Community Focus FCU Scholarship

Community Focus Federal Credit Union is proud to offer 6 scholarships, $1,000 each, totaling $6,000 this year! Applicants have a choice to submit either an essay or a video on the following subject:

Tell us about a time where you had a belief or an idea that was challenged and how that has influenced your development.

Submission details

All scholarship applicants must provide:
•    Completed essay or video
•    Completed application
•    Letter of acceptance from a U.S. Department of Education two-year or four-year accredited university or college
•    Letter of recommendation
•    Photo of the applicant

Deadline: March 31, 2024. 

Submission guidelines

Video entry rules:  
•    Record a video between 60 seconds and 2 minutes in length. 
•    All videos must be filmed horizontally. 
•    Applicants are free to upload their videos to YouTube or supply their recorded video on a USB drive along with their printed application and related documents. 
•    If the video is uploaded to YouTube, a link to the video must be provided in the form area of the application, and the applicant is responsible for security, viewing settings, comments and all related care of the video. 
•    Applicants must select "public" or "unlisted" in the privacy settings found under the broadcasting and sharing options section when uploading the video file to YouTube. 
•    Applicants are responsible for retaining at least one copy of the video in the event of a damaged or lost file. Community Focus Federal Credit Union may edit or publish the videos on its website or social media pages for promotional purposes.
•    All videos must meet all guidelines and criteria imposed by YouTube with respect to its rules and regulations.

Essay entry rules: 
•    Essay word count must be between 200 to 500 words.
•    Essays must be submitted as an attachment with the scholarship application. 
•    Essay file must be formatted as a MS Word or PDF document.

Eligibility

Entrants must:
•    Be a legal resident of the United States of America, age 17 or older.
•    Be currently attending high school as a senior in one of the following communities: Allen Park, Brownstown Township, Ecorse, Flat Rock, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile, Huron Township, Lincoln Park, Melvindale, River Rouge, Riverview, Rockwood, Southgate, Taylor, Trenton, Woodhaven, or Wyandotte.
•    Plan on attending a U.S. Department of Education accredited college, university, 2- to 4- year community college, or vocational or technical college, full time in the summer or fall of 2024.

NOTE: Eligible Entrants may enter only once, and in only one category. 

Ineligible Entrants 
•    The following persons are not eligible to participate in the Competition: Community Focus Federal Credit Union board members, retirees, and paid employees of Community Focus Federal Credit Union and their immediate family members. 

Disclosure

Disbursement of Scholarship Awards
Winners must submit proof of enrollment in a college, university or trade program before any funds will be distributed. Funds must be used for applicable education expenses.

Award Details
The number of scholarships and the amount of each scholarship will be dependent on the number of eligible entrants and is subject to change at the sole discretion of CommunityFocus Federal Credit Union.

Judging Details
Successfully completed applications received by the deadline will be reviewed by a Selection Committee. Eligible submissions will be rated on the following criteria:
•    Effort, quality, and creativity of eligible entrant’s video or essay submission.
•    The thorough consideration of the subject.

All decisions of the Selection Committee will be final.
Scholarship recipients will be contacted via email at the email address provided on the recipient’s application. Scholarship recipients will be notified on or about March 15, 2024.  Selected scholarship recipients who do not respond within seven business days of notification may be disqualified.

Permissions:
All original music, imagery and media associated with the video must be credited. All other music and media must be used with permission of the author or composer. Only one video per applicant is permitted. It is presumed any individuals participating in the video permit the use of their likeness and content under the same conditions stipulated by the applicant in the Media Waiver. 

Liability
Community Focus Federal Credit Union is not responsible for any damaged or lost submissions. 

Disqualification
Community Focus Federal Credit Union has the right to disqualify an applicant(s) who do not follow guidelines. Community Focus Federal Credit Union also reserves the right to disqualify an applicant base on video content that the credit union considers to be unsuitable for public viewing. 
 

Scholarship Application