28. Voice of Democracy Scholarship

Deadline: November 1, 2014

Amount: $30,000
Established in 1947 with the goal of providing students the opportunity to express their opinions and beliefs on democratic ideas and principles, The VFW’s Voice of Democracy program (VOD) is open to all students in grades 9-12. Applicants are required to write and record an original speech on the provided topic (2014/2015’s being “Why Veterans are Important to our Nation’s History and Future”) and then record and submit their reading of the speech. The national first-place winner is awarded a $30,000 scholarship to the American university, college or vocational/technical school of their choice.

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With Strong Home Prices and Low Interest Rates, Pressure to Buy Builds

With interest rates still low and house prices rising, real estate professionals are urging prospective homeowners to buy now before price increases or mortgage costs make ownership unaffordable. How should the average buyer decide if it’s time to take the plunge?

“If you’re on the fence about buying a home, right now is the best time to do it,” confirms Don Frommeyer, the chief executive officer of NAMB, the association of mortgage professionals. He thinks prices, while higher than they were a year ago, are not unrealistic. With mortgage interest rates hovering below 4%, Frommeyer thinks it’s an ideal moment to buy.

But news stories, real estate pros and relatives urging would-be homeowners to buy, buy, buy can make for a lot of pressure. Even if the economic conditions are right, it’s not a good idea to buy unless the decision makes sense for your financial, professional and personal situation.

The time seems right, but…

“It feels like we should be buying,” says Liz LaBrocca, a college communications coordinator in Northampton, Massachusetts, who currently rents a townhouse with her boyfriend, a graphic designer. “It feels like it’s a good time to buy a house, but I’m not 100% sure about that.”

That’s understandable — experts aren’t even sure whether house prices are headed up or down. Interest rates are easier to predict, with the Federal Reserve making noises about a mid-year rate hike, which would have an immediate effect on the interest rates available to mortgage applicants.

It can be hard for buyers to weigh economic factors like interest rates and market trends with personal circumstances — such as a stable, good-paying job — as well as location. Whitney McIntyre Miller, a college professor, recently relocated from Cincinnati to Long Beach, California, with her husband and toddler. “The house we owned in Cincinnati versus the same house here — it’s two to three times the price. Probably closer to three times,” she said.

News articles and friends who work in real estate are making Miller think this would be a good time to buy, but she’s still learning which neighborhoods are best, and the added challenge of choosing a good school district is making it hard to move forward.

“We’d rather get the right house for us this time around than rush into something,” she said.

It’s not an emergency

Frommeyer thinks a wait-and-see approach is a good strategy — but only for a little while. “I don’t foresee rates jumping very quickly, maybe later in the third quarter,” he said. House prices are strong, but Frommeyer thinks they’re also realistic, and buyers who try to underbid usually lose the house.

Many buyers wish they had a crystal ball to predict whether house prices will go up or down in the near future. “Are prices going to start skyrocketing over the next few years, and are we going to miss our window if we wait too long?” LaBrocca wonders. “It’s a huge investment.”

Miller is more sanguine about house prices. She remembers similar pressure during the last housing bubble, when many buyers rushed into real estate because they were afraid prices would continue to climb and low interest rates were about to expire. “We know lots of people who bought houses in the 2000s, and then 2007 (the recession) happened and the prices dropped and they had to let go of their houses,” she said. “But you can’t predict if they’re going to get too high.”

How to decide whether you’re ready

It’s important to evaluate the financial, professional and emotional implications of buying a house. If you have poor credit or haven’t managed to save for a down payment, it might be too much of a stretch to buy right now. Job stability is also important, not only because mortgage lenders prefer to see two years of steady employment with the same company, but also because you don’t want to buy a house if you’re likely to be forced to relocate for a new job within the next few years.

There’s also the question of whether you should buy a starter home or keep on saving until you can afford your dream home. Miller and her husband are debating whether to buy a smaller house now and trade up later, or wait until they can afford a house their family can grow in.

Even if economic conditions are perfect right now, buying a house before you’re ready is a recipe for disaster. “Any time you make a decision based on pressure, it’s not a good decision,” Frommeyer agrees. “Nobody should ever jump into a house.”

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Getting the Most Out of Your Kickstarter Campaign

“The Return of Taqueria Nueve!” was the Kickstarter page Brent Richford and Billy Schumaker created in 2013 as they worked to re-open the Portland taco joint. The original eatery had closed in 2008 and had been dearly missed by locals ever since.

The pair raised the bulk of the money for the restaurant’s revival through investors, but launched the Kickstarter to raise the remaining $25,000. The campaign brought in more than $30,000, largely because of the media attention it attracted.

“Just the fact that we were running the campaign was news in the food industry here,” Richford says. “That created hype.”

