Linux Foundation Transforms and Simplifies Scholarship Program with SmarterSelect

Client Type

Open Source Technology and Education Foundation

Primary Values

Streamlined Process, Improved Evaluation System, and Global Accessibility

Use Case 

Applications and Selection

Situation

The Linux Foundation manages the LIFT Scholarship Program, offering free courses and certifications to support the growing market demand for open source expertise worldwide. Prior to implementing SmarterSelect, they managed applications through a complex manual process using a combination of Google Sheets, HubSpot, and manual reviews which became increasingly challenging as their program grew.

With applications surging from hundreds to thousands annually, their manual process faced significant hurdles:

• Managing over 3,000 applications from more than 100 countries
• Coordinating multiple spreadsheets for different stages of review
• Struggling with email deliverability for applicant communications
• Manually verifying and collecting additional documentation from finalists
• Difficulty matching expert reviewers with relevant applications across 16 categories

Solution

The Linux Foundation partnered with SmarterSelect to revolutionize their scholarship management process.

The platform enabled them to:

• Create a streamlined, single-system application process
• Implement category-specific expert review assignments
• Automate initial application screening
• Maintain consistent communication with applicants
• Efficiently collect and verify finalist documentation
• Scale from hundreds to thousands of applications seamlessly

Dramatic Process Improvement

“It eliminated 85 to 90% of my headaches,” noted Scott. The foundation successfully processed over 3,400 applications across 16 categories, awarding 500 scholarships to recipients from 111 countries.

Enhanced Review Process

The platform enabled matching technical reviewers with their areas of expertise: “We were able to say things like, ‘oh, you’re a Kubernetes cloud expert, so we’re going to give you 10 Kubernetes cloud people to look at,’ instead of going, ‘here’s 900 people.'”

Superior Support Experience

“Normally, when you pay for software like this at the price point we are at, you don’t get the level of customer service that you’re getting. But, SmarterSelect delivers amazing responsiveness to any and all questions…”  No matter what Scott’s team needed clarification on, SmarterSelect’s support staff answered everything they had questions about.

Improved Communication

Solved previous email deliverability issues with scholarship winners, ensuring all notifications reached recipients through the platform’s integrated communication system.

Time Savings

While the initial setup required learning the system, the foundation expects to save approximately 75% of administrative time in the subsequent years they plan to use the platform.

“Amazing training. And, this platform solves so many problems for us. Now we have everything all in one place instead of dealing with multiple spreadsheets. We can now quickly answer things like 'did I validate that person, and does this person get moved to the right spreadsheet, and what category are they in?'”