Scholarships
The Elks offer several scholarship opportunities to our community students.
1) The Most Valuable Student (MVS) Award is open to all high school seniors. The Elks National Foundation will award 500 four-year scholarships to the highest-rated applicants in the 2023 competition.
- Male and female students compete separately
- Ranging from $1,000 per year to $7,500 per year, Most Valuable Student scholarships are for students pursuing a four-year degree, on a full-time basis (minimum of 12 semester hours), in a U.S. college or university. All scholarships are in the form of certificates of award conditional upon the full-time enrollment of the winner in an accredited U.S. college or university.
- The Chicago office of the Elks National Foundation will announce the 500 national winners in late April, 2024
(SEE GUIDELINES BELOW)
2) Legacy Awards are $4,000 scholarships available to children and grandchildren of Elks members.
(SEE GUIDELINES BELOW)
3) Emergency Educational Grants provide undergraduate college financial assistance to children of deceased or totally disabled Elks in the form of renewable, one-year grants of up to $5,000. The grant is for educational assistance only and is not intended to cover the entire cost of a college education. Grant amounts are based on the information submitted in the application and can range up to $5,000.
(SEE GUIDELINES BELOW)
4) The Elks National Foundation is pleased to offer an exclusive scholarship opportunity just for Elks scholars pursuing a medical degree or Osteopathic Medicine degree. The Gunther & Lee Weigel Medical School Scholarships are scholarships offered to Elks scholars entering their first year of medical school. The scholarship was established through the generosity of the late Lee Weigel, widow of Gunther Weigel. The number of scholarships offered and amounts vary from year to year.
(SEE GUIDELINES BELOW)
5) Vocational Scholarship Award grants up to $2,000 per year – 2 year maximum for vocational training leading to employment. Open to any citizen of U.S.A. living in California or Hawaii No H.S. Diploma required.
(SEE GUIDELINES BELOW)
6) Undergraduate Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities
This scholarship program is a financial needs-based and academic-use scholarship. It is intended for undergraduate work at an accredited community college, four-year college, university, or licensed vocational school. The funds cover academic expenses only, which includes tuition, books, lab fees, and on-campus room and board.
Since 1981 the Elks have provided financial assistance to students with disabilities wishing to further their education. Utilized by dozens of qualified candidates, this program serves a dual purpose: 1) the students are aided in pursuing their goals in higher education; and 2) the students are aided in becoming part of the mainstream working community.
(SEE GUIDELINES BELOW)
Scholarships Guidelines
1) Most Valuable Student (MVS) Award
Our scholarship programs are for undergraduate study only. A student may not receive more than one Elks National Foundation scholarship award or grant in any one academic year.
The scholarships awards (except EEG) are evidenced by a Certificate of Award issued by the Chicago office of the Elks National Foundation. All checks are paid directly to the school; under no circumstance can we make payment directly to the student.
Scholarship awards may be used for cost of attendance expenses. In order to receive payment, a student must have the school send to our Chicago office, the completed Verification of Enrollment form, whereupon, we will issue our check, payable to the school, and mail it directly to the school to establish a credit in the name of the student. We will notify the student when we mail the check.
Since most checks are being prepared during the months of August through November, student and school must allow four to six weeks for payment.
If a student terminates his or her courses for any reason, the undisbursed balance of the award MUST be returned directly to the Foundation’s Chicago office. It may NOT be transferred to another school, and it may NOT be paid to the student personally.
It is the responsibility of the student to follow up on all matters relating to his or her scholarship award.
In all correspondence relating to a student who has been awarded a scholarship, we must have the full name and the ENF ID of the student.
The information herein should not be turned over to publishers or those who wish to include it in a computer resource listing. We receive hundreds of requests from students who pay for scholarship/grant information, only to find they are not eligible or that the information is years out-of-date. Unfortunately, many of these sources do not publish complete information, nor do they update their files on a regular basis.
The Elks National Foundation has no loan programs, vocational grants or assistance for graduate study available, and it does not maintain a mailing list.
If a student would like to use his or her scholarship funds for a study abroad program, it must be billed through an accredited, U.S. degree-granting institution. We cannot issue funds to a third party program or vendor.
The Elks National Foundation reserves the right to cancel an award in total, if we do not hear from a student for two consecutive academic years.
For more information contact the Elks National Foundation Scholarship Office at scholarship@elks.org.
2) Legacy Award
1. For the 2023 contest, any child or grandchild (or step-child, step-grandchild, or legal ward) of a living Elk who joined the order on or before April 1, 2020, or a charter member of a Lodge that was instituted on or after April 1, 2020, is eligible to apply. The Elk must also be a paid-up member through March 31, 2024. Great-grandchildren are not eligible.
