Why create a scholarship?
We have the resources to help young people. Let’s do it.
Social mobility isn’t just a buzzword at STACK EMEA; it’s a high-priority objective close to the heart of CEO John Eland and to many of STACK’s 600+ employees. Including Michillay Brown, Vice President, ESG.
Aware that financial barriers can hinder talented individuals from underrepresented communities, STACK decided to put their money where their mouth is by developing a scholarships programme. A decision rooted in the company’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
But this wasn’t something the company had done before… so, where to begin? That’s when Michillay heard about Blackbullion.
Why launch the programme with Blackbullion?
There’s no way we would have been able to introduce a scholarships programme without partnering with Blackbullion. The capacity Blackbullion has added to our team and their partnerships with universities across the country have been essential to the success of the programme.
1. Add capacity
Launching the programme was uncharted territory for STACK, but partnering with Blackbullion made the entire process seamless and added much-needed resource.
“Blackbullion’s efficiency and the capacity brought to our team have been crucial”, explains Michillay. With sixty times more applications than scholarship places, it was particularly useful to have the Blackbullion team to assess candidates on behalf of STACK and put together a shortlist of potential scholars.
The Funding Hub (the UK’s largest hub of support funds, scholarships and grants) on the Blackbullion platform made it incredibly easy for eligible students to find and apply for STACK’s scholarships. Eliminating the need for the STACK team to handle individual student inquiries; should a student have a question, this was answered by Blackbullion’s support team.
2. Tap into expertise
Being able to tap into consultancy from the Blackbullion team when setting up the programme was another highlight for STACK. Blackbullion acted as a sounding board and were also able to share best practice learned from the more than £1 million of new scholarships created by partners in the past 12 months.
We’d never done this before but the Blackbullion team made it so easy. They carefully walked us through the process and are there whenever we have questions.
3. Supercharge discoverability and reach diverse students
Blackbullion has a rapidly growing student community of more than 275,000 people, who are using the platform and app to learn about, find and manage their money. Without being able to promote their scholarships to these students, STACK would not have seen the volume of applications they did – more than 120 applicants for their two scholarship spaces in just six weeks!
Attending a networking event at the Blackbullion offices provided an invaluable opportunity to connect with diverse students and hear first hand about the life-changing impact scholarships have.
Our scholars would not have discovered us without Blackbullion. We need Blackbullion’s network of students and well-established relationships with universities and their feeder schools.
4. Convince stakeholders
Getting all stakeholders onboard was crucial for the programme’s success. Jon, Scholarships Lead at Blackbullion, presented at STACK’s Diversity, Enquiry & Inclusion Groundworks Conference, highlighting the impact and potential of scholarships, which was an eye-opener for many stakeholders to understand the programme’s tangible benefits.
5. Change lives
One reason STACK selected Blackbullion as their scholarships partner was due to shared values around giving every young person, from any walk of life, the best chance to succeed. This made the partnership not only convenient but deeply meaningful, too. STACK saw that, together with Blackbullion, they could make a real difference to young people’s lives.
Meeting the young people behind the applications themselves changes everything and shows you the power scholarships have.
What about the scholars?
The impact so far…
in scholarship funding
per per scholar (£12,000 per year for up to 4 years of study)
female scholars to encourage more young women into STEM
applications in just 6 weeks
Of the applications received:
It means so much to support these incredible young women. Our shortlisted scholars have diverse and pressing needs. Some are primary carers for their parents, while others seek to become more independent from their challenging environments. This financial support is essential for them to progress, and it’s just the start for our scholarships programme.
What’s next?
The STACK scholarship programme represents a significant step towards achieving social mobility and supporting underrepresented communities. With the help of Blackbullion, they have been able to navigate the complexities of establishing and running the programme efficiently.
The success and impact so far has inspired STACK to think bigger, ensuring their commitment to DEI continues to thrive and evolve. They’ll now scale the programme across Europe, maintaining the strong partnership with Blackbullion. Together, continuing the journey to change the lives of young people worldwide.
Having seen the number of applications and calibre of candidates so far, STACK have already doubled their first-year investment and are running additional scholarships of £3,000 each for eight final year female STEM students. STACK will also be able to recruit future talent from this pool as they continue to grow their business.
They’ll also sponsor National Scholarships Week 2025.
We are going to grow significantly and Blackbullion will be coming with us.
