Mission Wealth Scholars

ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP

 

Mission Wealth Scholars is a scholarship program that aims to advance the financial planning profession by providing financial assistance to individuals aspiring to become a CFP® professional with a financial need and/or who are from populations underrepresented in the profession.

Founded in 2000, Mission Wealth is a registered investment advisor (RIA) firm that manages over $6.5 billion in assets and provides financial planning services to more than 2,800 clients in the United States. Mission Wealth has partnered with the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning to offer this scholarship in an effort to create a more diverse and sustainable financial planning profession. We are on a mission to inspire people, to optimize their finances, and to achieve their life goals. We understand and celebrate varied perspectives and backgrounds, knowing this is a strength to Mission Wealth that sparks creativity and innovation, brings awareness and compassion to the workplace and attracts more diverse clients.

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

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

• Must be a U.S. resident;
• Must be enrolled in an undergraduate or certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program at a college or university located in either of the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas or Washington state;

OR

Must be a resident of one of the above states and enrolled in an online undergraduate or certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program at the time the award is issued;

• 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 program enrollment and costs prior to receiving the award;
• Must have a demonstrated financial need and/or be from an underrepresented population within the financial planning profession in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation, 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 must 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 October 22, 2023.

Award Decision

Scholarship applicants will be notified of the award decision via email by November 30, 2023. If you have a question about the status of your application, please contact us at scholarships@cfpboard.org.