NCHA Foundation Scholarships

Purpose

In addition to our other areas of focus, one of the NCHA Foundation’s top priorities is ensuring that NCHA youth members have the funds available to achieve their goals of higher education. The NCHA Foundation does so by providing youth members the opportunity to earn scholarships in and out of the cutting arena through our merit-based scholarship program, and the NCHA Foundation Scholarship Cutting held during Youth Week. We are also proud to support the NYCHA Life After the Arena program held annually at Youth Week. This program provides youth members with the tools, confidence, and contacts to achieve their goals in and out of the arena. The NCHA Foundation is also responsible for the management of the Youth Scholarship Fund. Scholarship funds may be used for educational purposes including college/university, trade school, real estate license, etc. For more information on how you can support youth scholarships call the NCHA Foundation at 817-244-6188 ext.144 or email scholarships@nchafountation.org.

Follow this link to access the 2023 Life After the Arena video! https://fb.watch/qWMreecu0P/

Scholarship Payment Requests

Scholarship payments may be requested at any time via the online portal. Please note, that the average time for scholarship payments to be fully processed is two weeks. This period begins the moment you submit your payment request and ends once the funds are accepted by the educational institution. Please schedule your requests with this in mind. All scholarships will only be paid directly to the educational institution in the student's name. NCHA Foundation policy prohibits payments directly to students or their guardians. All payment requests must be submitted through the online portal. To access the portal and/or make a scholarship payment request, follow the links located at the bottom of this page. For questions or assistance setting up your portal login, contact us at scholarships@nchafoundation.org.

Available Foundation Scholarship Opportunities

NCHA Foundation Merit Scholarships

Applicants must be an active NYCHA member or NCHA member under the age of 25 - in good standing, in/entering their junior year of high school, or already enrolled in college, university, or trade school. All merit-based scholarship applications must be submitted via the online portal, accessible through the link at the bottom of this page. Applications go live annually on April 1st and must be submitted by 11:59 PM CST on June 30th. If you would like to prepare, letters of reference are required from your teacher or counselor and an NCHA representative. To complete your application you will need a digital copy of your most recent transcript (including your GPA). If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to us at scholarships@nchafoundation.org.

Before starting your application, please take a moment to review the information below:

1. You will need to create a portal ID and password to get started. The link to create this can be found below. This ID and password will be essential to you moving forward as it will allow you to access your balance, make payment requests, track disbursements, etc. We will NOT be privy to this information, so please store it in a safe place.

2. To complete your application, you will need a digital copy of the following:

   • Your most recent transcript (high school or college) that has your GPA listed.

   • Essay – no more than 1,000 words in response to the prompt on the application.

3. There will be a request for two reference letters, one from a high school/college counselor (or teacher) and one from an NYCHA-affiliated person (director, youth officer, area leader, trainer, etc.)

Dogwood Foundation Scholarship

The Dogwood Foundation Scholarship is an annual scholarship made possible by the generosity of the Merrill Family and Dogwood Foundation. The amount awarded is paid to the college or university in the student’s name. Up to four scholarships will be awarded annually. The NCHA Foundation administers these funds. For the application and more information, please download the application here Dogwood Scholarship Application.

Scholarship Procedures

Any earned scholarship funds sent to the Foundation must be accompanied by a breakdown of the award recipients. Once received, funds are deposited into the Scholarship Investment account and accounted for in each student’s personal portal for tracking until their twenty-fifth birthday. Once youth members "age out," any residual funds are rolled back into the general scholarship fund and used for future scholarships. All requests for scholarship payouts must be made via the online portal. Requested funds will only be mailed to educational institutions. No funds will be paid to the student or parent/guardian. For questions, please contact scholarships@nchafoundation.org.

Affiliates - Currently, in order for affiliate awarded funds to be held and tracked by the Foundation, the affiliate must send no less than $5,000 in awarded monies. For a copy of the official policy or questions contact the office at foundation@nchacutting.com.