The Funeral Service Foundation is accepting academic scholarship applications through April 1 at FuneralServiceFoundation.org. Up to 32 scholarships ranging from $2,500-$5,000 USD are available to current students of funeral service and military veterans who meet the eligibility criteria. Winners will be announced in early May. An additional 32 scholarships will be available this Fall.
Program Expansion
For the third year in a row, the Foundation’s Board of Trustees voted to significantly increase the number of available academic scholarships. Thanks to generous donor support, the Foundation is on track to award up to 64 academic scholarships in two application cycles totaling $215,000 in 2022. Scholarships include the first-ever Bob Horn Scholarship, named for the first recipient of the Funeral Service Foundation Distinguished Service Award, and four scholarships specifically for U.S. and Canadian military veterans.
“The Foundation has a strongly held belief that access to education is essential to a fulfilling funeral service career, which is why the Board was honoured to expand our scholarship program,” said Allan Cole, Chair of the Funeral Service Foundation. “We look forward to impacting the academic experience of 64 students embarking on a first or next career and we ask our funeral service colleagues to encourage students and military veterans to apply.”
Paid directly to institutions, the scholarships offset the costs associated with tuition, fees, books, and supplies. The Foundation awarded 50 academic scholarships totaling more than $150,000 in 2021. The “Class of 2021” can be viewed online at FuneralServiceFoundation.org.
Academic Scholarships for Students of Funeral Service
This spring, up to 30 scholarships ranging from $2,500-$5,000 are open to full- or part-time students in who are in good standing and enrolled in ABFSE- or Canadian-accredited institutions/programs. Candidates must be attending classes and actively pursuing a degree in funeral service at the time of application. Students who are enrolled but have not yet begun coursework at the time of application are not yet eligible to apply for these scholarships.
The Foundation offered its first academic scholarship, the Joseph E. Hagan Memorial Scholarship in 2001. In the two decades since, additional scholarships were established in memory of Shipley Rose Buckner and Dennis Schoepp, and in honor of Steve Lang. Memorial Classic Scholarships are funded by tournament proceeds from the annual golf event, and Foundation ’45 Scholarships are awarded in recognition of the Foundation’s founding year, 1945.
New in 2022 is the Bob Horn Scholarship, named for the first recipient of the Funeral Service Foundation Distinguished Service Award.
The Foundation also promotes the Brenda Renee Horn and Steve Mack Memorial Scholarships in partnership with the SCI National Scholarship Program.
Academic Scholarships for U.S. and Canadian Military Veterans
A $5,000 Journey to Serve Scholarship is available this spring to U.S. or Canadian military veterans who are 18 years of age or older at the time of application and who are currently enrolled or accepted into in an ABFSE- or Canadian-accredited funeral service program. The $2,500 Hunter M. Harbeson Memorial Scholarship is also open to U.S. military veterans who are 18 years of age or older at the time of application and who are currently enrolled or accepted into in an ABFSE-accredited funeral service program.
In 2021 the Funeral Service Foundation, in partnership with the ICCFA Educational Foundation, offered its first academic scholarships to US and Canadian military veterans as part of the Journey to Serve Initiative. The initiative, and these scholarships, encourage veterans to continue their call of duty in a funeral service career that values the characteristics revered in every branch of our military: respect, dedication, and commitment to community.
Application Process
Using a common application format, all academic scholarship candidates are required to answer five questions in no more than 250 words per question, and submit a brief video, no longer than two minutes.
Additional support materials including transcripts, letters of good standing and/or recommendation, and headshots must also be submitted by the April 1 deadline. Veteran candidates will also be asked to supply an overview of military service. Late applications are not accepted. Those who have applied in the past but have not been awarded an academic scholarship from the Foundation are encouraged to re-apply.
The Foundation will also accept academic scholarship applications from September 15- November 1. Interested candidates may apply online at FuneralServiceFoundation.org.