Crowdfunding with Kickstarter

Kickstarter is an online rewards-based crowdfunding platform. Anyone can create a project page to raise money for just about anything. But its all-or-nothing model means that if a project’s funding goal isn’t met, no money changes hands.

Taqueria Nueve and thousands of other businesses have successfully raised money on Kickstarter, but more projects fail than flourish. Since 2009, there have been 118,210 unsuccessful projects, compared to 77,501 successful ones. Here’s how your business can reach its fundraising goals through Kickstarter.

Create your project

To get started, create a Kickstarter login by entering your name and email address, and then begin populating your page by filling out a description of your project and the campaign’s duration. Kickstarter allows projects to run for up to 60 days, but recommends keeping it under 30 to maximize the likelihood of getting funded.

Next, set a goal for how much money you want to raise. Think about exactly what you want to spend the money on, whether it’s a new pizza oven, manufacturing costs or creating a website. Then calculate exactly how much that expense will cost. Keep in mind that if your funding goal is met, Kickstarter takes a 5% cut.

You also have the option to add photos and a video to your Kickstarter page, which you should do. Around 50% of projects with a video succeed, whereas just 30% of projects that don’t have a video get funded.

Finally, Kickstarter will prompt you to register an Amazon Payments account, which is how the donations will be transferred to you if the project is successful.

Reward your backers

You’re encouraged and expected to give rewards to people who back your campaign. Rewards can be products, services, experiences or mementos.

Richford and Schumaker set up a tiered rewards system for Taqueria Nueve’s Kickstarter page. Donors who gave $10 were promised $15 toward menu items, and backers who contributed at least $29 received an exclusive T-shirt. The prizes increased from there to reward larger contributions.

“We felt it was really important for us to give as much as we could while still maintaining a good business model,” Richford says.

Promote your project

Kickstarter reviews all projects before they launch. Once yours is live, actively promote it to friends, family and other people in your network. Richford suggests building a resource list of emails you can send the link to.

It’s common to see a stream of contributions at the beginning of your campaign and then a dry spell in the middle, as momentum wanes. “There was definitely a little lull there about two weeks in, which I guess is pretty typical,” Richford says.

If you see a slowdown in donations, continue promoting your Kickstarter through email, social media and word of mouth, and encourage your friends and family to spread the word within their circles.

Follow up

Once you reach your goal, your work with Kickstarter isn’t over — you must deliver the rewards you promised your backers. Use the Kickstarter survey tool to ask backers for an address where you can send their rewards. It helps to track donations as they come in using an Excel spreadsheet, so you know what rewards you owe which donors.

Kickstarter is just one of the many ways to fund your small business. You can find more information about funding options at NerdWallet’s small business education center.

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29. Teens Drive Smart Video Contest

Deadline: June 19, 2014 (Deadline has passed. Check back in 2015)

Amount: First place $25,000 college scholarship, second place wins a $15,000 scholarship and third place a $10,000 scholarship
In 2012 there were 33,561 motor vehicle related deaths in the United States. The Teens Drive Smart Video Contest asks students between the ages of 16 and 21 to submit a short video (25 to 55 seconds) that relates to safe driving. In addition to winning scholarships, the winners’ videos could air as public service announcements across the U.S, and the top 10 filmmakers receive a new set of Bridgestone or Firestone tires.

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30. Francis P. Matthews and John E. Swift Educational Trust Scholarships

Deadline: March 1, 2014 (Deadline has passed. Check back in 2015.)
Amount: $25,000
Established by the Knights of Columbus (The world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization) in 1944, the Francis P. Matthews and John E. Swift Educational Trust Scholarships were meant to serve as a living memorial to the knights who died or became permanently disabled while serving their country in World War II. The scholarships are available to children of Knights of Columbus members who were killed in action or wounded in action that resulted in permanent disability. To qualify for the scholarship, applicants must apply to a Catholic college or university.

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31. Ronald McDonald House Charities/HACER Scholarships

Deadline: January 21, 2014 (Deadline has passed. Check back in 2015)
Amount: $25,000
Since 1985, Ronald McDonald House Charities has awarded more than $52 million in scholarships. The RMHC Scholarship Program was established to provide scholarships to students in financial need who have demonstrated academic achievement. Among the requirements for these scholarships, applicants must be younger than 21 years old, have at least one parent of Hispanic/Latino heritage, and carry a minimum 2.7 GPA.

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32. JW Surety Bonds Scholarship

Deadline: September 30, 2014

Amount: $25,000
For those who love blogging, this scholarship is right up your alley. JW Surety Bonds is asking applicants to create content for their corporate blog, Content must be based on one of the acceptable topics included on their website, and should be interesting, professional, and creative. If your content is accepted and posted on their blog you are entered into a contest to with a $25,000 scholarship.

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