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Scholarship Programs

How to Apply

The CFO awards $1.7 million in scholarships each year for college, graduate and technical education.

Stoking the Fires of Knowledge

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The CFO manages about 480 private scholarship funds created by individuals, families and companies that want to provide a path to higher education for generations to come.

Donors determine the size and eligibility criteria for the scholarships they create, and the CFO manages the process on their behalf. The CFO will award $1.7 million in scholarships to about 900 students for the 2024–25 academic year.

After World War II ended, Jennie Barritt was teaching students of all ages in a tiny, one-room schoolhouse in the Cedar County hamlet of Wright. Over the next 34 years, she and her husband, Ellis, a WWII veteran and rural mail carrier, also tended a 160-acre farm. They lived within their means and eventually built assets that Jennie decided to give back to El Dorado Springs students through the Ellis and Jennie Barritt Educational Scholarship Fund.

“I wanted for them to get to go to college, and if I could help them, I wanted to,” she says. Though she died in 2020, her dedication to the students of El Dorado Springs will continue on for generations.

Applying for scholarships

Information for Students

The CFO’s annual scholarship application process begins Jan. 1. The CFO offers a variety of scholarships, each with their own criteria and often with geographic preferences. Students will use the Foundant portal to apply for scholarships.

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News & Updates

Recent stories about CFO Scholarships

Establishing a scholarship

Information for Donors

The CFO works with donors and professional advisors to help establish scholarship funds that reflect their commitment to education.

Learn More Open a Fund

Scholarship Services

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Beth Hersh, Director of Scholarships, works with students and school counselors from the application process through making awards, tracking success and sharing information with donors.

Each scholarship has a selection committee that chooses the recipient(s) each year. If you are interested in volunteering on a scholarship selection committee, please contact Beth.

Support our mission by becoming a donor today.

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