All-Volunteer Scholarship Foundation Keeps Funds Flowing

What began with little more than good intentions and handwritten notes in a borrowed meeting room has become one of the most important initiatives for print education in the metro area: The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award and Career Advancement Foundation (www.gcscholarships.org).

On June 22, the foundation—a grant-making program operated entirely by volunteers—will present scholarships to about 20 students in a ceremony at the Hearst Tower in Manhattan. To date, thanks to a vigorous fundraising campaign that has attracted substantial corporate and individual donations, the program has awarded more than $200,000 to more than 100 students. But, as its founding members recall, this pipeline of cash was more like a shoestring when it was conceived as a spin-off from another program seven years ago.

William Dirzulaitis, the foundation’s first treasurer and fundraising coordinator, says the project took shape in 2002 when he was asked to form a scholarship committee for the Graphic Arts Education Advisory Commission, an industry group that serves as the liaison to graphic studies programs operated by New York City’s public school system. When it became apparent, Dirzulaitis says, that the city’s educational bureaucracy wasn’t equipped to disburse privately raised funds, the idea of an independent body for scholarship development was born.

“Perpetuity of Our Industry”

The foundation’s current president, Richard Krasner (TanaSeybert), says that what happened next “speaks to the vision of people who saw the value of the perpetuity of our industry.” He is referring to the volunteers, John Aaron, Mark Darlow, Steve Kennedy, Jack Kott and the group’s first president, Linda Nahum, who joined Dirzulaitis in an effort to raise money and, at the same time, coordinate what was then a patchwork of existing scholarship funds that had cash but lacked the administrative ability to channel the money to students in need. Krasner helped out by arranging the use of a conference room at the printing company he works for, and at these early meetings, the campaign began to take shape.

The group initially had no money of its own and did its bookkeeping in longhand. The fundraising take in the first year was modest: $5,500, enough for five scholarships. But the achievement was a milestone, as was another step forward for the foundation in 2003: its establishment as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation, a status that makes contributions to it tax-exempt.

After that, Dirzulaitis’ records show a steady increase in donations secured: $16,000 in 2004, $17,500 in 2005, $29,000 in 2006, $40,000 in 2007, and a record $66,000 last year. About $43,000 has been raised so far this year. In addition, assets turned over during the last several years by other scholarship funds now administered by the foundation total more than $120,000.

Dirzulaitis says that although these funds had substantial holdings, they were largely dormant because the availability of money in them wasn’t being promoted. By taking them under its wing and helping direct the money to qualified applicants, the foundation has positioned itself as a focal point for educational giving in the metro area.

Other trade groups have taken notice and support the foundation’s central role. The Navigators, one of the industry’s oldest fraternal groups in the metro area, was the first to turn over its scholarship funds. Since 2006, the Partnership in Print Production (P3) has used the foundation as a conduit for the money it raises for education. Printing Industry Alliance, the PIA affiliate for New York State, northern New Jersey, and northwestern Pennsylvania, also is a donor and sponsor of the annual presentation ceremony.

“Academy Awards” for Students

Like the foundation itself, this event began as a simple affair in borrowed conference rooms with little fanfare. Last year, however, the profile was raised when Hearst Magazines offered the use of the theatre in Hearst Corp.’s headquarters building on West 57th Street. In this classy venue, Dirzulaitis recalls, “it was like the kids were going to the Academy Awards.”