Race For Success

Group Nine
Sonia Kwak, Kaleb Rowe, Jacob Harry, Benazir Abbasi

Introduction

Growing up in America in this day and age, millennials are taught to believe that
everyone in this world is born equal. Americans are given an equal opportunity to
succeed through hard work and perseverance. Contrary to this natural belief, the harsh
reality of our education system is this: students from low-income families are not
provided with the necessary tools to succeed as equally as their high-income peers.
There is a profound gap found in academic achievement between students from lowincome families and the rest of their peers, and equal opportunity is disputably seen as
a conditional luxury rather than a natural right.
High school is notorious for a multitude of dangers occurring erratically for an
average high school student, ranging from bullying to mysterious cafeteria food. The
most overlooked danger for a high school student, however, is when their potential to
achieve academically is hindered by their parents financial status. The four years spent
in high school is a pivotal journey for a large majority of students; it is a time for them to
face their own personal adversities head on and battle to choose their own paths in life
after graduation. During this time period, high school students become increasingly
interested in work and attempt to identify an occupation which is compatible with their
values and self-concepts and is expressive of their personal interests and abilities
(Mortimer, Dennehy, & Lee, 1992). The injustice economically disadvantaged students
encounter in high school may lead to major implications for their future career
development and socioeconomic attainment.
To further expound on the unjust disadvantages for low-income students, the
problem is more complex than a simple imbalance in the quality or quantity of academic
tools available. The public education system fails to recognize that economically
disadvantaged students need a different set of tools to cater to the idiosyncrasies
formed by the social and economical family burden. Students from low-income families
tend to have feelings of less self-efficacy than their peers, in addition to less intrinsic
motivation to perform well on their academics (Mortimer, Dennehy, & Lee, 1992). A
student from a low-income household is more inclined to have his confidence in his
competence faltered, which in turn, affects his motivation and focus on his academic
future. In addition, students from a low-income household are not accustomed to
making long-term goals for themselves and instead think on a day-to-day strategy. In
order to achieve the same academic success as their peers, these economically
disadvantaged students are at a disadvantage of having to work harder while the rest of
the youth have the opportunity to work smarter.
We, at Microsoft, are acutely aware of and concerned by this social ill pervasive
amongst our youth today. Our past experience with creating opportunities for the youth,
through our successful Microsoft YouthSpark initiative, has only fueled our insatiable

hunger to empower the generation of our future leaders. Our tact for our philanthropic
mission, headlined on our companys website, is Empowerment begins with inclusion.
We affirm our commitment to empower economically disadvantaged students for the
benefit of their futures and for the future of our world as history has taught humanity
that our strength lies within inclusion.
Background
The Dallas Independent School District is the 14 th largest school district in the
nation with a diverse population of about 157,000 students. Students who come from
low-income families make up 89 percent of the Dallas Independent School Districts
student population, one of the highest percentages for urban districts around the
country. Generally, economically disadvantaged students tend to struggle in school and
perform poorly on standardized tests; on a campus level, economically disadvantaged
high school students are less likely to graduate ready for college. College readiness is
determined in high school students by their ACT and SAT scores. According to the
Texas Education Agencys standards, students are considered college-ready with a 24
composite score on the ACT and an 1,110 on the SATs math and critical reading
sections. The Dallas Independent School District, with lower standards, consider
students to be college-ready with a 21 composite score on the Act and a 990 on the
SATs math and critical reading sections (Haag, 2014).
In 2013, only 15 percent (1,212 out of 8,268) of Dallas high school graduates met
the Dallas Independent School Districts college-ready standards. Unsurprisingly, half of
the Dallas students who did make college-ready scores are from magnet schools. 603
(out of the total 1,212) of the college-ready scores in 2013 were made by graduates of
magnet schools with a total of 433 high school graduates. The remainder of the collegeready scores made in 2013 (609 out of 1,212) were made by comprehensive high
schools with a total of 6,023 high school graduates. Comprehensive schools hold 15
times more students than magnet schools, however, they only had 10 percent of their
graduates with college-ready scores. Magnet schools, in comparison, had 58 percent of
their graduates with college-ready scores (Haag, 2014). The Dallas Independent School
District holds 15 comprehensive high schools with at least 83 percent of their students
in low-income households. In 2013, these 15 high schools combined had a total of
3,727 seniors and only 200 graduated ready for college (Haag, 2014). Without the
esteemed magnet schools, the overall college-ready rate for Dallas would drop from a
subpar 15 percent to an unacceptable 8 percent. It can be deduced from these statistics
that students from low-income families are in danger of leaving high school ill-prepared
for college, and that Dallas is suffering greatly from this social ill since the majority of
our student population falls in this economically disadvantaged demographic.

