Kinecta Offering Student Scholarships, Teacher Grants For Growth

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Applications are open now through March 1, for eligible students and teacher to apply for Kinecta Federal Credit Union's Youth Scholarships and Teaching Grants for Growth program.

Eight $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to students who want to make higher education a reality, and six $2,000 grants will be given to teachers to help them improve instruction and classroom projects, the Kinecta news release said. The winners will be announced on or around May 31.

Since the Youth Scholarships and Teaching Grants for Growth program started, Kinecta has awarded more than $208,000 to help 93 students, and has helped 19 teachers to purchase supplies or fund classroom projects, the news release said.

"Kinecta Federal Credit Union is dedicated to helping young adults reach their academic goals and teachers enhance their classroom offerings," Latrice McGlothin, Community Engagement Officer, Kinecta. "In 2019, we received more than 200 submissions from prospective students and over 70 submissions from teachers. We are proud to offer eight $2,000 scholarships to full-time students and six $2,000 grants to pre-K to 12th-grade teachers this year."

Application Guidelines

Students Scholarships:

Eligible applicants should be:

• 24 years of age of younger at time of application
• A high school senior applying for, or already accepted as, a full-time student at an accredited college or university, OR a full-time student attending and continuing at an accredited college or university.

Eligible applicants must submit a written essay with a minimum of 1,000 words answering the question: "What do you consider your greatest success? And why do you consider it your greatest success."

Applications will be scored based on the following criteria:

• Essay – 40%
• Community Involvement – 20%
• GPA – 15% (transcripts required)
• Awards & Achievements – 10%
• Extracurricular Activities – 10%
• SAT or equivalent – 5% (transcripts required)

Teachers Grants are open to:

• Pre-K to 12th-grade teachers certified in their state of residence, as well as home-school teachers
• Only ONE grant will be awarded per teacher, although there is no limit to the number of applications an individual may submit.
• Recipients must use grant funds to purchase supplies and/or fund a classroom project.
• Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Grants will be awarded based on the information provided in the application. Several factors will be taken into consideration, including financial need, number of students impacted and project creativity.

For more information about Kinecta Scholarships, visit the Kinecta website.