College for Financial Planning®—a Kaplan Company to Annually Award Up to 60 Education Scholarships to Underrepresented Candidates Seeking CFP® Certification

• Each scholarship covers the full cost of a one-year program for CFP^® certification consisting of required education and exam prep review, valued at approximately $7,600;
• Applicants must come from underrepresented populations within the financial planning profession;
• Only 3.7% of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professionals in the United States are Black or Latino, and only 23% are women;
• Applications for the first 20 scholarships are now being accepted.

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As National Financial Planning Month begins, The College for Financial Planning^®—a Kaplan Company today announced the launch of a nearly $1/2 million Diversity Scholarship Program offering up to 60 scholarships annually to underrepresented, qualified individuals pursuing the education requirement necessary to attain CFP^® certification.

“We believe that fostering diversity and inclusion accelerates business success and benefits financial services as a whole,” said Dirk Pantone, president of The College for Financial Planning^®—a Kaplan Company. “Our Diversity Scholarship Program for CFP^® Certification will help increase the number of CFP^® professionals who belong to an underrepresented population in the financial planning field, in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation.”

According to recent statistics, only 3.7% of the more than 87,000 CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professionals in the United States are Black or Latino. Women are also underrepresented, at only 23%, while accounting for 52% of the overall population.

“This scholarship program will do more than help cultivate greater diversity among CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professionals,” said Pantone. “The goal is to broaden the diversity of people served by our profession which will lead to improved wealth stewardship in underserved populations. The College is committed to bringing the best to the financial planner workforce and to our society.”

Scholarships will be awarded three times a year with up to 60 scholarships being awarded annually. Each scholarship covers the full cost of a one-year program for CFP^® certification consisting of required education and exam prep review, valued at approximately $7,600. Applicants must come from underrepresented populations within the financial planning profession. Applications for the first 20 scholarships are now being accepted and will close on December 15, 2020. Scholarship recipients will be announced approximately one month after each application deadline. The Diversity Scholarship Program will be administered by The College for Financial Planning^® Scholarship Committee, comprised of faculty members. For more information and to apply, go to: www.kaplanfinancial.com/cfp-diversityscholarships

About the College for Financial Planning

Founded in 1972, the College for Financial Planning^®—A Kaplan Company provides accessible and flexible degree, non-degree and continuing professional education programs to students nationwide. Shortly after its founding, the College introduced the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM certification, which is now the world's most recognized and respected financial planning credential with more than 80,000 certified professionals.

In addition to its CFP^® Certification Professional Education Program, the College also offers a master’s degree in personal financial planning and professional designation programs that provide more in-depth knowledge of the finance industry, with specializations ranging from asset management and retirement planning to sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investments. The College for Financial Planning is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association. More than 160,000 students have graduated from the College’s programs. For more information, visit www.cffp.edu