Thanks to the generous contributions of more than 30 people (see the exact number in our writing contest tracker in the sidebar which will be updated at least 3X a week), we have raised over $850 so far with more in the pipeline. Given that we have past our goal of raising $500, we’d like to offer a second Writing contest prize to the runner up in the amount of $150 or more. If there are enough applicants, and if the vote is close, we’d also like to offer up a minimum $50 award to the third place finisher.
Proposal for how to determine the number of Writing Contest winners:
* One winner guaranteed. Every month there will be a $500 Writing Contest winner guaranteed as voted upon by Members and readers. There is now no doubt in my mind that we will be able to raise $500 a month based on the amount of interest and support so far. Furthermore, if there is a scenario where we are short of $500, Yakezie.com will make up the difference for our $500 fund raising target and our $1,000 target starting in the summer of 2011.
* Two more winners. If funds raised for the month surpass $500 and go up to $1,000 we will reward 70% of the funds raised above $500 to the runner up i.e. if total funds raised for December is $800, the runner-up will get $210 ($300 X 70%), and the third place winner will get $90 ($300 X 30%) if we have more than 5 applicants. Again, the 2nd place and 3rd place applicants will get $150 and $50 at least. This 70/30 ratio for the 2nd and 3rd place finisher will stay consistent for the next 6 months or until we have at least three months of over $1,000 a month contributions.
* Future permanent ratio. When we start raising more than $1,000 for the Writing Contest, we will go with a 60/30/10 split for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers if there are more than 5 applicants. For example, if we raise $1,200, the winner receives $720, 2nd place receives $360, and third place receives $120 and so forth. If there are 5 or less applicants, there will only be one $500 winner and the rest of the month’s funds will roll over to the next month.
* Minimum number of submissions. For all the formulas to work, we need at least 6 submissions each month. If we have 5 or less applications, then we will reward only one winner and carry over the funds to the next month’s Writing contest.
* Writing Contest publication time frame Starting every Monday after the Writing Contest submission deadline, our aim is to publish at least 5 and hopefully one day 10 of the best submissions once a day for everyone to vote on using a simple 1-5 point scale. You are free to vote each time the applicant’s essay is published, or wait until the end of the week to then individually rate each essay as you are able to then compare the submissions against each other. The ideal number of articles to publish is 10 over two weeks. However, everything depends on the number of submissions.
* Fundraiser initiative. Every so often, we plan to run a fundraiser via an affiliate marketing promotion on Yakezie.com. We will donate at least 50% of the commissions to the Writing Contest Fund. Members are welcome to promote their affiliate products on Yakezie.com if they wish as Yakezie.com is a platform for all of you. Furthermore, if there is a great product or deal out there outside of the Network, please feel free to send us an e-mail to let us know to review and potentially promote.
DEADLINES ARE IMPORTANT
We plan to host a Writing Contest once a month for as long as Yakezie.com exists if there is enough demand from applicants. At the very least, we plan to host a Writing Contest once every two months. As such, we will run a firm deadline policy as we need to then contact applicants, schedule, publish, vote and announce the winners. All this takes time as we need to then prepare for the following month. What we will likely do to help Members and applicants prepare is to post a schedule for the next month’s questions one month in advance as well as the deadline. After December’s Writing Contest, we will have a deadline of the second Friday of every month i.e Friday, January 14th is the deadline for the January Scholarship.
The deadline for the HowtoSaveMoney.com Yakezie Writing Contest is currently Monday, Dec 6 at 11:59pm. We currently have two applicants. I suspect that most people will submit the day of the deadline. If we do not have at least five applicants, then we will extend the deadline until Sunday at noon, Dec 12th given this is our inaugural launch and we’re still getting the word out. Again, the ideal number of articles we’d like to publish is the top 10 who will compete for three scholarships since we currently have over $700 raised.
Thanks for your interest and support in the Yakezie Writing Contest initiative! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below and provide suggestions.
Regards,
The Yakezie Writing Contest Committee (YWCC)
I think this set-up is excellent! I’m fairly new to the Yakezie, and I’m very impressed with how quickly the members stepped up to donate $880 (at this current moment in time)!
I think the scholarship distribution proposal is a good one too. Great job everyone!
DEFINITELY a great job everyone! We’re up to $970 now at the time of this comment. I just hope the money goes to an awesome individual or three!
All I can say, is that this is a wonderful opportunity and the structure is ambitious. I have been talking the scholarship up and contacting local resources. I know interest will bulk up over time. I’ll do some more local promotion today!
Thanks Barb! Your support and input is always appreciated. It will be interesting to see the total tally. I waited until the last day to pay my fix-it ticket, so I know how it is to wait till the last minute!