Microsoft proposes an effective campaign to diminish the presence of this

prevalent social illness in the Dallas Independent School District by focusing our
initiatives on David W. Carter High School. David W. Carter High School has shown
dramatic improvements over the past few years in academic attendance and graduation
participation, yet their college ready statistics remain abysmally low. Through these
statistics, it can be deduced that since the students are attending school they are
merely lacking the necessary tools to help them make college-ready scores.

In todays society, there is an increased demand for college-educated workers. A

college diploma is the surest way to secure middle-class status for an individual. Due to
this, it is imperative that we provide the education necessary to enable students from
low-income families to be able to keep up with the demanding economy. As a
recognized leader in corporate social responsibility, with numerous contributions to
improving communities and individual lives, weve learned that empowering people and
organizations to achieve more is the real power behind our philanthropic inspiration.
We at Microsoft affirm that opening the opportunity for low-income students to achieve
more in their academics will also empower their contributions towards the community.
Proposal
At Microsoft, we have a passion for helping our community, which we support this
passion in a variety of ways. One of them is raising funds for the David W. Carter High
School students in Dallas, Texas. We are proposing to do a 5K race to promote an
overall increase of college readiness and the increase in the ACT/SAT scores for
students from David W. Carter High School. ACT/SAT scores can determine the future
success of students since many colleges and universities heavily weigh these scores
when student apply for their school. For this event we are estimating a total of 1,000
participants, and we will sell our tickets for $30. We are hoping to generate around
$30,000 of proceeds, which after all cost deductions, will go to David W. Carter High
School. Their own school administration will award 8 students with the Karen Dillards
College Prep scholarships which will be selected through an application process
created by Microsoft. Karen Dillards College Prep school, located in the Dallas-Fort
Worth area, prepares students by guiding them through their courses and planning their
future goals. This successful college prep course will help students from David W.
Carter High School score well on their ACT/SAT tests and get them on track for college.
Many students have attested to Karen Dillard's College Prep being the only reason they
were able to score well on their tests. With the testimonies we have heard, we believe
Karen Dillards College Prep will prepare students at David W. Carter High School for a
successful future.
Microsoft will prepare an application process for David W. Carter High School to
use in selecting the students who receive the Karen Dillards College Prep scholarships.
This will begin in December, one month before the marketing campaign. In that month,
David W. Carter High students will send in their applications in which the David W.
Carter High School staff will have a selection committee to decide who will receive the
scholarships. Microsoft believes in rewarding hard-working students, which is why we
created the application process instead of randomly selecting students who may or may
not take advantage of the scholarship.

