Overview

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ promotes agriculture by hosting an annual, family-friendly experience that educates and entertains the public, supports Texas youth, showcases the Western heritage, and provides year-round educational support within the community. Since awarding its first scholarship in 1957, the Rodeo has become one of the biggest scholarship providers in the United States. Having committed more than $550 million to Texas youth and education, the organization aims to significantly impact a recipient’s overall growth. 

Today, the Rodeo awards over 600 scholarships and receives over 5,000 applications annually. These awards get divided into three different categories:

1. Geographic - Based on applicants' location within the state of Texas. 2. Specialty Scholarships - For students who meet specific criteria: Rodeo exhibitors, Children of military, 4H and FFA members, Some additional programs. 3. Achievement Scholarships - For junior and senior college students who are already award recipients and need additional funds to complete their degree.

As their award offerings and the number of applications continued to grow over the years, it was clear that the Rodeo needed a technology solution partner to equip them with the tools they needed to keep up with its growth. This is where Kaleidoscope came in. 

Challenge

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Challenges

For decades the Rodeo ran its scholarship programs through a manual pen-and-paper process. Their scholarship management system involved lots of paperwork and crowded filing cabinets in the program office. 

Over the years, the Rodeo’s applicant criteria, its scholarship funding, and the number of applications submitted continued to grow. The Rodeo’s scholarship department needed help keeping up with the growing application volume and the amount of time that went into the review process. 

The department relied heavily on help from program volunteers and the program’s alumni association to assist in the review application review process. This process required an entire month to verify applicant information and match mailed-in transcripts and other supporting documents to the correct applications. The Rodeo’s applicant review process also presented the logistical challenges of requiring department members and volunteer reviewers to gather for in-person shifts to process and review applications. 

Eventually, the Rodeo transitioned to online applications but still relied on snail mail for applicants’ documents. Parts of the review process were made more efficient, but there were still significant limitations. The scholarship application process requiring both online and mailed-in elements was clunky and time-consuming. The Rodeo scholarship department needed to improve its systems for the program’s future. 

Solution

The Rodeo was looking for a technology solution that would take its processes entirely online, connecting each step of the scholarship cycle and making it easy for reviewers to manage their workload. The program required an end-to-end software partner to work closely with them, operate as an industry expert, and accommodate all their program’s needs. 

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo branding applied to their scholarship application.

In 2018, the Rodeo contacted Kaleidoscope through their website and requested a platform demo. Following the demo, the Rodeo team found that the platform met all their requirements to help take their program online, work with their accounting system, and provide ease of use. They were impressed by the platform’s features, including: 

  • The ability to create fully branded digital applications with the Rodeo’s colors, logo, and more allowed the program to keep branding consistent and showcase brand pride. 
  • The CRM tools Kaleidoscope offers would allow the Rodeo to foster relationships with those it currently supports and those it sponsored in the past. The ability to foster relationships with its award recipients and program alumni has always been a priority for the Rodeo. 
  • Kaleidoscope’s reporting tools and the ability to export any data collected on the platform would help the Rodeo make informed decisions or future updates to the scholarship program. 

The partnership between Kaleidoscope and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ officially began in 2019. 

Onboarding: The onboarding process began by migrating the Rodeo’s historical scholarship data into the system. Doing so allowed the Rodeo to efficiently maintain all applicant an scholarship award records form the program’s inception. By the time the Rodeo completed its initial configurations, it had an end-to-end solution tailored to its needs.

Onboarding: The onboarding process began by migrating the Rodeo’s historical scholarship data into the system. Doing so allowed the Rodeo to efficiently maintain all applicant an scholarship award records form the program’s inception. By the time the Rodeo completed its initial configurations, it had an end-to-end solution tailored to its needs.

Applications: Kaleidoscope made it easy for the Rodeo to build online applications on the platform and add features that their processes didn’t previously have. Applicants could complete their applications from start to finish, including having the ability to request contributions from third parties like the recommenders or school counselors. Kaleidoscope also made processes such as application verification easy for the Rodeo, ensuring all applicant information was accurate.

