Welcome Back Scholarship Program
Many communities in the Midwest are struggling to retain college graduates and lose out on their talents toward economic growth and prosperity. That is why The Community Foundation for Crawford County has implemented this reverse scholarship program to encourage those who have returned to Crawford County to continue contributing to their hometown community.
Traditional scholarships are awarded and paid on the “front end” of a student’s career. At that time, there are no guarantees the students will complete studies in their chosen field, graduate from college or return back to their communities to help contribute to growth and prosperity.
The Welcome Back Scholarship is essentially a talent retention program and would pay students on the back-end of their college career, after they have completed a degree or qualified skilled trades program, but only if they have moved back home and live and work in Crawford County.
First Federal Community Bank donated $15,000 to start the Foundation’s first Come Home Scholarship Fund, which has now become the Welcome Back Scholarship Fund. We will accept Welcome Back Scholarship applications year-round. We anticipate this Welcome Back Scholarship award will appeal to young college graduates in their late twenties who still have some student debt and are weighing the options for returning home versus remaining in their current community.
Process, Criteria & Governance
- Scholarship selections are a competitive application process, much like the many existing scholarship programs already managed and administered by community foundations throughout America.
- Eligible applicants would be limited to recent graduates with the following criteria:
- Graduated with an appropriate degree (2 year, 4 year, advanced, or trade school certificate) and still has student debt
- Preference will be give to applicants who graduated from a Crawford County high school. If the applicant attended a vocational high school, such as PCTC or Tri-Rivers, preference will be given if the applicant's home high school was a Crawford County high school.
- Preference will be given to students who have earned an advanced degree beyond a Bachelor's, although a Bachelor's Degree is still eligible for consideration.
- Preference will be given to applicants who can demonstrate a previous residency of at least four years within Crawford County, or who can demonstrate that their immediate family currently resides within Crawford County.
- Award Size: The awards can be up to a maximum of $10,000 and will be paid out on a quarterly basis.
- Length of Stay: There is no mandatory length of stay. However, if an award recipient moves out of the county during the award program cycle, they would forfeit all future award monies not yet paid.
- Use of Funds: Award funds must be used to pay off student debt.
- Expectations: Award recipients will be expected to live and work in Crawford County in order to be eligible for this funding. They must secure a job or create their own business within 120 days of receiving the award. The specific terms and expectations, along with the process for monitoring and evaluating the program’s impact will be up to the entity that is managing the program.
Welcome Back Scholarship Committee Members:
- Doug Weisenauer
- Mike Dostal
- Justin McMullen
- Elise Jones
- Kevin Kimmel
Welcome Back Scholarship Recipients
- 2024 - Maria Clair Erlsten and Jenna Delarber
Come Home Scholarship Recipients:
The Welcome Back Scholarship was formerly the Come Home Scholarship.
Click here to view past Come Home Scholarship recipients.
