Scholarships

The Elks National Foundation provides more than $3.3 million in college scholarships each year to graduating high school seniors. The "Most Valuable Student," Eagle Scout, and Girl Scout Gold Award scholarships are open to any graduating high school senior. Legacy Awards and Emergency Educational Fund Grants are available only to children of Elks. The application process and deadlines vary for each of the programs. All applications, except for the scouting scholarships, must go through a local Elks Lodge before reaching the Elks National Foundation office.

Call us at 307-674-7297, or stop by at 45 W. Brundage in Downtown Sheridan for more information.

"Most Valuable Student" Competition

Applications for the 2004 contest have to be submitted to the Elks Lodge at 45 W. Brundage by January 9, 2004. Winners of the 2004 contest will be announced by May 15, 2004. The Elks National Foundation will award 500 four-year scholarships to the highest-rated boys and girls in the 2004 competition.

Any high school senior who is a citizen of the United States is eligible to apply.
Applicants need not be related to a member of the Elks.
College students are not eligible to apply.
Applicants must be citizens of the United States on the date their applications are signed; resident alien status does not qualify.
Applicants will be judged on financial need, leadership and scholarship.
All scholarships are in the form of certificates of award conditional upon the enrollment of the winner in an accredited US college or university.

Applications must advance through local, district and state competition to reach the national competition. The Chicago office of the Elks National Foundation will announce the 500 national winners, and notify them in writing, around May 15, 2004. Click here to download an application.

Eagle Scout Awards

The Elks' Eagle Scout Scholarship program is funded by the Elks National Foundation. Applications and all other information must be obtained through the Boy Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts process all applications and notify the Foundation of the applicants selected.

The Foundation awards four $8,000 scholarships ($2,000 per year), and four $4,000 scholarships ($1,000 per year).

Applicants must:

Be Registered Scouts who have achieved the rank of Eagle
Have a SAT score of at least 1090 and/or equivalent ACT score of 26
Be graduating from high school during the year they are applying
Have financial need

The application and required enclosures must be postmarked no later than February 28 and received by the National Eagle Scout Service before March 5. For additional information, contact the National Office, Boy Scouts of America, PO Box 152079, Irving, Texas 75015-2079, 972/580-2000. Click here to download an application.

Gold Award Scholarships

This scholarship program is for young women who have achieved the highest ranking in Girl Scouting – the Gold Award. The Foundation annually awards eight scholarships to Gold Award winners selected by the Girl Scouts of the United States of America. One girl from each Girl Scout Service Area will receive a $6,000 scholarship ($1,500 per year).

Gold Award scholarships are based on:

Academics
Activities
Community involvement
Leadership
Pursuit of individual interests
Applicants must be Gold Award winners and graduating high school seniors.

The contest kicks off in late January each year. Each Girl Scout Council sets its own filing deadline, but each council must submit its top application to GSUSA headquarters by May 1. The GSUSA processes all applications and notifies the ENF of the applicants selected. For information and applications, Gold Award winners should contact their Girl Scout council in late January or visit the Girls Scouts website.

The Legacy Awards

Through its five scholarship programs, the Elks National Foundation now awards more than $3 million a year in college scholarships.

Who is Eligible?

Any child or grandchild (or step-child, step-grandchild, or legal ward) of an active Elk who has been a member in good standing since at least April 1, 2001, or a charter member of a Lodge that was instituted on or after April 1, 2001, is eligible to apply. The Elk must also be a paid-up member through March 31, 2004. Great-grandchildren are not eligible.
The applicant must be a high school senior.
The applicant must apply through the related member's Elks Lodge, regardless of where the applicant resides.
If the applicant's parent and grandparent are both Elks members, the applicant should apply through the parent's Elks Lodge.
Students may apply for more than one ENF scholarship; however, they may win only one. In cases where the student qualifies for more than one, we will award the scholarship with the greater value.
Legacy Awards may only be applied to accredited US American schools, colleges or universities. (Note: Applicants from Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico and the Philippines may apply Legacy Awards toward schools, colleges or universities in their respective homes.)
Applicants must take the Scholastic Aptitude Test or the American College Test by December 31, 2003.

The Selection Committee will judge applicants' scholarship and leadership abilities based on the following information.

Scholarship

Leadership

Responses to short essay questions

This is a merit-based scholarship program. There will be no further investigation of the prospective students or their parents with respect to financial need or other personal matters.

Eligible students should apply in the following manner:

Click here to download an application.

The student must complete the Biographical Questionnaire and return it to the Elks National Foundation postmarked no later than January 9, 2004, along with an up-to-date transcript of grades, SAT or ACT score results, and two sealed letters of reference, including one from a high school teacher.

Be sure you obtain the required signatures. The Elk parent or grandparent with longest continuous membership completes part two of the required signature section; Lodge secretary completes part three.

Upon receipt of the Biographical Questionnaire, the applicant will receive a postcard noting the application was received and the date winners will be announced-April 30, 2004.

Note: Because the contest begins in one Lodge year and the winners are announced in the next, a Legacy Award could go to the child or grandchild of a lapsed member. An applicant’s Elk parent or grandparent must be a paid-up member in good standing at the time of application, but if the Elk chooses not to renew membership, that decision will not affect the outcome of the Legacy Awards contest.

Award winners will be announced in April of each year. Click here for complete rules and more information.

Emergency Educational Fund Grants

The Emergency Educational Grant program provides financial assistance to children of deceased or totally disabled Elks, who wish to obtain or further their college education.

Grant amounts are based on the information submitted in the application and can range up to $3,000. The grant is for one year only; however, the student may submit up to three annual renewal applications for succeeding years as long as he or she meets all other eligibility requirements. The applicant cannot accept more than one ENF scholarship/grant in any one academic year.

New applications should be filed between July 1 and December 31. Renewal applications must be filed between July 1 and October 31. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. The grant is for educational assistance only and not intended to cover the entire cost of a college education. Assistance cannot be extended beyond four years.

Before applying, please be sure that the applicant meets the following eligibility guidelines.

The Elk parent or stepparent must have been a member in good standing at the time of his or her death.
or

The Elk parent or stepparent must have been a member in good standing before he or she became totally disabled and must continue to be an Elk in good standing when application for assistance is made.

The applicant must demonstrate financial need to qualify for a grant under this program.

In addition, the applicant must be unmarried, under the age of 23 as of Dec. 31 in the year of application, and attending a U.S. college or university as a full-time (12 semester hours) undergraduate student.

Applicants must investigate all sources of scholarships and grants available through School, Local, State and Federal Governmental agencies, before submitting an application.

All applications -- new and renewal -- must be submitted to, and processed by, the Lodge where the Elk parent or stepparent is or was a member. Be sure to use the checklist on the application to ensure that all necessary paperwork has been included.

The Lodge Scholarship Assistance Committee must investigate the application, and the committee’s written report must be submitted with the application. After the vote of the Lodge, the Lodge Secretary must complete the portion of the application as noted. These steps must be followed on all new AND renewal applications.

As soon as possible after the student has turned the application in to the Lodge, the Scholarship Committee should conduct its investigation, and the Lodge should follow up with a vote, so that the application can be submitted to the ENF office.

The ENF office does not mail applications for this program in bulk quantities. With each new printing, we may make several changes to the application, so we want to be sure that the Lodges have the most up-to-date application. The Lodge or the student may request an Emergency Educational Fund Grant application from the ENF Chicago office by contacting 773/755-4732 or scholarship@elks.org.