The amount of success you have already had with this is incredible. The success this will have in the future is going to be simply phenomenal.
Hope so Kevin. I believe if we stick at it long enough, good things will happen and it will become more and more well known. All we need is the right process and structure!
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Yakezie, Elle. Elle said: Determining The Number of @Yakezie Scholarship Winners | http://t.co/v3cJTKU #yakezie […]
Seeing the deck of cards makes me start to salivate…..kinda like Pavlov’s dog.
Oh yeah, and i like the scholarship format as well!
Only two applicants, I am surprised! I hope that more people will apply, it’s such a great opportunity.
The scholarship format idea you have in mind is great :)
[…] at the Yakezie are giving a scholarship out every month! The current scholarship deadline is December 6, and so far only 2 (!!!) people […]
I tried to promote the scholarship as much as possible, but I don’t know any kids… My friends’ kids are grade school or below. Hopefully more applicants will come in over the next week.
Dang it! I just remember that one of my college buddy is a teacher. I’ll shoot him an email right now.
Good stuff, thanks! I’ve got some strong thoughts on letting opportunities go by, and I might just write a post about it depending on depend. So often, it’s just about showing up and putting in the effort. People think they can’t win, so they don’t even try. Cheers, Sam
I’m promote the scholarship tonight to my classes. I’m sure a couple of people will be interested. I hate to say it, but sometimes students are a little lazy. A couple months ago, my department was offering some very generous scholarships and only 2 people (myself included) applied. The other students knew about it but just couldn’t get their paperwork together (or didn’t qualify due to low GPA.) I’ll see what I can do on my end.
Yep, no worries. It takes effort to get to achieve. But, it is also rational too in the sense that people who don’t need the money won’t apply, and people who do need the money will. There’s no GPA cut off with this one. I’m not worried. Thanks for your efforts! Cheers, Sam
You will probably see a large surge in applications the closer that you get to the deadline. I expect that most people will wait until the last day of the deadline.
Hello!
I have a question: are we voting for the winning essay in the comments section, or anonymously/using another forum? I guess I am concerned with hurting the applicant’s feelings or possibly having them lose confidence in their writing if they can see the voting results. I would hate to see a high school student being discouraged because of our voting. I know we will be fair and provide constructive criticism, and ofcourse they are judged at school, but it could be a bit more of an issue when you put yourself out there on a blog (as all of us know through our own “special” commenters:)).
It’s a point system. Whoever gets the most points win. It’s important to encourage, but it’s also important not to coddle people in a cocoon as they enter into college and the real world. Points are simply just points. Negative commentary will be banned. Everything is a learning process, hence perhaps if one applicant doesn’t get as many votes this time around, they will try harder next time around.
Part of it is marketing too frankly. One can ask their friends and family to vote for them and so forth. It’s impossible to control who votes, but we will be on the ball for integrity.
Thank you for addressing my concerns! It will definitely be a great learning experience for everyone involved, and it is always good to get feedback on one’s work.
Thanks to you and the Scholarship team for thinking this through. Very exciting to be part of this effort.
I have been terrible about getting the word out here….. Will be telling my list and emailing friends right now.
Really really sorry but I am on the case now!
Oh one small question what time zone is the 11:59 deadline in?
11:59pm in everyone’s respective time zones. Cheers.
[…] 6. We will be choosing one main winner, a runner up, and a third place finisher based on the following framework. Good luck!Essay Questions (Choose one):1) Who is your hero and why? What are the attributes […]
Taking some ideas from poker, if 6 people enter, then you can have 2 winners with a 70/30 split or something similar. If 9+ people enter, then you can have 3 winners with a 50/30/20 split, and continue increasing the winners as the # of participants increase. Why not treat it like a Sng?
Wow!! I love the donation tracker – that is so awesome!! Congrats on launching the scholarship program. It’s such a fabulous idea. :)
[…] to you all!Note: To read more about how we determine the number of Scholarship winners and amounts click here.The Yakezie Scholarship CommitteeFollow us @Yakezie for updates on Twitter.Most Popular PostsThe […]
I can’t figure out how to vote! I’m new to the website and a bit confused. Could someone send me a link of where the voting happens?
Hi Kelly, once you register, you can click on any of the scholarship essays and click at the end from 1 to 5 starts. Let us know if that doesn’t work. thnx
Thanks so much!
Great site! Thanks for offering the scholarship!
[…] To see how we decide how much to give away and to how many applicants every month, please see here.The three Scholarship winners wrote essays that captured the attention of the audience and never […]
[…] updates throughout the competition that you may want to be aware of.* Here’s the post on determining the number of Scholarship winners for your recap. Thanks again!Sam, Chris, & The Yakezie Scholarship Committee scholarshipRelated […]