Brain Gain Grant
Brain Gain Grant Program
On July 28, 2010, Questa Foundation for Education, along with Dr. John Crawford, Brain Gain Program founder, Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and Allen County Commission Nelson Peters, announced that the Brain Gain Grant Program will no longer accept new applications.
Current Brain Gain grant recipients will receive the full benefit of their award commitments. No new participants will be added to the program as it is phased out by December 2012.
Program Overview
From 2005 – 2009, Questa Foundation administered the Brain Gain Grant Program founded by local radiation oncologist and former Fort Wayne city councilman, Dr. John Crawford, in 2005 with the broad objective to help reverse the regional decline in per capita income.
The Brain Gain Grant Program has encouraged young employees with engineering degrees pursuing careers in high-tech fields of advanced manufacturing, computer technology and biotechnology to live and work in Allen County. The program provides up to $10,000 over four years in college debt repayment assistance for employees in these fields.
The Brain Gain Grant Program has been chiefly supported by Crawford, the City of Fort Wayne and the Allen County Board of Commissioners.
Questa Foundation has administered the program since its inception and has committed $153,791 in college debt repayment assistance from 2005 through 2012 for 17 Allen County employees working at the following companies: BAE Systems Controls, Deister Machine Company, D.R. Lubricants, International Truck & Engine, Indiana Tech, IPFW, ITT, Knight Mechanical Testing, Navistar, Ottenweller Company, Inc., and University Park Research Center.
Dr. Crawford, the City of Fort Wayne and the Allen County Board of Commissioners have agreed to donate the remaining Brain Gain Grant Funds to support Questa Foundation’s Questa Scholars Program, which aims to train and retain college graduates who pursue degrees in advanced manufacturing, engineering, computer science, information technology and informatics at northeast Indiana colleges.
Guidelines and Documents for Current Brain Gain Recipients
To continue to qualify for annual disbursements of Brain Gain Loan Repayment assistance, Questa Foundation for Education requires receipt of the following documentation from current Brain Gain Program participants no later than November 30 each year:
-
Updated Contact Information Form (PDF attached below);
- Updated and signed IRS W-9 Form (PDF attached below);
- Signed Employee Verification Form that includes contact information for your loan processing agency and account number (PDF attached below);
- Documentation from your lender or loan processing agency that demonstrates your current loan balance as of November 1 of the current year (i.e. most recent account statement or current statement of loan balance); and
- Letter of employment verification on company letterhead signed by your supervisor or human resource manager stating your title, dates of employment in Allen County and confirmation that you are working in one of the following fields:
• Advanced manufacturing
• Computer information technology
• Biomedical/Biotechnology
Brain Gain Employee Verification Form.pdf
Completed documentation must be received (not postmarked) by November 30. Loan repayments will be mailed to your lender or loan processing agency no later than December 17.
Failure to return the required documents by the November 30 deadline will result in suspension of your loan repayment by Questa Foundation for Education.
Please mail completed documents to: Questa Foundation for Education, 3468 Stellhorn Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46815. Fax and email copies are not accepted.
If you have any questions, please contact Questa Foundation at 260.407.6494.