HOPE Scholarship Info Cancel Title is required

The HOPE (Helping Overcome Poverty through Education) is a scholarship for sponsored youth providing partial financial support for upper secondary, vocational or university education. All of our Sponsorship Operating Agencies (SOA) offer HOPE Scholarships.

They are competitive scholarships and each agency has their own requirements to be eligible to apply. They include, but are not limited to, the following:

Is a minority, indigenous or a member of another economically or socially disadvantaged population;

Is female in a country where girls face additional barriers over boys in acquiring an education;

Is an “out-of-school” youth, who has left school prematurely to pursue employment;

Has a large number of siblings or is a member of a single-parent household;

Achieves high academic scores according to local standards;

Exhibits exemplary leadership skills and/or a tendency toward positive community involvement, either within or outside of the sponsorship program. 

The selection process for scholarships must be carried out in a fair and reliable manner to make certain that all eligible applicants get equal consideration.

This process should include at least three elements: a public announcement that reaches the majority of eligible sponsored youth, the establishment of a selection committee, and the development of a point system for evaluating applicants. 

Agencies must involve sponsored youth in this process. This may include, for example, their involvement in publicizing the scholarship, sitting on the selection committee and helping to design the point system.

This committee should be comprised of at least 3 individuals. These may be principally SOA staff, but must also include at least one member of the business, educational, or local community (e.g. business owner, university professor, representative of another local NGO, community leader). This member should have no direct ties to any scholarship applicant.

The selection committee may also include a member of the Agency Youth Council, though this is not a requirement and is not a substitute for representation from the outside community.