NCJW Scholarships

Note: Scholarship applications may be mailed or emailed, but please send via email if possible. 


For more than 80 years, NCJW’s Greater Kansas City Section has been providing college scholarships for eligible local high school students. We fund the scholarships through endowment interest and donations made specifically to the scholarship program.

Each year, we provide between $15,000 and $25,000 in scholarships, depending on our financial situation and the number of eligible applicants.

The scholarships range from $500 to $2,000 per year. Students who receive our scholarship for their freshman year can re-apply in June of each year for additional funding. We will follow a student throughout four years of their college experience if they continue to take at least 12 credits per semester, keep their grades up, and have financial need.

Eligibility and the application process

Scholarship applicants must be a senior attending a high school in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area. They must have financial need and good grades.

Students must fill out an application during their senior year of high school (see deadline below). The NCJW Scholarship Committee interviews candidates in May/June and makes its decisions in mid-July. NCJW sends the funds directly to the colleges, to be divided between the two semesters.

Students who have already been awarded a scholarship and wish to renew it for another year must submit a renewal form (see deadline below).

These scholarships follow the rules of non-discrimination and are open to all students who live in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area and meet all eligibility requirements.

Students and counselors: How to apply

Scholarship applications are due on April 15. They must be accompanied by a counselor report, a transcript of the student’s courses and grades, and a copy of pages 1-2 of both parents’ most recent Federal Income Tax Form 1040. All of these forms must be submitted together and received in the NCJW office before the deadline.

Scholarship renewal requests are due on June 15. Current scholarship recipients wishing to renew for another year must complete and submit the following form.

NCJW members: How to volunteer and contribute

If you have any questions or would like to serve on the scholarship committee, please contact Ellen Portnoy, scholarship chair, at elsuropo@gmail.com.

To contribute to the scholarship fund, please donate here or mail a check to the NCJW office at 5311 W. 75th St., Prairie Village, Kansas, 66208. (In both instances, be sure to note that your donation is for NCJW Scholarships.)