Do you have a child,
grand-child or great-grandchild who is eligible for the is award?
These are awards for Elks ONLY! Please read....
Elks Legacy Awards
Following are answers to
common questions about the Elks National Foundation's
ENF 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?
(Note that these qualifications get updated regularly so please
visit your local Elks Lodge for the latest.)
1.
Any child or grandchild (or step-child, step-grandchild, or legal
ward) of a living Elk who joined the order on or before April, or a charter member of a Lodge that was instituted on or after
April, is eligible to apply. The Elk must also be a paid-up
member through March 31. Great-grandchildren are not eligible.
2.
The
applicant must be a high school senior.
3.
The
applicant must apply through the related member's Elks Lodge,
regardless of where the applicant resides.
4.
If
the applicant's parent and grandparent are both Elk members, the
applicant must apply through the parent's Elks Lodge.
5.
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.
6.
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.)
7.
Applicants must take the Scholastic Aptitude Test or the American
College Test by December 31, 2006.
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:
1.
Knowledge
2.
Charity
3.
Community
4.
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?
Please contact your local Elks Lodge for the current deadlines and
guidelines.
Eligible students might be
asked to
apply in the following manner:
1.
Obtain a Legacy Award Application from your local Lodge (may be 6
pages long),
visit the Elks website to
download an application, or online send a self-addressed, stamped
envelope to the Elks National Foundation. Applications may be in
the Lodges and online by early September.
2.
The
student must complete the application and return it to the Elks
National Foundation postmarked by early January,
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.
3.
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.)
4.
Upon
receipt of the application, the applicant will receive a postcard
noting the application was received and the date winners may be
announced by early May.
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: