As good times continue for most PR agencies, many are beginning or stepping up support for scholarship programs supporting university PR students. The agencies' largesse seems driven by a need to "give back" to the field, as well as to identify and nurture promising PR talent- talent that the agencies someday may hire.
Corporate PR executives examining their agency partners should be aware of such philanthropic efforts. More importantly, corporate PR departments, which also are involved in scholarship and other philanthropic giving, can take comfort that some of their dollars are being put right back into the profession.
Ketchum is one of the global agencies with scholarship programs in place. For a number of years it has supported a grant for a PR graduate student, through the Institute for Public Relations. (Formerly known as the SMART award, it was recently renamed the Walter Lindenmann award, recognizing the agency's long-time research director, who is retiring soon.) More recently, the agency's president, Ray Kotcher, began funding a scholarship at Boston University, his alma mater. The firm's Pittsburgh office just started a program for students in that metro area.
In discussing the Lindenmann and Boston University awards, Kotcher says the scholarships "help us identify the best up- and-coming people. Also, it's a way for us to support places where the best training and schooling is going on."
While a substantial amount of scholarship funding is coming from some of the largest players in the public relations community, others are also finding benefits in supporting the academic efforts of prospective talent.
CSP Communications, a 13-person firm in Corona, Calif., started a program last year, and has awarded four $500 scholarships so far. "First and foremost," says agency principal Chris Perez, the program is designed to support the field. Additional benefits are identifying talent the agency might want to hire, and getting local publicity. Perez says the "relatively small investment" has already paid off. The agency's scholarships have received press coverage, and CSP found a good intern through the program.
Administering Programs
Some agencies, like CSP, manage the scholarship programs on their own. CSP developed the entry process, publicizes the scholarships at local schools, reviews entry forms, and runs an awards luncheon. Others, like Ketchum, provide the scholarship funding, but work with third parties, such as foundations or universities, which do the bulk of the legwork to administer the program.
Indeed, there are a number of resources available to agencies who want to fund a scholarship program, but would rather not be involved in the time-consuming day-to-day operations.
For instance, there are community foundations across the country that are willing to handle administrative functions associated with a scholarship program for 1-2 percent of the fund's assets, according to Florida PR counselor Bob Ross of Bob Ross & Associates, Miami. In these arrangements, "you set policy and they implement," he says.
The Ft. Lauderdale chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), for instance, has set up a scholarship program that is handled by the local Broward County community foundation.
Agencies have also been known to pool resources with colleagues in order to establish endowed scholarship programs.
A number of PR agencies have taken leadership roles in establishing scholarship programs through local PRSA chapters.
Miami-area agency executives were instrumental in establishing the Ev Clay-PRSA Scholarship Fund. Named for the late Everett Clay, founder of Ev Clay & Associates, Miami, the fund boasts an endowment of $70,000.
The Nebraska chapter of PRSA also has run a successful program for at least 10 years, says Robert Fell, an executive with Leslie Associates Inc., Omaha.
The Boston chapter of PRSA reportedly is establishing a similar program, using in part funds left over from that chapter's hosting of the national PRSA conference last October.
Are Students Taking Advantage of Awards?
The increasing scholarship support by agencies should be good news for students looking at spiraling tuition rates. However, in some cases students seem less enthusiastic about the awards than the agencies forking over the money are.
CSP's Perez said the most surprising thing to him is how "few applications we get," despite extensive publicity on six nearby college campuses.
(Ketchum, 212/448-4200; CSP, 909/272-1888; Ross, 305/666-0012; Fell, 402/895-2552)
The inaugural PR NEWS Student Scholarship will be awarded during the Nov. 16, 1999, "Best Practices in PR Measurement" conference in Washington, D.C. A student will be selected by the Institute for Public Relations. For more information on the conference, visit http://www.prandmarketing.com.