Black females obtain the majority of scholarships for African Americans.
Black females are having an increasingly large impact on the educated workforce. The U.S. Department of Education reported in 2008 that the number of black people receiving degrees increased 73 percent between 1998 and 2008, and over 66 percent of these degrees were awarded to females. Black females looking for scholarships to help pay for their college tuition can apply to several nonprofit organizations.
Ron Brown
The Ron Brown Scholarship program was founded in 1996 with the intent of making college possible for talented African Americans. It gives awards of up to $40,000 ($10,000 per year for up to four years) to high school seniors pursuing careers in the arts, sciences, public service and business. Each year about half of its scholars are women. In addition to scholarships for academic merit, it also has a L.E.A.D. (Leadership Education and Development) program, which is geared toward students with an interest in community organizing.
Ronald McDonald House
The Ronald McDonald House is a nonprofit organization that has provided over $40 million in scholarships since 1985, as of June 2011. It partners with the African-American Future Achievers program to award merit-based scholarships to high school seniors with at least one parent of African-American or Black Caribbean heritage. Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.7, be under 21 years old and attach an essay about their heritage with their applications. Grant amounts are a minimum of $1,000.
UNCF
The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) works with 38 colleges in the southeastern part of the country to administer over 400 scholarship programs that make awards to over 60,000 African-American students every year. Its Merck Science Initiative scholarship for undergraduates gives awards up to $25,000 to college juniors with an engineering major and a minimum GPA of 3.3. The Merck Initiative also has a fellowship for graduate students that gives award amounts of up to $53,500, as of June 2011, for students currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in the fields of biology, chemistry or engineering.
AAUW
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) aims to make college affordable for females and focuses its scholarships on minorities and people with disabilities. It first began in 1882, and its network comprises over 100,000 members and 500 universities as of June 2011. Its Community Action Grant awarded $250,000 to 33 recipients in 2010. The grant does not have a predetermined GPA criterion, but instead uses a subjective evaluation process that focuses on individuals who start community outreach programs targeting at-risk women. For example, one award in 2010 was used to fund a financial literacy program for formerly incarcerated women who are now pursuing college degrees.
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