Scholarships

Bridge Scholarship

Eligibility: must be a member of the ICC and demonstrate a loss of income so as to interfere with their ability to pay charges, or demonstrate a change in ability to generate personal income, or demonstrate unexpected additional expenses that would interfere with their ability to pay charges

Purpose: to help a member experiencing a one-time unforeseen financial difficulty

Application Window: rolling basis

Disbursement: once application is approved

Amount: average $300-500

Application Form: To apply for the Bridge Scholarship, please submit a payment plan using the Google Form here and a cover letter (either in-text email or attached pdf) to vp.finance@icc.coop.

Standing Rule 8.11.2. Bridge Scholarship funds are a designated portion of the annual ICC Scholarships Fund and are not to exceed 10% of the total annual scholarship appropriation. All Bridge Scholarships shall be a temporary, one-time grant within the current ICC fiscal year. Individual Bridge Scholarship awards may not exceed the amount of the current debt owed by a member to the ICC. The ICC Finance Committee will determine the percentage of total scholarship funds available for the Bridge Scholarships.

Covid-19 Scholarship Form

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ICC leaders formed a COVID-19 fundraising group to brainstorm ways to solve our debt problems due to unforeseen circumstances.  This pandemic resulted in millions of jobs lost and many others being furloughed resulting in a struggling economy. On May 5th, 2020, ICC leaders launched a Gofundme campaign on Giving Tuesday.  We plan to use all of the donation money to offset member debt for those who were unable to pay for their charges in April 2020 as a direct result of COVID-19. With the creation of this scholarship, funds will be administered by the Finance Committee to go towards offsetting member debt. The Finance Committee will review the scholarship applications and decide on an appropriate amount to award members, with a maximum of 1 month of total ICC Charges. All applications are evaluated blindly.

UPDATE AS OF SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020: CoCo has approved the expansion of the COVID-19 scholarship to include members who test positive and get sent to alternative housing (ie, Northwood, motel), and those whose income is directly negatively affected by a housemate or housemate(s) suspected or known contraction of COVID-19. The Finance Committee could cover but is not limited to: up to 14 days of reduced charges reflecting loss of income, or Northwood Apartments expenses. All applicants MUST provide proof of testing positive/suspicions of a housemate testing positive and receipts/invoices/pay stubs in your application.

UPDATE AS OF SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2021: The ICC Coordinating Committee has approved the expansion of the COVID-19 scholarship to include members who test positive for COVID-19 during their ICC contract period and experience a negative impact to their income as a direct result of their COVID-19 contraction. All applicants must provide proof of a positive COVID-19 test and documentation that shows a direct impact to the member’s income. The scholarship will remain open until further notice and will be used only if funds are available as designated or determined by the ICC Board of Representatives.

Please note: The Finance Committee wants to assess applications as soon as possible. Providing insufficient documentation may result in insufficient aid. You MUST upload ALL relevant documentation reflecting your claims. For example, if you make any claims of loss of income, you MUST submit documentation from before AND after your income was affected. For example, if your house is in code red, you MUST provide PDF’s of your correspondence with the ICC President and/or General Manager regarding this topic.

Application Window: rolling basis

Disbursement: once application is approved

Amount: varies per member

Application Form: here

Payment Plan

Payment plans are designed to assist members who experience a temporary financial disruption to continue paying charges and secure their housing tenure. Payment plans do not release you from any charges under any circumstances — they can only facilitate a temporary, alternative payment schedule.

Payment plans cannot last longer than 2 months, and payment plans are never allowed to cross between contract periods (e.g., payment plans submitted in both July and August 2022 were required to terminate by August 19th, 2022, the final day of the contract period, despite the fact that this meant payment plans had less than 2 months). You are required to pay half of the total amount due by the end of the 4th week of the month (the 28th) the payment plan was submitted. Your balance must be down to $0, including all charges applied during the payment plan, by the end of the 4th week of the month after the payment plan was submitted (the 28th of the month). All late fees accrued prior to submitting a payment plan, including the late fines from the 6th of the month if your payment plan was submitted on or after the 6th, as well as any other additional prior amount due (including house fines), must be included in the payment plan you submit. You will receive a credit for the late fines accrued DURING the payment plan after your submission – but NOT before, including from the month in which you applied, if you applied after the 5th – if you successfully complete your payment plan.