2. The applicant must be a high school senior.
3. The applicant must apply online only. The 2023 Legacy Awards application deadline is February 5, 2024 at 11:59 a.m. Central Time.
4. If the applicant’s parent and grandparent are both Elk members, the applicant must apply through the parent’s Elks Lodge.
5. We have waived the standardized test requirement for the 2023 Legacy contest. You do not need to submit ACT and/or SAT scores.
6. Students may apply for more than one ENF scholarship; however, they may win only one. In cases where the student wins more than one, we will award the scholarship with the greater value. Students can accept local and state scholarships, which are separate from the awards at the national level.
7. Legacy Awards may only be applied to accredited US American schools, colleges or universities. (Note: Applicants from Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico and the Philippines may apply Legacy Awards toward schools, colleges or universities in their respective homes.)
8. If you are selected as a 2023 Legacy Awards recipient, you will be required to perform service once a year with an Elks Lodge during the four years you are receiving the scholarship.
The student must complete and submit the ONLINE application. Contact the ENF Scholarship Office via email at scholarship@elks.org.
3) Emergency Educational Grants
The Elk parent or stepparent:
- Must have been a member in good standing for at least one year at the time of his or her death.
or
- Must have been a member in good standing for at least one year before he or she became totally disabled and must continue to be an Elk in good standing when application for assistance is made.
- All circumstances surrounding the death or disability of the Elk parent or stepparent are subject to the review of the Elks National Foundation. The outcome of the review may affect grant approval.
The applicant must:
- Demonstrate financial need.
- Attend an accredited U.S. college or university as a full-time (12 semester hours) undergraduate student.
- **Note that if a student is awarded an EEG, the funds are disbursed directly to the school in the student’s name and can only be used for items the school considers cost of attendance. This normally includes tuition, on campus room and board and books and fees.
- Be unmarried, under the age of 24 during the academic year in which they are applying.
4) The Gunther & Lee Weigel Medical School Scholarships
If you are an Elks scholar planning to attend an accredited U.S. medical school to pursue a medical degree or Osteopathic Medicine degree, consider applying before you begin your first year of medical school.
For the 2023 contest, ten (10) $22,000 scholarships will be offered exclusively to Elks scholars** entering their first year of medical school in fall 2023. The application will be available beginning January, 2024 and close May, 2024.
The application for the 2024 contest will be available beginning in January, 2024. Request from the ENF Scholarship office by emailing scholarship@elks.org or calling 773/755-4732.
**Please note, this award is only open to current and former scholarship recipients of the Elks National Foundation. Winners of local Lodge scholarships and State Elks Association scholarships are not eligible for this program. This program is not open to the general public.**
5) Vocational Scholarship
The program is open to anyone residing in California or Hawaii who is a citizen of the United States of America and planning to pursue an eligible vocational/technical (voc/tech) course resulting in a certificate or two-year degree and leading to employment opportunities.
The program is open to male and female applicants who will be judged on an equal basis. While graduating high school seniors may apply, it is not limited to high school students–in fact, it is open to all prospective students who require training or retraining to compete in the workplace.
The Vocational Grant is for one academic year, with an option to renew for one additional academic year. This grant may be used only for usual and required costs of student’s course of study; that is, for tuition and fees, room and board (if living on campus) and books & supplies. Payment will be made to the school. Awards will be between $500 and 2,000 for an academic year depending on length of course.
The definition of an eligible program shall be comparable to that contained in the federal vocational legislation. That is defined as a two-year or less vocational/technical program culminating in a terminal Associate degree, diploma or certificate, but less than a baccalaureate program (Bachelor’s degree). Students planning to transfer to a four year school to pursue a Bachelor’s degree are not eligible to apply.
6) Undergraduate Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities
During the years in which this annual scholarship assistance competition has been in existence, the California-Hawaii Elks Major Project, Inc. Undergraduate Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities has increased from five scholarships of $1,000 to twenty to thirty scholarships of $1,000 to $2,000 each. Scholarship recipients may reapply each year. If qualified, they can receive up to a total of four years of assistance.
Individuals applying must be a United States citizen and a resident of California or Hawaii; have a physical impairment, neurological impairment, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and/or speech-language disorder; and be a senior in high school, a high school graduate, or have passed the General Educational Development (GED) Examination or the California High School Proficiency Examination (CHSPE).
The applicant is responsible for properly executing and forwarding the completed application to the California-Hawaii Elks Major Project, Inc. Applications are available at
https://chea-elks.org/youth-activities/scholarships/