Chess.com Scholarship Program - Your Thoughts?

because somebody recently asked to donate, we've been thinking about a scholarship program for chess.com where members can donate to other chess.com members who otherwise would not be able to afford a membership and the great teaching tools we have (videos, chess mentor, unlimited tactics, etc. here is how i think it would work:

we would have an application form where those interested in getting a scholarship would apply. we would then have a team of volunteers rank that person in terms of need, ability to pay, desire, potential, whatever. then if approved that person would get put into the ranked queue to receive a scholarship.

members who want to give scholarships would then be able to donate to the scholarship fund, which chess.com would match 100% with. so if you donated $100, we would match the $100 donation (or, in other words, a 50% discount). we would then take that money and apply it to a 6-month diamond membership. so $25 would basically sponsor somebody for 6 months.

when there is a matched scholarship then we would let the lucky applicant know they had been given a scholarship, but we wouldn't say from whom. but, we would let the donor know who the scholarship went to (both for transparency reasons and so that they could follow up with them or contact them as they wish).

i think this would be a great way to help the many members of chess.com who have great potential but who are unable to access the tools we have.

thoughts?

great... if I don't have to give.

no worries. you won't have to give, and won't get to receive :)

It sounds good to me. Oh, and is there going to be a visible tally (like on the front page) of the total amount of funds you have available? So, if someone donates $100 then the # goes up a $100 and once the lucky person receives that donation the # is taken off. Suggestions?

ADK 

I think it's great. Even have tournaments that have a limited membership hooked in...

yes, we would make everything transparent, though only the donors would get to see the list of recipients.

Will a background check or something of that nature be performed on the applicants? Otherwise I don't see an accurate way to assess need, ability to pay, desire, potential, whatever.

Well, you are essentially getting a free membership out of someone's pocket so I think they would do something like a background check.

ADK

I think this is a REALLY great idea for the site! Nice guys!

What types of things will the form ask? What ideas do you have to evaluate a person's "neediness" of a scholarship? And how do you intend to decide who receives and who doesn't in terms of actually using all of the benefits and not wasting a scholarship?

I think it's a good idea in principle, but how will you choose recipients and ensure that they're actually unable to pay for themselves?

It sounds like a great idea, but how exactly would you determine who really, truely needs this. With the internet, I think that it would be extremely difficult to determine who really needs the help and the same time be able to determine who is just trying to scam you. As you well know from running this site, there are many cheaters out there and I think that it would really be impossible to determine who really has a need without actually meeting a person face to face, which is how any scholarship is usually given.

Dang it!  When I first saw this thread, I thought chess.com was going to give away college scholarships.  I was already brainstorming about my resume when my hopes were dashed.

How about a whingeing contest?

cant people just conspire to get a cheaper membership?

in http://www.chess.com/forum/view/community/donate-to-chesscom it was paul211 who first suggested this idea, then you built on it with more specific ideas.

thank you both for your motivation!

I like this idea but only for children. Let it be known that chess.com offers personalized support for children.

Not knocking it, all your hearts are in the right place.

But I'd rather people donate to something a bit more substantial (Red Cross, World Famine etc) than to have people be able to play chess.  If they are able to access the internet then they are still far better off than an awful lot of people around the world. 

 Hence the screening service to determine if they're eligible for the "scholarship."

I must say, I sort of agree.

And it's not as if this site is totally useless for free members, ask me, I'm having a ball