Our campaign will be executed in three parts: the marketing campaign, the
promotional event, and the post-race awards ceremony. The first step, the marketing
campaign, will begin seven months prior to the date of the promotional event. Our main
goal is to let the Dallas community know about the 5K race and lure as many
participants as possible. We want to attract as many people around the Dallas area as
possible to participate in our event. At this time we will also be collecting donations from
whomever may donate whether they are participating in the event or not. In addition, we
will start to look for local businesses and companies to donate specific necessities to
our event. Local grocery stores and food marts will be our first target, for we will be
providing drinks and snacks at our race, and we plan on getting all of our drinks and
snacks donated so we do not have to spend any money on that part of our budget. At
this time, we will also be looking for companies to sponsor our event in different
capacities. Next, in our marketing strategy, we will have flyers posted up in different
locations around Dallas by our interns. The flyers will be posted in popular locations,
such as Downtown Dallas, Uptown Dallas, Deep Ellum, Bishop Arts, Pleasant Grove,
Fair Park, Klyde Warren Park, Southern Methodist University, University of Texas at
Dallas, Texas Womans University, and Dallas Baptist University. In our marketing
strategy, we plan on targeting local universities, such as the ones listed above, in order
to help maximize the number of participants in the event. In June 2017, there will be a
month long radio-ad campaign on KZPS-FM promoting the Race for Success, to
where they will advertise why we are hosting this event and who it will benefit. KZPSFM will recognize the sponsors in these ads and will also highlight the performance
awards for the race, in order to attract participants.
The next step of our initiative is the actual promotional event itself: A 5K race
which will take place September of 2017 in Downtown Dallas. The 5K race (3.1 miles)
will be within the perimeters of Fair Park, along with the booths to pass out free food
and refreshments from our sponsors. In addition, there will be free live music provided
by a local band to play throughout the duration of the event. Participants will have
specific numbers in which they will receive during registration. After checking-in, they
are encouraged to run, walk, and/or job the 5k, for not everyone has to compete in this
event.
The final part of our campaign is the awards ceremony which will be held directly
after the race. We will have three performance awards for the 5k race. After the
conclusion of the race, we will present our awards for the runners who placed in first,
second, and third. The first place winner will receive a Desktop PC from Microsoft, while
the second place winner will receive a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Tablet, and finally the
third place winner will receive an Android Galaxy S7 from Microsoft. These awards
appear in the budgeting section of our proposal, although they are Microsoft made
products.

All of our proceeds from the 5k race will be donated to David W. Carter High
School to grant 8 student scholarships to Karen Dillards College Prep. If we do not
raise enough for 8 scholarships (which we do not think will be a problem), then
Microsoft will pay up front the remaining amount of money needed to cover the eight
scholarships.
We believe that our 5k race will help raise money along with awareness of
preparing our Dallas ISD students in becoming college ready. These High School
students are the future and we want to provide these students with opportunities to help
them succeed.
Staffing
Microsoft plans on providing the a significant amount of staff through volunteers
and employees of Microsoft. Some companies have their difficulties in pushing their
employees to become part of the community and volunteer. We plan on providing small
incentives to encourage and motivate these employees to participate in our 5k race.
The first incentive for employees is that if they choose to volunteer at the 5k race,
they will not have to show up to work that day. There will be different shifts that
employees can fill throughout the day. Employees will come to the 5k, complete their
shift, and then they will be allowed to go home. If an employee choose to volunteer, they
will work and then be allowed to go home instead and returning to work. This gives
employees a change in scenery and instead of working their usual 9-5 schedule, they
will complete a short shift that is around 2-3 hours and then they may go home. We
believe this incentive alone will be enough to get a good number of volunteers from
Microsoft.
The second incentive that Microsoft is offering is free T-shirts for all who
volunteer. This is a much smaller incentive than the first incentive, but it is a nice gift to
give our employees for helping out. These shirts will identify our employees as the
volunteers during the race, and our employees may wear these T-shirts on special days
that Microsoft has such as casual Fridays. This is also a relative inexpensive incentive,
for we will mass produce the T-shirts in which they will not cost a lot, but that will be
covered in the budgeting section.
Our last idea in order to motivate employees to volunteer is to create a friendly
competition among departments here at Microsoft. Microsofts departments such as
Human Resources, Accounting, and Marketing will compete to see who can get the
highest participation percentage among their department. The department with the

highest participation percentage will receive a department-wide pizza party later on in

the year. We believe this is a fun way to get a multitude of people across all company
departments involved in the Dallas community. Also, this will encourage employees to
bring along other employees to volunteer at the 5k because they want to win the pizza
party. We do not want a few people, or one specific department being the only
volunteers at our 5k race. We would prefer as many people who represent all parts of
our company volunteering and showing their support the Dallas community. Employees
will sign in when they volunteer and this is how we will keep track of which department
has the most representation.
With these incentives, Microsoft plans on getting the staffing we need from our
own employees. Our incentives will make volunteering a fun experience, but also create
a friendly competition among the employees at Microsoft.
Budget

Budget Item

Costs

Marketing Campaign

Fliers: $1,300
Radio Advertisements: $1,200
Total: $2,500

*Awards (Microsoft products will be

provided at no charge and the proceeds
of the race will cover the costs of the
scholarships.)

