SCHOLARSHIP FUND TERMS & CONDITIONS
SCHOLARSHIP FUND MISSION STATEMENT
The Northwest Fisheries Association (NWFA) Scholarship Fund was established for the purpose of providing financial assistance for post-secondary education to all NWFA member company families.
ELIGIBILITY
Any qualified member company employee, or a spouse, domestic partner or dependent of a qualified employee who plans to attend college or a vocational-technical school in the upcoming school year is eligible to apply for a scholarship. To qualify for eligibility the employee must have a minimum of one year of employment.
QUALIFYING DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP
The NWFA Scholarship Fund allows unmarried couples living together in committed, on-going family relationships to participate.
Who are considered qualifying domestic partners under the NWFA scholarship program?
Couples who meet the following conditions:
- both are eighteen years of age or older;
- neither is married to any person;
- are not related by blood to one another in a manner that would bar their marriage in Washington State;
- are living together in a relationship of mutual support, caring, and commitment;
- do not have any other domestic partner.
QUALIFYING DEPENDENT
Who are considered qualifying dependents under the NWFA scholarship program?
A “qualifying dependent” must satisfy all of the following tests:
Relationship to qualified member company employee:
- Spouse
- Child, stepchild, foster child, sibling or stepsibling, or grandchild. Must be under the age of 19 at the end of the tax year, or under the age of 24 if a full-time student for at least five months of the year, or be permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year. Did not provide more than one-half of his/her own support for the year.
Residence: has the same principal residence as the qualified member company employee.
Exceptions apply, in certain cases, for children of divorced or separated parents.
SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS
For full-time study (12 semester or quarter hours per term in a term-based program using credit hours) there will be a minimum of three named NWFA Scholarships awarded each year: the Bob Boroughs Endowment Fund Scholarship, the Ted Evans Endowment Fund Scholarship and the Ted Stevens Memorial Scholarship. Other scholarship awards may be given by the board of trustees at their discretion, and may include a Past Presidents’ Scholarship, a Board Scholarship and a NWFA scholarship. Awards of $5,000 or more are granted.
For part-time study one scholarship up to $2,500 (to cover tuition and books) will be awarded. Only one scholarship per applicant per year will be awarded and no applicant can be awarded a NWFA scholarship more than twice.
Awards are granted without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin.
APPLICATION
Interested individuals must complete an application form and mail it along with a current transcript of grades or letter of acceptance to NWFA, postmarked no later than February 15th.
Applicants are responsible for gathering and submitting all necessary information. Applications are evaluated on the information supplied; therefore, it is important to answer all questions completely. All information received is considered confidential and is reviewed only by the NWFA Scholarship Board and judges.
CHECKLIST
The applicant is responsible for submitting all materials to NWFA on time. Postmark deadline is February 15th. Failure to follow all directions or to omit any of the following may lead to disqualification.
- Completed two page application.
- A letter of recommendation.
- A current transcript or a current letter of acceptance from a post-secondary institution.
- An essay (the most important factor in the evaluation of your application).
- Your essay:
- Should be approximately 300 words,
- Must be typed, double-spaced, on 8-1/2 x 11 white paper.
- Should identify your field of study and outline your goals within this field of study, and what motivates your efforts for further education.
- May address financial need if appropriate.
SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS
Scholarship recipients are selected based on their applications and essays. Selection is determined solely by the NWFA Scholarship Fund Board and judges.
Please note that:
- Judging is conducted through a “blind” process in which information that would identify the applicant is edited out before the application is sent to the judges.
- Any contact with any judge or the scholarship fund board regarding a pending application or an applicant will result in that applicant being disqualified from consideration for a NWFA scholarship.
- It is very important to follow all instructions for submitting an application. Failure to do so may result in disqualification of the application.
Notice of the awards will be made to awardees on or before May 15th. Recipients and non-recipients will be notified via email (make sure your email address is legible). Recipients will also be posted on the NWFA website (www.northwestfisheries.org) by May 1st.
PAYMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS
Scholarship award checks will be distributed to the recipients when proof of registration for full-time students or proof of expenses for tuition and books for part-time students is received at the association office.
REVISONS
NWFA reserves the right to review the conditions and procedures of this scholarship program and to make changes at any time including termination of the program. Previously approved scholarships will not be affected by subsequent changes to the program.
The NWFA Scholarship Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. For more information contact the association office at info@northwestfisheries.org or 206-789-6197.