America’s Heroes Scholarship Fund
The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties has established a scholarship program to assist the children or spouses of law enforcement personnel who have fallen in the line of duty.
America's Heroes Scholarship Fund
The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties has established a scholarship program to assist the children or spouses of law enforcement personnel who have fallen in the line of duty who plan to continue their education in two-year or four-year colleges, vocational-technical programs, or graduate school.
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Eligibility
Applicants to the America’s Heroes Scholarship Fund must:
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident (applicants to provide verification through U.S. Birth Certificate, U.S. Passport, Permanent Resident Card/Green Card, Employment Authorization Document, or Naturalization or Citizenship Certificate)
- Be a dependent child or spouse of a fallen law enforcement officer
- Applicants must provide an official letter from the Law Enforcement Agency where the officer was employed, confirming that the officer’s death occurred in the line of duty
- Be a graduating high school senior or graduate, GED holder, current undergraduate, or graduate student (preference for high school graduating students)
- Be enrolled or plan to enroll in a part-time or full-time course of study at an accredited two- or four-year college/university or vocational-technical school in the United States
- Certification programs must be through an accredited institution and be a minimum of one semester/term in length (or equivalent – 6-12 semester hours/credits, or equivalent), and applicants must be enrolled at the time awards are disbursed
- Part-time enrollment consists of a minimum of 6 credits per term/semester
- Have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent, unweighted)
- Children of Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties employees are not eligible for these awards
Awards
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $10,000 award.
Awards are renewable up to three years or until a degree is earned, whichever occurs first, based on satisfactory academic performance (maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale) and part-time or full-time enrollment.
Awards may transfer from an undergraduate to graduate degree if the student enrolls the semester after graduation.
Awards are for undergraduate and graduate study.
Applicants may receive ONE award per year from the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties.
Notification
All applicants will be notified in May.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address as safe senders in your email contact list.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of the Sponsor. Payment is made in July.
Selection of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
- Academic performance
- A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
- Unusual personal or family circumstances
- Two (2) online letters of recommendation
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of the Sponsor play a part in the selection. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. Students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
- A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
- Student name
- School name
- Grades
- Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken
- One letter from a law enforcement agency verifying that parent or spouse worked there at the time of death in the line of duty
- Verification of U.S. Citizenship or permanent residency:
- U.S. Birth Certificate
- Issued by a state, county, or city vital records office
- Must show the student was born in the United States or U.S. territories
- Hospital certificates or photocopies are accepted
- U.S. Passport (Book or Card)
- Current or expired
- Serves as both identity and citizenship proof
- Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
- For individuals who derived or acquired citizenship through a parent
- Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
- For individuals who became citizens through naturalization
- Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766)
- For individuals authorized to work in the United States
- Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551; “Green Card”)
- For individuals approved to live and work permanently in the United States
- U.S. Birth Certificate
NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.
Two online letters of recommendation must be submitted on your behalf no later than three business days after the application deadline date.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
See other scholarships from the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties here: https://scholarshipamerica.org/cfpbmc/
