lessons learned from each application season and presenting to the Board of Directors for information and action
  • Maintaining the currency of Scholarship Program information on the DLA Foundation website
  • Performing other management and administrative functions related to the Scholarship Program
  • Presenting the final list of awardees to the Chair of the DLA Foundation Board of Directors

• Communication Committee – This Committee’s responsibilities include:
  • Developing a communication plan for the scholarship program to raise awareness for both scholarship funding and scholarship applications
  • Developing, in conjunction with the Scholarship Committee, announcements about the scholarship program including announcing the application period and the awardees

• Fundraising Committee – This Committee’s responsibilities include:
  • Raising funds throughout the year to fund scholarship awards
  • Identifying any funds specifically raised or donated for the express purpose of scholarship awards
  • Tracking funds received and expended, and reporting to the Finance and Budget Committee.

• Finance and Budget Committee – This Committee’s responsibilities will include:
  • Determining the amount available each year to apply to scholarship awards and making that recommendation to the DLA Foundation Board
  • Tracking and applying funds expressly raised or donated for scholarship purposes

• Board of Directors – The Board of Directors approves all policies, procedures, and financial allocations established in support of the Scholarship Program. The Board’s responsibilities will include, but not be limited to:
  • Reviewing and approving Scholarship policies and procedures
  • Reviewing and approving the number and amount of awards, including total amount to be awarded in scholarship funds per year

5. Eligibility for DLA Foundation Scholarships

The applicant must:

• Be a “close family member” of a current or former civilian or military DLA employee. “Close family member” is defined as a child, step-child, grandchild, niece, or nephew. The applicant must provide documentation of the close family member’s employment or assignment to DLA. This may consist of an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or military duty assignment records. Other documentation may be acceptable at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee.
• Be a high school graduate, a high school senior who will graduate upon completion of his or her senior year, or a college student who has completed at least a semester of undergraduate school or trade/technical school.
• Have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale
• Provide proof of his/her acceptance or enrollment in an accredited college as a full-time student (12 or more semester credit hours or equivalent quarter hours)
• If already enrolled in college have their transcripts reflect they are a full-time student with 12 or more semester credit hours or equivalent quarter hours.
• Have a Student Aid Index (SAI) number of 15000 or less in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Student Aid Report (SAR).
• Be a U.S. Citizen.

If selected for a scholarship, the recipient’s name, city, and associated DLA organization will be published on the DLA Foundation’s website and social media accounts and on the Defense Logistics Agency’s internal and public web pages.

The scholarship recipient may be contacted by the DLA Foundation’s Communication and/or Fundraising Committees and requested to provide testimonials or otherwise support our fundraising efforts.

In addition to meeting the above criteria, previous scholarship awardees applying for another scholarship must:

• Not have withdrawn from courses during their scholarship year such that their course load fell below 12 semester hours or equivalent quarter hours. The applicant may be requested to provide documentation related to the course withdrawals.

An applicant’s receipt of a scholarship award from another source does not disqualify an applicant from receiving a DLA Foundation Scholarship, except in the following situations:

• A “full scholarship” – all tuition, room, board, and fees — eliminates the applicant/recipient from a DLA Foundation Scholarship.
• Acceptance by the applicant/recipient of an official appointment to attend one of the service academies will disqualify the applicant from consideration for a DLA Foundation scholarship.

Applicants with an ROTC scholarship are not barred from consideration for the DLA Foundation scholarships.

The DLA Foundation Scholarship Program Selection Board does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, or religious preference.

6. Award Criteria 

Scholarship applicants demonstrating high potential will be selected on the basis of:

Scholastic achievement (grades, class rank),

• Financial need (demonstrated via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Student Aid Report (SAR)),
• Notable achievements (including demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities),
• Personal essay

Selection criteria will be established and approved by the Board of Directors in advance of the application period. Each factor is assigned a weight to provide objectivity in the selection process. Weighting is recommended annually by the Scholarship Committee and reviewed, adjusted, and approved by the Board of Directors annually to ensure objectivity in maintained. 

7. Evaluation Team

The Scholarship Committee and the Board of Directors will appoint a team of evaluators to review the applications and evaluate them per the award criteria. The evaluators should be current or former DLA civilian or military employees, but may include individuals not associated with DLA or the DLA Foundation who bring academic and scholarly experience to the evaluation process. Evaluators must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

Three evaluators will evaluate each application. Their scores will be averaged to provide a composite score.

The Chair, Scholarship Committee and the Scholarship Administrator will train the evaluators on the Scholarship Program and the evaluation criteria.

Members of the Board of Director will not be evaluators, and Board members do not participate in the evaluation process.

8. Scholarship Administrator: 

A member of the Scholarship Committee will function as the scholarship administrator. The Administrator will:

• Act as the interface with the application tool provider
• Configure the on-line application tool in accordance with the DLA Foundation’s policies, evaluation criteria, and lessons learned
• Assist Committee Chair with evaluator training
• Review received applications for adherence to eligibility criteria
• Assign applications to evaluators
• Answer questions from evaluators and applicants during the evaluation process
• Provide the Chair of the Scholarship Committee a list of ranked applicants
• Notify selectees and non-selectees (through the application tool) after BOD permission

9. Application Process:

The Foundation will issue a call for applications annually with instructions on how to apply, due dates, and other pertinent information. Generally, applications will be due in early spring of the prospective academic year of award.

Applicants must complete the DLA Foundation Scholarship Application Form (on-line) and provide the documents required as attachments to the application form. Only completed applications received by the published deadline will be considered for review and award.  Failure to provide all required information is grounds for rejection of an application.

If at any point during the selection process, a member of the selection committee is made aware of an applicant who is a member of his/her extended family or any direct association with the applicant or their immediate family, the committee member will recuse him/herself from consideration of that applicant.

10. Award Distribution

Funds will be directly provided to the recipient’s academic institution. Awards will be given as grants, with no expectation or legal obligation of payback. 

11. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually at the end of the calendar year but prior to the announcement of the following year’s scholarship schedule and updated to reflect any changes to the program as it evolves.  The Scholarship Committee will initiate this review for Board approval.

DLA Foundation Policy – Approved by BoD November 2023