Kaleidoscope's Award Builder. Easy to build online applications and processes application verification.
Kaleidoscope's Award Builder. Easy to build online applications and processes application verification.

Applications: Kaleidoscope made it easy for the Rodeo to build online applications on the platform and add features that their processes didn’t previously have. Applicants could complete their applications from start to finish, including having the ability to request contributions from third parties like the recommenders or school counselors. Kaleidoscope also made processes such as application verification easy for the Rodeo, ensuring all applicant information was accurate.

Review Board: Kaleidoscope also enabled the Rodeo to manage its review board online, eliminating the need to coordinate in-person shifts and allowing more judges to participate. Kaleidoscope’s Review Board module enabled the award programs’ managers to monitor the progress of each reviewer, send them nudges and notes, and re-assign their workload if necessary. Making the reviewing process entirely virtual in 2020 could not have come at a better time, with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Review Board: Kaleidoscope also enabled the Rodeo to manage its review board online, eliminating the need to coordinate in-person shifts and allowing more judges to participate. Kaleidoscope’s Review Board module enabled the award programs’ managers to monitor the progress of each reviewer, send them nudges and notes, and re-assign their workload if necessary. Making the reviewing process entirely virtual in 2020 could not have come at a better time, with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kaleidoscope helped facilitate consistent and fair review practices for the Rodeo. Its reviewers could now view and fill out scorecards side-by-side with each application, helping to keep consistent criteria for scoring. The Rodeo could also configure its applications to redact certain identifying or demographic information to mitigate potential bias.

Applicant Portal: Kaleidoscope become the central place for students to manage their scholarships and communicate with the Rodeo. Scholarship recipients use their Kaleidoscope profiles to keep their information up to date, upload their grades, view their donor information, and access their program’s handbooks online.

After fully integrating onto Kaleidoscope, the Rodeo began requiring award recipients from previous years who were still in school to create Kaleidoscope profiles. Because creating a profile is so simple, it only took a few weeks to get all previous award recipients to join the platform. Today, anyone who has applied or received awards through the Rodeo has a live Kaleidoscope profile.

Applicant Portal: Kaleidoscope become the central place for students to manage their scholarships and communicate with the Rodeo. Scholarship recipients use their Kaleidoscope profiles to keep their information up to date, upload their grades, view their donor information, and access their program’s handbooks online.

After fully integrating onto Kaleidoscope, the Rodeo began requiring award recipients from previous years who were still in school to create Kaleidoscope profiles. Because creating a profile is so simple, it only took a few weeks to get all previous award recipients to join the platform. Today, anyone who has applied or received awards through the Rodeo has a live Kaleidoscope profile.

Results

By streamlining its scholarship management, the Rodeo team could focus on its long-range plans to leave lasting impacts on award recipients’ lives and invest more holistically into their futures. The Rodeo was able to measure its impact and inform its processes with more accurate, real-time data using Kaleidoscope’s reporting tools. 

Through these reporting tools, the Rodeo found that its initiatives led to award recipients being more likely to graduate college, with a 6-year graduation rate of 83%. After graduation, some Rodeo award recipients can leverage the vast network of program alumni and donors and find jobs. 

Kaleidoscope proved to be the right technology solution and partner for the Rodeo by: 

  • Moving all steps of the application and selection process to an online platform 
  • Improving review board processes for efficiency 
  • Keeping branding consistent across the entire program 
  • Prioritizing relationships between the Rodeo and its award recipients 

The partnership between the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ and Kaleidoscope continues today. 

How Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo has grown since 1980. In 1980 They have 198 Scholarships. After partnering with Kaleidoscope, by 2017 they had 642 Scholarships.

About Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is a cloud-based scholarship and grant management platform enabling organizations to fund, design, administer, and host branded scholarship and grant programs. The platform uses leading technologies to deliver an end-to-end solution for sponsors, organizations, and those they support. 

Kaleidoscope is building a future where financial aid and funding solutions are smart, cost-effective, and as unique as the applicants they serve. Learn more at mykaleidoscope.com.