The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund
The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund supports financially needy dependent children, spouses, and domestic partners of 9/11 victims.
The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund will end in 2030.
The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund
On September 11, 2001, the unthinkable happened, and our nation was forever changed. Every American was hit extremely hard that day, especially children whose parents died or were permanently disabled as a result of the attacks. In immediate response, Scholarship America helped establish the Families of Freedom Fund to support those dependents. It’s been our honor and privilege to serve them for years. Since 2001, we have awarded over $193 million to 3,877 students.
The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund will end in 2030.
Please visit the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund website to learn more and meet some of the students we have supported.
Eligibility
Registrants must be dependent children, spouses, or domestic partners of 9/11 victims, including airplane crew and passengers; World Trade Center and Pentagon workers and visitors; and relief workers, including firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and law enforcement personnel, who were involved in the rescue efforts.
Parents and siblings of victims are not eligible unless they can provide documentation of financial dependence on the victim.
All scholarship applicants must complete the registration process prior to submitting their first application. The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund is only accepting registrations for victims who passed away on the day of September 11, 2001. Registration for the families of disabled victims is closed.
Families of Freedom Scholarships are available for children who enroll in a program of postsecondary study by age 24. (Those children who turn 24 during their course of study must then continue their program of study uninterrupted, with the exception of summer vacations, in order to continue receiving scholarship assistance.)
The Families of Freedom Scholarship is a need-based award. Students who show no financial need may receive a modest onetime award of up to $1,000*. They will not qualify for additional funding (unless their financial situation changes). Students are encouraged to reapply each year to see if they qualify.
*Student eligible for the Twin Towers Award will still qualify to receive Twin Towers funding even if they do not qualify to receive the Families of Freedom Award. Twin Towers recipients must still apply for the Families of Freedom Scholarship to receive their award.
Permanently Disabled
Permanently disabled individuals must be deemed disabled by the Social Security Administration and have successfully completed the Families of Freedom registration process prior to September 30, 2016. The registration period has closed indefinitely for victims who were permanently disabled as a direct result of 9/11.
Children of disabled registrants must have been born after September 11, 2001 but prior to September 30, 2008 in order to be eligible.
Eligible Uses of Funds
- Scholarships may be used to attend an accredited vocational-technical school, trade school, two-year college, four-year college, or university located in the United States.
- Funds are only available for undergraduate study.
- Families of Freedom Scholarships are available for postsecondary study only. The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund does not provide scholarships for elementary or secondary school.
- Families of Freedom Scholarship recipients may receive need-based scholarship awards for up to four years, or the equivalent if attendance is part-time, depending on total funding available.
- Eligibility for scholarship assistance is always based on financial need, as calculated by our financial need formula.
- Families of Freedom Scholarships are not provided to pay tuition or student loans retroactively.
- Although conditions may change over time, including the percentage of financial need covered, retroactive payments will not be made from the Fund to past recipients.
Staying Eligible
- Grades are not considered in determining initial eligibility for Families of Freedom scholarships or the value of scholarship awards. However, a transcript of grades is required to verify enrollment and course completion for prior terms.
- Students must apply each year for awards from the Fund in order to determine continued eligibility and award amount.
- Eligibility for scholarship assistance is always based on financial need. Award amounts for eligible students may change yearly, based on changes in family finances, changes in tuition rates, and current actuarial projections for the Fund.
Application Periods
Applications must be submitted within the periods listed below. Late applications will not be accepted.
- 2026-2027 Full-Year: May 5, 2026 – August 5, 2026
- Fall 2026 Term: August 15, 2026 – October 15, 2026
- Spring 2027 Term: December 15, 2026 – February 15, 2027
Awards
Awards are based on a percentage of calculated financial need, not a percentage of the total school or college cost. Because of this, award amounts differ from student to student. The formula used to determine a student’s award amount is as follows:
- School Cost
- minus SPC (Specified Parent Contribution)
- minus Other Aid
- equals Financial Need
Award Amount = Financial Need x % of need paid by Families of Freedom
*Percent of need changes each year based on annual actuarial review
While the standard formula considers a wide range of income and assets in determining financial need, the Fund does not consider:
- Nontaxable income
- 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund assets
- Retirement funds
- Value of the family residence
- Student earnings
In addition, the first $500,000 of family assets (cash, checking account, savings account, and cash value of stocks) is ignored in the financial needs calculation. However, interest income from the Victim Compensation Fund awards that families have invested is included in the need calculation, as it is often impossible to separate this investment income from the rest of the interest income that people report on their tax returns.
