Program

Thomas Gaiter Foundation Scholarships

Activities

The nonprofit grants scholarships to beneficiaries.

Program Type

Postsecondary Scholarships

Beneficiaries Served

Students, at-risk youth, people living in poverty

Program Geography

District of Columbia, in addition to the States. Low-income families irrespective of the state of residence. Families from the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.

Time Period of Data

1/1/21 to 12/31/21

Outcome Metric

Increase in income for a scholarship recipient

Outcome Data Source

Output data collected during the program. The nonprofit submitted data on the dollar value of all scholarships it grants and the number of scholarship recipients, which we use to calculate the additional income that the nonprofit's scholarship program generates.

Method for Attributing Outcomes

We estimate the increase in income caused by a nonprofit's scholarship program in two steps. First, we compare the estimated postsecondary graduation rate of its scholars to that of comparable students who did not receive a scholarship (the “counterfactual”). Our estimates are drawn from rigorous social science studies of similar scholarship programs. The result is the number of scholars whose graduation was caused by the nonprofit. Second, we compare the earnings of graduates to non-graduates based on publicly available census data, matching on student demographic characteristics. We apply the earnings boost owing to a degree to those scholars whose graduation was caused by the nonprofit. Both steps are necessary to properly net out counterfactual successes from observed successes. Otherwise, we would be attributing changes (increase in graduation rate and increase in earnings) to the nonprofit when they would have happened anyway. Few nonprofits estimate the counterfactual themselves, so we construct our own counterfactual estimate based on research and publicly available data.

Cost Data Source

Program cost data reported by the nonprofit. Partner and beneficiary costs reported by the nonprofit or estimated by Charity Navigator.

Cost Calculation

$2,094 program costs + $332 partner costs + $332 beneficiary costs = $2,758 total costs

Impact Calculation

$2,758 total costs / $7,959 in additional income = roughly $550 increases income for a scholarship recipient by $1,600. [2021 USD]

Benchmark for Rating

Impact & Results scores of postsecondary scholarship programs are based on income generated relative to cost. Programs receive an Impact & Results score of 100 if they increase income for a recipient by more than $1.50 for every $1 spent and a score of 80 if income increases by more than $0.85 for every $1 spent. If a nonprofit reports impact but doesn't meet the benchmark for cost-effectiveness, it earns a score of 65.

Determination

Highly cost-effective