Five years ago, Greg Dehn launched a college scholarship platform through which students could find and apply for private grants from companies, nonprofits and other places. Called Kaleidoscope Group, the company also offered a twist—mixing brand promotion and financial aid. That is, Kaleidoscope would work with scholarship sponsors to design and administer their programs via its platform, with a branded logo clearly displayed with each scholarship description.
Today, the company has launched over 10,000 scholarship and grant programs that have awarded more than $1 billion in total, Dehn says. Last fall, he launched what the company calls its Award Builder service, a do-it-yourself free version.