The strength of Smart-Girl is built on its ability to find the best
and brightest girls who can be trained as Guides. At Smart-Girl,
we have established a group of scholarship funds, designed specifically to help high school and college age girls get the financial support they need to make becoming a Guide a professional option.

Our near-peer mentor approach allows us to make sure that
girls “hear what they need to hear” and are also “heard” in the process. At a time when they stop listening to adults and get
most of their information from peers, it is most important to
make sure that what they are learning is accurate and helpful.

Check out our scholarship opportunities below.

The Becky Orr Scholarship Fund

We have created our first scholarship in honor of one of our founders, Ms. Becky Orr. This scholarship celebrates Smart-Girl guides who embody the spirit of "making it happen." From the big things all the way to the little details, co-founder Becky Orr made it happen and we are forever grateful. Becky provided the financial structure for our organization, spent endless hours coaching our formative Smart-Girl groups, and tirelessly trained many of our seminal teen-age guides. We appreciate her energy, attention to detail, perseverance and never-ending faith in the Smart-Girl vision.

Smart-Girl is based on the premise that all girls can benefit from our program and we strive to serve girls from all socioeconomic classes, races/ethnicities, urban and rural communities, religious beliefs and backgrounds. As a statement of policy, the Smart-Girl Board of Directors declared that no girl would be turned away from a program on the basis of financial resources.

The Becky Orr Scholarship is available to girls who wish to participate in a fee-based program, but cannot afford the tuition. Each scholarship is worth approximately $250.00 and is given for a single semester program. These scholarships are awarded at the discretion of the Program Director and each applicant is required to submit an essay.

The Kinnard Scholarship Fund for Guides

Smart-Girl provides our teen guides with many opportunities to learn and grow through community service. While gaining valuable skills and experience, feeling valued and respected, guides can register for up to 5 hours of college credit while they are still in high school. These credits can be transferred to most colleges and universities in the United States. Completing advanced college credit is especially important for “ at-risk ” girls who had not previously considered higher education.

Too many of our high school guides do not take advantage of this opportunity because their families cannot afford the tuition and they may also be expected to help support the family through an after school job. Our guides often choose to be paid for their services rather than receive college credit, although receiving credit may be especially important for these girls. Additionally, high school girls are often fearful of navigating the university system and its ' requirements.

The Kinnard Scholarship provides guides with both a small stipend and college tuition for their service. It is available to all high school girls who serve as Smart-Girl guides. They are typically awarded after a guide has shown merit. They will allow a guide to enroll with either UCCS or UCD for both the training and the internship. Most important, Smart-Girl provides a “ coach ” (usually a Smart-Girl undergraduate or graduate college guide) to help her enroll, meet course requirements, and transfer the credit to the college of her choice. Scholarships are awarded in September and January of each year by the Program Director, a member of the Smart-Girl board and a representative of the Kinnard family.  

The Alma Lantz Leadership Award and Scholarship

This scholarship was created and funded by Alma Lantz, one of the founders of Smart-Girl. The scholarship is awarded each year to one or more Smart-Girl guides who best demonstrate and exemplify Alma ' s hallmark characteristics of ingenuity, persistence, integrity and compassion. The Alma Lantz Award provides a college scholarship of $1000.

Eligibility: must have served at least one semester as a Smart-Girl guide; acceptance at an accredited institution of higher education; and submission of an essay. Applications are due in April and awards are made each May by the Program Director, a Smart-Girl Board member and a representative of the Lantz family.

The Bill Stevenson Kindness/Courage of the Heart Scholarships

Bill Stevenson has extended his ground-breaking "Kindness Scholarships" to Smart-Girl.  He founded the scholarships to recognize kindness as an admirable, worthy and positively reinforced trait of youth in our society.  The Bill Stevenson "Kindness/Courage of the Heart" scholarships through Smart-Girl supports both high school and middle school girls who demonstrate courageous empathy.  High school girls are sponsored to attend the Smart-Girl Leadership Institute for Guide Training and receive college credit.  Middle school girls participating in the Smart-Girl program are rewarded with attendance at the Smart-Girl Leadership Institute in the future.  Bill's generous donation also funds curriculum development, including further incorporation of "kindness/courage of the heart" as primary concepts in the Smart-Girl Program.  New program modules include "Walking In Others' Shoes" and "Bullying-Relational Aggression in Girls".  Bill Stevenson's work with the "Kindness Scholarships" and Smart-Girl demonstrates his tremendous commitment to make to a real and needed difference in his community.
This essay is from a Smart-Guide from Lincoln High School who was a recipient of the scholarship. It will warm your heart!

For further inquiries about our scholarships, please contact: Director of Programs, Sameen Noorulamin: snoorulamin@smart-girl.org