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ANSWER SCHOLARSHIP INC

Sending moms to college

aka ANSWER Scholarship Endowment   |   Charlotte, NC   |  www.answerscholarship.org

Mission

We assist women raising school-age children in fulfilling their dream of earning a college degree, while creating the desire, the expectation, and the priority of a college education for their children to follow in their footsteps.

Ruling year info

2016

Executive Director

Susan Andersen

Main address

6420 Rea Road Suite 112

Charlotte, NC 28277 USA

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Formerly known as

ANSWER Scholarship Endowment

EIN

81-0834789

NTEE code info

Scholarships, Student Financial Aid, Awards (B82)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

According to a 2013 study from The Institute for Women's Policy Research, 37 percent of women aged 25 and older in the Charlotte area—an estimated 214,252—have only a high school diploma or less and women with this level of education are less likely than men to have jobs with wages sufficient to sustain a family. Median annual earnings for women who are employed full-time, year-round and have less than a high school diploma are only $20,256. ANSWER Scholarship helps give women in our region the education they need to secure good jobs and inspire their children to learn. This is especially important in Charlotte. Upward mobility for children living in poverty is more challenging in Charlotte than any of the country's 50 largest cities. Our goal is to lower these disturbing statistics.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Mentors for Mom

Mentors For Mom Program
One of the most impactful things we do for our scholars is connect them with a volunteer mentor through our Mentors for Mom (MFM) program. Mentors offer our scholars support and guidance on balancing family, work and school.
Scholars meet regularly with their mentors for advice, motivation, or simply a sounding board.
Scholars and mentors also convene monthly as a group, where they share experiences and learn from experts on essential topics, such as financial planning, professional development and women’s health.
Scholars must participate in the Mentors For Mom program, receiving one-on-one, customized support to help them with career development and potential employment opportunities after graduation. This program is utilized to gauge how well our mothers are doing in school, allowing us to identify and resolve issues before they become setbacks.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Women and girls

Where we work

Videos

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our overarching goal in the 2019-2020 academic year is to assist up
to 20 mothers with scholarships and programming as they pursue
their first bachelor’s degree in any field of study of their choice.

ANSWER is more than a financial scholarship. We connect each of
our scholars with a volunteer mentor through our Mentors For Mom
program and they attend monthly professional development
workshops. Mentors For Mom is one reason why ANSWER scholars
have such a high graduation rate at 80 -90% since 2006. Our graduates say the program
has been essential in helping them stay the course and complete
their college degrees. Mentors offer our scholars support and guidance on balancing family,
work and school. Scholars meet regularly with their mentors for
advice, motivation, or simply a sounding board.
Scholars and mentors also convene monthly as a group, where they
share experiences and learn from experts on important topics, such
as financial planning, professional development and women’s health.
ANSWER is the only nonprofit of its kind in the Charlotte region targeting local mothers
towards raising families of poverty.

Founder and Executive Director Susan Andersen, her Development
Director Pam Schneider, the governing board (comprising local
volunteers from the business and education sectors), all play a
significant role in sustaining scholarships and programming with
strategic planning, year-round fundraising and volunteer support.
Currently we have 12 board members with 100% board giving.
ANSWER is supported by individual donors, foundations, houses of
worship, professional organizations, and corporate partnerships. We
hold two major fundraisers annually and do not receive any
government funding. In 2018, ANSWER hired a Development
Director allowing ANSWER to further expand outreach, develop new
partnerships and secure untapped funding sources. In 2019, our goal
is to raise $220,000. We have been able to increase the number of scholars year over year and are also able to increase the scholarship amounts.

We are proud of our graduation rate of 80% - 90% since inception
compared to the national average of 39% for nontraditional students.
Since 2006, we’ve awarded 115 scholarships to 65 women totaling
$322,235. Further, we have 46 graduates and 11 of these graduates
are from the 2017-2018 academic year. Four women are graduating
in May, 2019.

Financials

ANSWER SCHOLARSHIP INC
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

ANSWER SCHOLARSHIP INC

Board of directors
as of 01/01/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Brian Wallace

ANSWER Scholarship, Inc.

Term: 2022 - 2024

Russell Blaise

Attorney with Truist

Kevin Macmurphy

Leads the Personal Risk Department for ECM Solutions

Paula Goolkasian

Professor Emeritus at UNC Charlotte

Susan Andersen

Founder/Executive Director

Lori Myers

Senior Director at TIAA/ANSWER Mentor

Felix Nater

President and owner of Nater Associates, Ltd.

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 1/1/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

No data

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data