SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) and Scholarship America announced they are accepting applications for the 2018 Wells Fargo Veterans Scholarship and Wells Fargo Veterans Emergency Grant Programs. In 2016, Wells Fargo committed $2 million over a four-year period to fund the programs and help veterans and spouses of veterans with disabilities succeed in careers they choose. Since the programs launched, 48 scholarships and 84 emergency grants have been awarded.
“Wells Fargo’s robust support of military members and veterans is impressive, with efforts totaling more than $100 million in the past five years,” said Robert C. Ballard, president and CEO of Scholarship America. “The company looks at all of the needs of service members and veterans, from financial education to housing to scholarships and emergency grants. Scholarship America is proud to work with Wells Fargo on these programs.”
Mark Frank, a U.S. Navy veteran, was one of the first awarded a Wells Fargo Veteran Scholarship for the 2016–17 school year at Louisiana State University, where he is studying to be a petroleum engineer. He served six years as a Nuclear Machinist Mate on the fast attack submarine USS Springfield, completing two Central Command deployments. Frank was awarded four Navy and Marine Core Achievement Medals, a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and two Sea Service Ribbons. He currently serves as president of the Student Veterans of Louisiana State University student organization and as an adviser with Student Government Veteran & Military Affairs.
“I greatly appreciate receiving the Wells Fargo Veteran Scholarship to help me complete my education,” said Frank. “The financial burden of college is increasingly challenging. Even with the help of the GI Bill, there is still a substantial financial burden, with daily living expenses. With this scholarship, I can focus on school rather than stress about financial debt.”
Scholarship America, one of the largest providers of U.S. postsecondary educational assistance programs, and Wells Fargo have worked together since 1991, starting with the Children of Employee Scholarship Program. The two organizations collaborated on the application and selection process for the scholarship and emergency grants, using best practices from the highest quality postsecondary educational aid programs.
“The government offers the GI Bill to help veterans cover the cost of obtaining education or training, but there is still a financial gap,” said Jerry Quinn, Wells Fargo Military & Veteran Program manager. “By working with Scholarship America, we are able to fill that gap and help veterans and spouses of veterans with disabilities reach their educational goals. These men and women have put their lives on the line for our country. This is just one of the many ways Wells Fargo expresses its appreciation for their service.”
The Wells Fargo Veterans Scholarship Program
Applications for the scholarship program are being accepted through Feb. 28, 2018. Awards will be made to honorably discharged veterans or spouses of disabled veterans who are high school or GED graduates. Renewable scholarships for up to $7,000 per year will be granted, determined by financial need and consideration of academic performance, work experience, leadership, community service, and challenges with completing a postsecondary program. Each award renewal will increase by $1,000 over the previous year to encourage program completion for each recipient.
Visit www.scholarsapply.org/wellsfargoveterans for more information and to apply.
The Wells Fargo Veterans Emergency Grant Program
Emergency grants are available on an ongoing basis for eligible veterans who are enrolled in postsecondary education and experience unexpected financial difficulties that might cause them to drop out of school. Grants will be available for a one-time distribution up to $1,000 based on the cost of the emergency need, such as rent, utilities, daycare, and medical expenses. Visit www.scholarsapply.org/wellsfargoveteransemergency for more information and to apply.
More information about Wells Fargo’s support of service members, veterans, and their families is available at wellsfargo.com/military/veterans.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,400 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 268,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Wells Fargo No. 3 on its most recent list of the top corporate cash philanthropists. In 2016, Wells Fargo donated $281.3 million to 14,900 nonprofits and Wells Fargo team members volunteered 1.73 million hours with 50,000 nonprofits. Wells Fargo’s corporate social responsibility efforts are focused on three priorities: economic empowerment in underserved communities, environmental sustainability, and advancing diversity and social inclusion. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
About Scholarship America
For nearly 60 years, Scholarship America has worked directly with students, parents, donors, colleges, businesses and communities to empower people to achieve their educational goals. As the nation’s largest private education support organization, having distributed over $3.7 billion to more than 2.3 million students, Scholarship America is now working to further engage the private sector to support programs and policies that advance equity in postsecondary education and help students overcome barriers to access, persistence and attainment. More information is available at scholarshipamerica.org.
