Scholarship Committee
"Most Valuable Student" Contest
Applications for the Elks National Foundation's 2005 Most Valuable Student contest will be available beginning September 1, 2004 at your local Elks Lodge, online or by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Foundation. Applications for the 2005 contest have to be submitted to your local Elks Lodge by January 14, 2005. Winners of the 2005 contest will be announced here by May 16, 2005. The Elks National Foundation will award 500 four-year scholarships to the highest-rated boys and girls in the 2005 competition. Any high school senior who is a citizen of the United States is eligible to apply. Applicants need not be related to a member of the Elks. College students are not eligible to apply. Applicants must be citizens of the United States on the date their applications are signed; resident alien status does not qualify.
Applications available online at the following link: MVS Scholarship
Applicants will be judged on financial need, leadership and scholarship.
All scholarships are in the form of certificates of award conditional upon the enrollment of the winner in an accredited US college or university.
Applications must advance through local, district and state competition to reach the national competition. The Chicago office of the Elks National Foundation will announce the 500 national winners, and notify them in writing, around May 16, 2005. (Many local Lodges, districts and state Elks associations award their own scholarships through this program. These scholarships are not to be confused with the 500 Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student Scholarships.)
To locate an Elks Lodge near you, try your phone book or
Ranging from $1,000 per year to $15,000 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 US American college or university. Male and female students compete separately.
Requests for additional information should be addressed to the scholarship chairman of the local Lodge or of the Elks association of the state in which the applicant is a resident.
Through this Most Valuable Student competition and its four other scholarship programs, the Elks National Foundation annually awards $3.4 million in scholarships. In addition, many state Elks associations and Lodges offer scholarships. Contact your local Lodge for more information.
The Most Valuable Student program was established in 1931.
2005 Most Valuable Student Award Offers 500 Four-Year Awards for the
2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 Academic Years.
Four-Year Total Award No. of Awards Total
First Place $60,000 2 $120,000
$60,000 2 $120,000 Second Place $40,000 2 $80,000
$40,000 2 $80,000 Third Place $20,000 2 $40,000
$20,000 2 $40,000 Fourth Place $4,000 494 $1,976,000
$4,000 494 $1,976,000 Total: $2,216,000
$2,216,000 Elks National Foundation's Legacy Awards scholarship contest.
Through its five scholarship programs, the Elks National Foundation awards more than $3 million a year in college scholarships.
Who is Eligible?
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, 2002, or a charter member of a Lodge that was instituted on or after April 1, 2002, is eligible to apply. The Elk must also be a paid-up member through March 31, 2005. Great-grandchildren are not eligible.
The applicant must be a high school senior.
The applicant must apply through the related member's Elks Lodge, regardless of where the applicant resides.
If the applicant's parent and grandparent are both Elk members, the applicant must apply through the parent's Elks Lodge.
Students may apply for more than one ENF scholarship; however, they may win only one. In cases where the student qualifies for more than one, we will award the scholarship with the greater value.
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.)
Applicants must take the Scholastic Aptitude Test or the American College Test by December 31, 2004.
How Many Scholarships Will You Award, and Who Will I Compete Against?
Legacy Awards are one-year, $1,000 scholarships. The Foundation offers a total of up to 500 awards.
Children and grandchildren will compete separately against other children and grandchildren in their state. Each state is eligible to receive a number of awards based on its past support of the Elks National Foundation. Due to IRS regulations, the Foundation may award Legacy Awards to no more than 25 percent of the applicants in each state. Each state’s quota is divided evenly among children and grandchildren. In states where the quota is an uneven number, the extra award is allocated to children of Elks, rather than grandchildren.
Who Will Select the Legacy Award Winners?
The Selection Committee shall consist of professionals who are not connected with either the Elks National Foundation or the BPO Elks of the USA, appointed periodically by the ENF Trustees. The Selection Committee is responsible for the confidential review of each applicant’s file. They determine the Legacy Award winners. Their decision is final.
How Will Applications Be Judged?
The ENF Legacy Awards contest provides educational assistance to children and grandchildren of Elk members who are high school seniors, going on to college, and exhibit the core values of the Elks National Foundation:
Knowledge
Charity
Community
Integrity
The Selection Committee will judge applications based on the values above. There will be no further investigation of the prospective students or their parents with respect to financial need or other personal matters.
How Do I Apply, and What Are the Deadlines?
Applications available online at the following link: Legacy Awards
Eligible students should apply in the following manner:
Obtain a six-page Legacy Award Application from your local Lodge, visit the Elks website to download an application, or online send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Elks National Foundation. Applications will be in the Lodges and online by September 1, 2004.
The student must complete the application and return it to the Elks National Foundation postmarked no later than January 14, 2005, along with an up-to-date transcript of grades, SAT or ACT score results, and two sealed letters of recommendation, including one from a high school teacher.
Be sure you obtain the required signatures. The Elk parent or grandparent with longest continuous membership completes part two of the required signature section; Lodge Secretary completes part three. (Note to Secretaries: You many verify membership before the application is completed.)
Upon receipt of the application, the applicant will receive a postcard noting the application was received and the date winners will be announced-April 30, 2005.
Note: Because the contest begins in one Lodge year and the winners are announced in the next, a Legacy Award could go to the child or grandchild of a lapsed member. An applicant’s Elk parent or grandparent must be a paid-up member in good standing at the time of application, but if the Elk chooses not to renew membership, that decision will not affect the outcome of the Legacy Awards contest.
How Will the Awards Be Administered?
Award winners will be announced in April of each year.
The award becomes final when the student accepts it and actually enrolls in an accredited US American school, college or university. The award money will be apportioned equally by period (semester, trimester, quarter, etc.). Legacy Awards 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.
The scholarship monies may be used for tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board. In order to receive payment, a student must have the school send a completed Verification of Enrollment form to our Chicago office. We will then 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.
If a student leaves school for any reason, the undisbursed balance of the scholarship 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.
In all of our scholarship programs, it is the responsibility of the student to follow up on all matters relating to his or her scholarship. In all correspondence relating to a student who has won or is applying for a Legacy Award, we must have the full name and Social Security number of the student.
Where Can I Get More Information about the ENF Legacy Awards Program or the Elks National Foundation?
Write us at:
Elks National Foundation
2750 N. Lakeview Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614-2256
ENF Legacy Awards 2005 Award Offers Per State and Area
State/Area Awards
Alabama 6
Alaska 6
Arizona 13
Arkansas 6
California-Hawaii 38
Colorado 12
Connecticut 10
Florida 20
Georgia 6
Guam 1
Idaho 6
Illinois 16
Indiana 10
Iowa 7
Kansas 6
Kentucky 6
Louisiana 5
Maine 10
Maryland, Delaware
& District of Columbia 16
Massachusetts 16
Michigan 12
Minnesota 7
Mississippi 5
Missouri 10
Montana 6
Nebraska 67
Nevada 7
New Hampshire 6
New Jersey 23
New Mexico 7
New York 25
North Carolina 9
North Dakota 5
Ohio 15
Oklahoma 7
Oregon 23
Panama 1
Pennsylvania 14
Philippines 1
Puerto Rico 1
Rhode Island 6
South Carolina 6
South Dakota 6
Tennessee 7
Texas 10
Utah 6
Vermont 7
Virginia 8
Washington 12
West Virginia 7
Wisconsin 13
Wyoming 6
TOTAL 500
