National Federation of the Blind Endowed Scholarship Program

Award Amount
Application deadline
Awarded By:

National Federation of the Blind

Number of Awards & Eligibility: 30 awards offered annually. This program includes the following named scholarships: Kenneth Jernigan and Charles and Melva Owen.
In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:
  1. This award is for U.S. students.
  2. Must be pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time postsecondary course of study in the fall semester.
  3. Must be legally blind.
  4. Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
  5. Must be a high school senior or older to apply for this undergraduate and graduate award.

In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:

Description: This award is available for legally blind students who are pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, postsecondary course of study in a degree program at a U.S. institution.

Application requirements for the National Federation of the Blind Endowed Scholarship Program are:

  • Application form
  • Recommendation letters (2)
  • Official Transcript
  • Proof of legal blindness
  • Interview
  • Essay
Additional Information: All scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, service to the community, and financial need. Recipients of federation scholarships need not be members of the National Federation of the Blind. The scholarship committee reviews all applications and selects the scholarship winners. All decisions by the scholarship committee are final. It is the intention of the NFB to award up to three scholarships to men and women who have already received one Federation scholarship in the past if enough strong and worthy candidates apply.

Award Amount: 1 award at $12,000. 1 award at $10,000. 2 awards at $7,000. 4 awards at $5,000. 22 awards at $3,000. All awards are made on an annual basis and are non-renewable. Students who have previously applied are encouraged to apply again.  The total dollars awarded for this scholarship is $4,066.

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Sunday, March 31

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Sunday, March 31

Applications are available online from the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) website or by contacting the NFB and obtaining a printed version. In addition to the completed application, the student must submit: an essay of no more than 700 words in length; two letters of recommendation from individuals who can describe his/her academic ability, leadership skills, and/or community involvement; proof of legal blindness; a current transcript from the institution that he/she is currently attending, and transcripts from all other postsecondary institutions attended. If he/she has not yet attended such an institution or has not completed one year of study, the applicant should also send his/her high school transcript and a copy of his/her score reports for all standardized tests taken for college admission. Each applicant is required to contact the nearest NFB affiliate president before March 31 to request a personal interview. The interview may take place before or after March 31. By April 15, a president or president's designee completes the interview, usually by telephone, and sends a report to the scholarship office. Documents must be in Microsoft Word document format (.DOC), .DOCX, PDF, or .RTF when submitted via uploading or via attachment to an email. Documents by fax will not be accepted. The completed application and all supporting documents must be submitted online by the deadline date at midnight EST. Multiple applications are unnecessary. Each applicant will be considered for all scholarships for which he/she qualifies.
About National Federation of the Blind:
Contact Information: Patti Chang, Esq., Chairperson
Address: National Federation of the Blind 200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place Baltimore, Maryland 21230

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