About the Foundation and our Scholarship Program
The CEON Foundation is 501C3 organization that provides a tax-deductible vehicle for our members and others to contribute to our Scholarship Program — and eventually other new initiatives. Our goal is to operate on an exceptionally lean basis through technology enablement and distribute 90% of the funds raised to scholarships.
We awarded seven life changing scholarships during our first two years of operation and hope to increase that number substantially for 2023 and beyond.
The CEON Foundation was founded by CEO Netweavers in 2021 to expand their good works. With the addition of the two new groups it made sense to evolve CEO Netweavers into the CEON Foundation, which is being accomplished as 2023 concludes.
Board of Directors
Chairman of the Board: Jim Deupree
Capital Campaign Chair: Kurt Uhlir
Governance and Finance Chair: Bruce Neurohr
Scholarship Committee Chair: Mackie Horton
Technology Chair: Carel Bekker
What are the three aspects of each CEON Foundation scholarship award?
Mentoring: Many awardees will be the first one from their family to attend college. They will likely not have been exposed to the role business networking plays in their career. It is unlikely that they will have business executives as role models. They are also unlikely to have the connections that lead to paid career related internships, which can provide financial support and an advance pipeline for future jobs.
Each awardee will have a CEON Foundation Mentor Donor Netweaver as a mentor. They are expected to interact monthly, and in-person when the student returns for breaks. The mentors role is to help the student lift themselves into a successful career. The path will include inspiration, awareness and helpful connections.
Financial: Students with full or major scholarships still have other cash needs for incidental expenses. Since their family is frequently unable to provide that funding they end up working one or two jobs. We want to help them focus on all aspects of the university experience — to fully participate in academic and network building opportunities.
Cash award of $2,500 – $7,500 annually, based on a combination of student need and funds available in the scholarship fund. The amount of the award will be determined and announced during the fall, while the student is at school and becoming aware of their actual needs. Advance awareness of the award will hopefully allow them to plan accordingly. Disbursement will begin in January of each year.
Participation in CEON Foundation Mentor Donor events: Exposure to business environments and issue discussions, to the benefits of a Pay-It-Forward culture and to the opportunity to get to know established leaders are all invaluable to anyone beginning their career.
How does the application process work?
The Ron Clark Academy (RCA) has been chosen as our partner for applications. They have their own extensive interview process and relationship with both students and their families. They also have an alumni department that tracks the students through high school and beyond, and are aware of scholarship awards as they happen.
They will notify RCA alumni students about our scholarship and partnership along with our qualification criteria and forward the application to them for completion and submission. The Scholarship Program Committee within our CEON Foundation will review the applications and select the winners. We have the Ron Clark Academy as a resource for additional information about students we are considering.