Electronics: $3,100
Scholarships: $23,992

Venue (Park rental, staffing, Live band,

road closure, Race Day Event Services,
etc.)

Total: $37,805

Miscellaneous (T shirts)

Total: $3,300

*Grand Total (Grand Total minus the

cost of awards):

$70,697 ($43,605)

Total: $27,092

For our plan to move forward, we will require a fair amount of spending. For our
budget, we can divide it into four primary sections: the marketing campaign that will help
us raise awareness of the event, the cost of the event itself, the cost of the awards, and
a few miscellaneous expenses. Our marketing plan, comprised of a radio advertisement

campaign and a series of mailed fliers, will amount to $2,500 or so. The radio ads will
cover a large area to reach as many people as possible, and the fliers will give us a
more physical presence in the minds of potential runners. It is absolutely critical that we
are able to fund this aspect of the budget, because without it, we are unlikely to have
adequate participation from the public, and the event itself would simply fall through.
The event itself comprises the single largest portion of the overall budget. The
venue will of course need to be rented and staffed with a fair amount of custodial and
security personnel so that the park is kept clean and safe throughout the day. In
addition, we are hosting a live band for entertainment. Ideally, the additional
entertainment will boost enthusiasm for people to attend the event, and encourage
people to stay longer and hopefully donate further to our cause. The 5K itself will also
require road closures in order to accommodate the large amount of runners. We have
decided that the entire race will be helmed by Race Day Event Services, because they
specialize in hosting such events, and would help ensure that the race runs as smoothly
as possible. According their website, we will be charged $3,000 for their services.
For miscellaneous expenses, it is simply a matter of purchasing T shirts for the
race participants and Microsoft volunteers. This relatively minor is a simple but effective
way to raise awareness of the event leading up to it as volunteers wear their shirts in
public. Additionally, after the race has concluded, volunteers and runners will continue to
wear them, which would ideally lead to greater notice from the public, allowing us to
possibly hold future events of the same kind. Furthermore, in order to provide food and
water to our participants and volunteers, we are working closely with local restaurants
and other sponsors who have agreed to donate food and drinks for our event.
Finally, the awards, namely the scholarships that we will be offering, are another
key part of the event. The cost of the scholarships will vary heavily depending on where
the selected students are in their high school (Freshmen, Sophomore, etc.). The further
along they are, the lower the cost. Because of this, we are assuming that all eight
winners will be Freshmen so that we are prepared to cover the costs. By offering theses
scholarships to economically disadvantaged kids, we are able to give them a much
better chance of success in their academic careers. By giving them the knowledge and
study skills that they need, they are far more likely to finish college with higher grades
and contribute more to the community than if they had been unable to attend college at
all. The winners of these scholarships could be the next great businessman or woman,
a successful inventor, or a pioneering doctor. We owe it to these kids to give them the
best chance at success possible.
Conclusion
When our company was ranked number one in Corporate Social Responsibility
by the Reputation Institute in 2013, our Senior Director of Citizenship and Public Affairs
was able to express our philanthropic devotions in a quote in Forbes. Its a tremendous
honor and one that were very proud to receive, says Dan Bross. Being ranked the No.
1 company for CSR in this report is especially meaningful, since the data comes directly
from surveys of the general public. Our citizenship mission is to serve the needs of

communities around the world and to fulfill our responsibilities to the public. This has
been part of our DNA for the past 30-plus years. Being recognized by the Reputation
Institute really shows that our efforts are making a positive impact on people in our own
backyard and around the world. (Smith, 2012). At Microsoft, our mission statement is to
empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
Everyday, we strive to help people be the absolute best they can be in whatever they
do, and we place a high amount of emphasis on the phrase achieve more. With
respect to economically disadvantaged kids in Dallas, we are committed to helping them
reach their highest aspirations.
Through our Race for Success initiative and the Karen Dillards College Prep
scholarships, we hope to provide these disadvantaged students with the tools and
knowledge that they need to achieve more. By offering these assets, these students will
be far more likely to be prepared for and succeed in college, excel in their future
careers, and one day give back to their own communities. If we can make a difference
in the life of just one student, we at Microsoft believe that it will have been well worth the
investment. Thank you for your consideration.

References
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