In the interest of never having a deserving college student decline an invitation to join Omicron Delta Kappa because of cost, the Gift of Membership Grants support the underwriting of the National Initiation Fee for collegiate members who are Pell-eligible or who have other significant financial constraints. Through membership in O∆K, these collegiate members will have access to various programs, including scholarships, leadership development opportunities, and career resources. These are fee waivers managed by the National Headquarters.
Gift of Membership requests must be submitted AND approved before the certificate order is submitted by the circle. Any request submitted after the certificate order has been finalized will not be considered.
Each circle has access to up to two (2) grants per year. Dr. Tara S. Singer Grants are available to any prospective member with financial need. If the student is a member of a historically underrepresented and marginalized ethnic population, they qualify for a Key Fund Grant. Advisors should provide these details on the request form. A circle may request two Singer Grants, two Key Fund Grants, or one of each.
Due to the overwhelming generosity of our members, we continue to have significant funds for Gifts of Membership Grants and can provide 200 Singer Grants and 75 Key Fund Grants this year.
Gift of Membership Grant Request Form (Circle Advisors Only)
NOTE: It can take up to three business days for approval. Please consider this when submitting and plan your process accordingly.
Gift of Membership Grant Details
What is covered?
Each grant covers the $94 National Initiation Fee. We no longer offer partial grants.
If the circle requires members to pay local dues, a gift recipient is still responsible for those dues unless the circle determines otherwise.
Request Process
To receive a Gift of Membership Grant, a circle advisor must submit the Gift of Membership Request Form. The form requires general information about the student and a short description of the financial need. This does not need to be overly detailed or offer financial information that may be confidential. The review team wants to know if the student is receiving financial aid and/or has a financial hardship such as loss of primary income source, etc.
The process does not require the applicant to submit an essay or documentation. A conversation or email exchange between the advisor and applicant regarding the financial need is sufficient grounds for the request.
Candidate Membership Application
Advisors may not submit a Gift of Membership request until they have confirmed that the student submitted an application in MyODK. If the form is submitted without a corresponding application in MyODK, the gift request will not be considered.
Membership Qualifications
In addition to the financial concerns, the student must be fully qualified for membership in O∆K. This includes meeting the residency requirement: the recipient must have been a student at your institution for at least one long semester and have a GPA at the school. They cannot join O∆K in their first semester as a student at your institution. GPAs from previous institutions will not be considered.
Description of Financial Need
The Description of Financial and Justification should provide enough information for the review team to understand the need and weigh it against other requests. Students will Pell or other need-based federal aid, paying for their own education, personal hardship (working three jobs), or a family hardship (parents unemployed) are all considered eligible. You may ask the student to describe their need in general terms without providing protected information. A good example of both a description and a justification is below.
Description of Need
This student is paying for their own education without assistance from family or parents. This student receives the Federal Pell Grant and is eligible for work-study, but does not hold a work-study position on campus, as they also work off campus to cover basic living expenses.
Justification for Gift Request
This student has leadership experience in three of the Pillars of Campus Life and is currently deeply involved in athletics and performing arts. The student included the following statement in their application regarding what they hope to achieve through membership: “I hope to actively practice and be fully immersed in a community of people who not only will help each other grow as leaders but also grow as people. I believe many people forget what comes first. We are people and living beings before anything else, and I hope that by becoming a member, we will remind people of our natural humanity and that this will be an aspect encircling Omicron Delta Kappa. I hope to collectively achieve a larger community of people who can understand each other’s needs, wants, dreams, and aspirations. And that all begins with leaders who know how to kindly and effectively lead a community.”
Deadlines
In order for the request to be processed in time to meet the certificate submission, the circle advisor must submit the request no later than three business days before the submission of the certificate order.
Gift requests submitted after a certificate order has been processed will not be considered.
Notification
The submitting advisor and the gift recipient will receive notification of the decision within three (3) business days. The gift recipient will then complete a form to submit their photo and provide additional information for our records.
Questions?
Jamie Bouldin, Director for Membership Services ([email protected]), manages Gift of Membership Grant processes.