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.
- Copy of the first two pages of the most recently filed IRS Form 1040 used for the Financial Information section of the application. Please black out all Social Security numbers and bank account information.
- Copy of SSA Disability Letter for permanently disabled individuals and qualifying family members, upload proof of receiving Social Security Disability Benefits from the Social Security Administration. The letter must be dated within three months of the application and must indicate that the permanently disabled individual is receiving monthly disability benefits.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click the Apply Now button. It will automatically redirect you to the secure Scholarship America HUB.
Click on First Time Here – I am a Student to create a username and password. You will then receive an email to verify your account. Click the link in the email to verify your account and finish setting up your profile.
Once your profile is set up you be directed to a list of potential scholarships. Look for the Families of Freedom Scholarship (there may be more then one ie. Summer/Fall/Year) click the apply now button for the term you are applying.
Complete the application, and upload the required documents before you Lock and Submit.
For full instructions, click on this link: Application Instructions
No. A unique email address should be set up for each student. We discourage applicants from using their EDU school address.
Interest earnings reflected in the parent’s annual Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) are considered taxable income and will be used in the financial need calculation if it is reported as taxable income on the filed IRS Tax Form 1040.
All supporting documents need to be uploaded when completing the application. For privacy, and security purposes, we no longer accept emailed, or faxed documents.
You should retain your registration number, username, password, and the email address you used to set up your account. We highly recommend keeping a folder containing all of your login information and copies of paperwork throughout the duration of your scholarship.
Full Year applications are accepted for full-time undergraduate students attending an entire academic year. One application can be submitted for the entire year.
All other terms (Semester/Quarter/Summer) are used to apply for a single quarter or semester, part-time, summer, or certifications programs. A new application, and supporting documents must be submitted for each term attended.
Yes! However, it is important to note that summer funding does count against the maximum number of semesters you are eligible to receive. Students are eligible for a total of four academic years of funding or its equivalent of eight semesters.
To get an estimated Parent Contribution and Award Amount please use the Estimated Award Calculator on the Families of Freedom website.
You are responsible for making payment to the school if tuition is due prior to check disbursement dates. Please work with the school for reimbursement of expenses paid out of pocket when you present the scholarship check to the school. Provide the school with a copy of your notification of award email as soon as you receive it.
Yes, all invest income (including the sale of a property) is included when calculating Families of Freedom award amounts.
In addition to the main Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, a number of donors have established subfunds. These are operated in conjunction with the main Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund. In general, these subfunds provide awards to financially needy children and spouses of 9/11 victims in the same manner as the main Fund. However, only two of these subfunds are governed by the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund Declaration. The rest are governed by separate, independent agreements between Scholarship America and the donors which detail the specific terms and conditions of each subfund.
“General Subfunds” are open to all Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund registrants. Others, listed as “Designated Subfunds,” are open only to specific groups of Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund registrants, such as rescue personnel or students attending certain colleges and universities.
General Subfunds
Benjamin Moore & Co.
Heroes of Freedom Fund
Biogen Legacy Fund
Citigroup Relief Fund
FCA Foundation
Freddie Mac MBS Mega Scholarship Fund
Hyogo Prefecture Friendship Fund
International Youth Foundation (IYF)
Nokia Education Fund
Major League Baseball (MLB)/ Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) Freedom Scholarship Fund
The National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation (NADCF) created the Fund
PeopleSoft/Oracle Scholarship Fund
PGA TOUR 9-11 Scholarship Fund
The Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation American Heroes Fund
Scottish Rite National Disaster Relief Scholarship Fund
Designated Subfunds
Big Ten 9-11 Scholarship Fund
DuPont Scholarship Fund
Japan Relief Fund
NCAA 9-11 Scholarships
Twin Towers Fund Scholarship Program
