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Every bit helps. To offset the high cost of higher learning, Black students are encouraged to apply for a number of local scholarships. The OBSERVER has compiled a brief list.
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) has a number of scholarships available. Saturday, March 15, is the deadline for both the Ally Financial Law Scholars application for students pursuing law careers and the CBCF Reducing the Financial Barrier Scholarship. Applicants have until Saturday, March 29, to apply for the Congressional Black Caucus Spouses Education Scholarship for academically talented and highly motivated African American or Black students pursuing an undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral degree in a variety of fields. March 29 is also the deadline for the CBC Spouses Essay Contest. For more information, visit cbcfinc.org/programs/scholarships.
The Sacramento Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. awards annual scholarships for minority students pursuing higher education at a two- or four-year institution. All applications are evaluated based on a complete application and interview, which are used to determine academic performance, financial need, and community and cultural involvement. The deadline for applications is 11:59 p.m. March 29. For more information, visit sacdst.org or email scholarship@sacdst.org.
The David Covin Scholarship is offered by the Black Parallel School Board (BPSB) and provides financial assistance to Black students who are graduates of a Sacramento area high school by the end of the spring 2025 term. The scholarship is named after Dr. Covin, a founding member of the BPSB and professor emeritus of government and ethnic studies at Sacramento State. The BPSB awards scholarships based on academic accomplishments, community service, references, personal essays, and financial needs. Applications are available online at blackparallelschoolboard.com/resources/scholarships. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Friday, April 11. Notifications will be made in May.
For more information, email info@blackparallelschoolboard.com.
To help women achieve their goals, AAUW Sacramento awards scholarships to students and adults attending local colleges and universities: American River College, Cosumnes River College, Sacramento City College, Folsom Lake College, CSU Sacramento, or UC Davis and are pursuing their first bachelor’s degree. For more, visit sacramento-ca.aauw.net/programs/scholarships.
19th News, an independent nonprofit newsroom, is offering its 2025-2026 Frances Ellen Watkins Harper fellowship for journalists. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Monday, March 31. Named for the “mother of African American journalism,” the program provides recent graduates, mid-career alums and former students of HBCUs with yearlong, salaried fellowships with full benefits in reporting, audience engagement and news product management. For more information, visit 19thnews.org/apply-for-a-19th-news-fellowship.
PG&E and several of its employee-based groups are empowering students through a number of scholarships. Its Black Employee Resource Group awards $1,000-$5,000 scholarships for college-bound seniors and continuing undergraduate college students. All majors eligible. Encouragement given to STEM, business, environmental or energy-related emphasis. The deadline is Saturday, March 22. A full list of available scholarships from PG&E and eligibility criteria can be found online at pge.com/en/about/educational-resources/grants-and-scholarships.
The Eta Alpha Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. offers its 2025 Scholarship to outstanding high school seniors in Sacramento and Yolo counties who have demonstrated academic achievement and a commitment to community service. The deadline to apply is Saturday, April 12. For more, visit etaalphasigma.com/scholarship or email etaalphasigmasgrhos@gmail.com.
The Omega Lambda Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. will award its Five Pearls Academic Scholarship, named after its founders. The scholarship is for $1,000. The deadline has been extended to Wednesday, April 30. For more, visit omegalambdazeta.org/scholarship.
The Kappa Psi Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority will award its Finer Womanhood Scholarship. The scholarship provides support for a university-bound, female high school senior from the greater Sacramento area who exemplifies the founding principles of the sorority: “sisterhood, scholarship, service, and finer Womanhood.” For more, visit sacramentozetas.org/fwscholarship or sacramentozetas@gmail.com.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.’s Elk Grove Alumnae Chapter is offering three scholarships in 2025 – The Theresa A. Pradia HBCU Book Scholarship, the Jacquelyn and Jimmie Ward African American Nursing Scholarship, and its Carolyn N. Watts Scholarship, which is open to West Sacramento residents – to high school students from Sacramento or Yolo counties planning to attend or attending an accredited HBCU for the 2025-26 academic year. The Theresa A. Pradia Scholarship was created in memory of its namesake, who was a proud alumna of Southern University and a member of Delta Sigma Theta for more than 60 years. The Carolyn N. Watts Scholarship is named after another long-time member, who helped establish the Elk Grove Alumnae Growing and Empowering Myself Successfully (GEMS) Program for African American female students in West Sacramento. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, April 30. For more, email scholarship@sacdst.org.For a full list of scholarships offered by local fraternities and sorority organizations, email the Sacramento chapter of the National Pan-Hellenic Council at sacnphc@gmail.com.
Support for this Sacramento OBSERVER article was provided to Word In Black (WIB) by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. WIB is a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media that includes print and digital partners.
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