Below are the relevant standing rules:

15.8.4 PAYMENT PLAN RESTRICTION: Plans must reduce debts by 50% within four weeks and reduce a member’s debt to $0 within eight weeks, including all intervening charges during that house chargeperiod. These rules may be modified with the approval of the finance committee.

15.8.5 THE ICC ACTS FOR MEMBERS IN PROTECTING THEM FROM ACCUMULATION OF EXCESSIVE DEBT. If the member does not pay by the 15th and the house does not file a payment plan, the ICC shall begin eviction procedures. If the eviction has proceeded to legal action, any costs shall be assessed to the member. The house member can stop this procedure by having a payment plan approved by the house or finance committee or by providing proof that the house will discuss the payment plan before the end of the month. (23/06) (23/07)

15.8.6 MISSED PAYMENTS: If a member misses a payment by more than three business days they shall be fined $20 and the ICC shall begin eviction procedures. (23/06)

An example payment plan and the required payments are listed below:

I owe $25 on September 30. On October 1st I am charged $750 in ICC and house charges. Because my balance is higher than $50, I am charged a late fee on October 6th. I fail to make any payments after the late fee. Because my balance is still higher than $50 on October 15th, I receive a tier one notice to quit (see section at bottom – a tier one NTQ serves as a warning). On October 17th, I submit a payment plan – this means my payment plan takes place in October and November. Thus, my payment plan begins on October 1st, and half my total payment plan balance is due on October 28th. I must completely zero my balance – i.e. pay the other half – by November 28th.

The total amount to be paid in the example plan is $1,540. This is calculated from $25 owed before payment plan + $750 October charges + $15 late fine from 10/6 + $750 November charges. In a real payment plan, charges assessed and any pre-existing balance will be specific to your house and your situation. There are two deadlines for payment in a payment plan, and it is up to you if you make bulk payments or schedule payments out over the course of the two months.

1. By October 28th I must pay $770 (half of the amount due in the payment plan). I can do this in multiple payments or all at once, by October 28.
2. By November 28th I must pay another $770 to complete the payment plan. By successfully completing this, I avoid any additional late fees and the eviction process never gets started.
3. I must make my payment for December charges – $750 – on time (no later than 12/5). If I am unable to do so, I must submit another payment plan in compliance with the rules.

By filling out the following form, I understand that if I miss a payment, I will be fined $20 and eviction proceedings will be started against me. I also understand that I will be charged for any costs arising out of the eviction process, including attorney fees, office fees and court costs.

To stop the eviction process at this point, the outstanding balance due must be paid in full.

All decisions will be made by the Finance Committee. All recipients will be notified by email shortly thereafter. All questions may be directed to the VP for Finance.

You can fill out the Google Form here.

Appeals

If you have a concern regarding a finance or scholarship policy or decision, or you have a special circumstance for us to consider, you may follow the appeal procedures below:

1. Present your situation via email to the VP for Finance (vp.finance@icc.coop). All options for resolving the situation should be explored with the VP before moving to the next step. If the situation cannot be resolved, the VP will determine the course to take in Step Two.
2. One of the following actions will be taken:
   • Your situation will be presented by the VP for Finance to the Finance Committee. This occurs when unusual circumstances are presented that may require exceptions to standard finance or scholarship policies or procedures.
   • You may complete an appeal form here and schedule an appointment to discuss your circumstances with the Finance Committee. This occurs when unusual circumstances do not exist but a Finance Committee policy is questioned, or when a student is not satisfied with a policy or decision as explained by the VP for Finance.
3. If, after completing Step 2, you feel the situation warrants further consideration, you may ask for a review and consultation with the Board of Directors.