Scholarship Fund for Students in South Africa

To the supporters of Open Doors,

The seasons are changing once again. For most of us, spring has receded and summer has staked its claim on our days. Most of us wouldn’t consider that for our scholars, winter is coming. It is always good to take a step back from our own bubbles and think globally about the interwoven connections that tie all people together. Regardless of where you are at the moment, the world is constantly changing.

Not to be left behind, we has taken the initiative to further improve our organization to better serve the changing needs of both our donors and our students. Behind the scenes, we’ve worked to:

Improve scholarship delivery to students
We have decided to directly support our students and go through less red tape with intermediary organizations in South Africa. In effect, we will be able serve our students more efficiently and disburse scholarships faster than ever before to meet the financial needs of our students in a timely manner.

Increase accountability and communication between ODF and our scholars
We’ve set up an accountability system in which our scholars are assigned mentors in ODF to not only answer logistical questions, but also to strengthen our personal relationships. The better we know our scholars, the better we can serve their needs.

Make logistical changes to our social media platforms
To keep our supporters up-to-date with all things Open Doors, we’ve been re-designing our website to include a blog roll with consistent updates from students, donors, and the ODF team. We expect that this website will be unveiled in June!

Through all these changes, we can promise you that our original mission remains the same: to empower students to change their communities through higher education. Likewise, all your support throughout these years has been the driving engine for us and our scholars. We cannot thank you deeply enough. Thank you for helping us create the changes for a better future.

Sincerely,

The Open Doors Team