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Apply for a Scholarship

Financial Alliance for Racial Equity CFP® Certification Diversity Scholarship

 

about the scholarship

The Financial Alliance for Racial Equity CFP® Certification Diversity Scholarship aims to advance the financial planning profession by growing the next generation of diverse CFP® professionals. The scholarship provides financial assistance to qualified individuals who identify as Black or African American and who strive to obtain the CFP® certification.

Launched in 2020, the Financial Alliance for Racial Equity (FARE) is a coalition of financial services firms, historically black colleges and universities and industry partners working together to increase racial diversity, drive greater equity and foster inclusion within the financial services industry and the communities it serves. FARE has partnered with the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning to offer this scholarship as an actionable solution to transform the financial services industry to better serve diverse employees and communities.

The scholarship awards up to $5,000 per student seeking to complete a certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program, and up to $7,000 per student seeking to complete an undergraduate-level CFP Board Registered Program, either of which would qualify the student to sit for the CFP® exam.

eligibility requirements

  • Must not be a prior recipient of a CFP Board Center for Financial Planning scholarship;
  • Must be a U.S. resident;
  • Must identify as Black or African-American;
  • In order to receive the award, must be enrolled in an undergraduate or certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program. Click here for a list of eligible programs. If not enrolled at the time of applying, scholarship awardees will have up to 3 months to enroll or forfeit the award;
  • If applying for an undergraduate-level scholarship, must not be in the final semester at the time of the application;
  • If applying for a certificate-level scholarship, must possess an undergraduate degree and must not have completed more than 5 courses in the certificate-level program at the time of the application.
  • Must provide documentation of enrollment in an eligible program and costs prior to receiving the award;
  • Must have a demonstrated financial need, as explained in an essay to be submitted during the application process;
  • Must demonstrate commitment to the financial planning profession, as explained in an essay to be submitted during the application process; and
  • Must exhibit professionalism and the ability to enhance and maintain the profession’s public image as demonstrated in an essay to be submitted during the application process.

Applicants who are selected to proceed to the final round of the application review process will be required to pass a background check conducted by CFP Board.

submission requirements

Please note that applications will only be accepted through this webpage. Please do not attempt to submit application materials via email, mail or fax.

When submitting application essays and materials, please pay close attention to spelling and grammar, as that will be factored into the grading process.

award process

Scholarship awards will be disbursed in two equal installments. To receive the first installment, recipients will have to demonstrate proof of enrollment in an eligible undergraduate or certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program. If not currently enrolled in a program, recipients will have up to 3 months to enroll after being notified of the award. The second installment will be awarded either upon completing the program (if the awardee has already started coursework), or when the awardee is half-way through the program (if the awardee has not yet started coursework).

application deadline

The application window will be open until April 2, 2023.

award decision

Scholarship applicants will be notified of the award decision via email in May 2023. If you have a question about the status of your application, please contact us at scholarships@cfpboard.org.

 

Application Form

CFP Board Account Number (if you don’t have a CFP Board account, click here to create one)

Important: Be sure your CFP Board account includes: 1) your date of birth, and 2) the last 4 digits of your social security number. Not having this information may delay your application and disqualify you from the application.

Ethnicity (select all that apply):

Essay
Please upload an essay that addresses each of the questions below as a single Word document or PDF. Please pay attention to spelling and grammar as that will be factored into the grading process.

  1. Why do you want to become a CFP® professional? How will you use your CFP® certification to better serve diverse communities? (250 – 500 words)
  2. Please identify two ways the financial planning profession can better attract and retain diverse talent. (250 – 500 words)
  3. Please indicate how you meet the eligibility requirements for this scholarship by demonstrating your financial need in detail. (250 – 500 words)

Program Type
Enter the type of CFP Board Registered Program you are attending:

In order to receive the award, you must be enrolled in an undergraduate or certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program. If not enrolled at the time of applying, scholarship recipients will have up to 3 months from the date of being notified of the award to enroll, or will forfeit the award.

Please provide the name of a CFP Board Registered Program you are enrolled in, or will enroll in. If you don’t yet know the program you will enroll in, enter “Don’t Know Yet.” Click here to find a CFP Board Registered Program.

If enrolled in an undergraduate program, enter how many semesters you have left to complete. If enrolled in a certificate program, enter how many classes you have left to complete. If you are not yet enrolled, enter “Not Yet Enrolled.”

If applying for an undergraduate-level scholarship, you must not be in the final semester at the time of the application.

If applying for a certificate-level scholarship, you must not have completed more than 5 courses in the certificate-level program at the time of the application.

Other Financial Aid

Have you received or will receive any other scholarships, employer education reimbursement, or financial aid to cover any portion of the cost of your CFP Board Registered Program? If so, please describe in detail below. (If not, please enter "No")

CFP Board will evaluate scholarship applicants against the Fitness Standards that apply to those who are applying for CFP® certification (https://www.cfp.net/get-certified/certification-process/ethics-requirement/fitness-standards). CFP Board will review the scholarship applicant’s background pursuant to the same process that CFP Board reviews applications for CFP® certification. If CFP Board discovers information that would subject the scholarship applicant to an investigation if the scholarship applicant were an applicant for CFP® certification, then CFP Board will deny the scholarship application. The fact that an individual receives a scholarship does not guarantee that the individual will satisfy CFP Board’s Fitness Standards when the individual later applies for CFP® certification.

Important: Be sure your CFP Board account includes: 1) your date of birth and 2) the last four digits of your social security number. Not having this information may delay your application and disqualify you from the scholarship.