About the Foundation

The CEON Foundation is a 501C3 organization that is independent of CEO Netweavers Inc. The CEON Foundation provides a tax-deductible vehicle for our members and others to contribute to our Scholarship Program and eventually other new initiatives. We awarded four scholarships during our first months of operation and hope to increase that number substantially for 2022 and beyond. Our goal is to operate on a lean basis and distribute 95% of the funds raised to scholarships.

Board Members

The CEON Foundation Board consists of a Foundation Chair plus the President and the Treasurer of CEO Netweavers, supported by a Scholarship Committee which reviews applications and selects awardees.

Foundation Chair: Jim Deupree

CEO Netweavers President: Dave Walens

CEO Netweavers Treasurer: Jim Kelly

Scholarship Committee Chair: Jim Deupree

 

Functions

The CEON Foundation Board consists of the President and the Treasurer of CEO Netweavers and a Scholarship Committee Chair, supported by a four person Scholarship Committee.

President: Dave Walens

Treasurer: Jim Kelly

Scholarship Committee: Jim Deupree

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 CEO Netweaver Member 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. The Mentor will decide the pace and purpose of disbursements.

Participation in CEO Netweaver 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.

Scholarship awardees will be invited to participate in CEO Netweaver events for all of these reasons.

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.  Our Scholarship Committee will make the final decisions, and have the Ron Clark Academy as a resource for additional information about students we are considering.

The Scholarship Program Committee within our CEON Foundation will review the applications and select the winners.