Losing a loved one is terrible, full of despair and setbacks, especially when the person is your spouse. You have a lot of obligations to tackle (hopefully he left good insurance to cover some debts), whether it’s taking care of the kids, going to work, considering taking another job, having less time with your kids, etc.
It’s even worse when you’ve fallen behind on credit cards because the debt now seems more burdensome. Widowhood can set the whole family into destitution, and hopelessness, but we hope it doesn’t come to that extent for you.
The fact that you still want to continue your education even after everything that happened shows how tough you’re, and we appreciate that, that’s why we compiled this list of scholarships for widows. The big bonus we have for you is that you can still take advantage of master’s scholarships for women in case you intend to continue your master’s degree, or even take advantage of some scholarships for women returning to school.
However, we would advise you to consider reviewing the grade you’ll need to attain the right scholarship.
Before we list these scholarships, let’s first understand why widows need to be supported with scholarships.
Table of Contents
Why Widows Should be Supported with Scholarships
Economic Challenges
One of the major reasons is economic challenges because when a spouse loses the partner, especially if he/she is the breadwinner of the family, it becomes a lot harder to pursue higher education.
Career Advancement
This is the second reason because when the widow gets a degree or certification it boosts their earning potential.
Community development
Education, we know, helps to build a better community, and when widows are educated they can contribute more to the community and the world at large.
Personal Growth
Helping widows with scholarships can also improve their self-esteem, personal growth, expand their horizons, and many more.
Scholarships for Widows
We listed both scholarships and grants for widows. In case you don’t know, grants are just like scholarships that don’t need refunding, but unlike scholarships, grants are strictly based on financial need before they would consider your academic performance.
1. JMA Scholarship for Windows
The JMA Scholarship for Windows was created in memory of Josephine Modupe Aluko, who was widowed at the young age of 34 years and was a single parent to 5 young children. Regardless of her predicament she was able to send her children to college, enrolled in evening Law classes, and was called to the bar at the Law school at the age of 50 years.
The JMA scholarship provides up to ₦500,000 annually to widows who wish to obtain a first or advanced degree. The scholarship may be used to pay for tuition and educational materials in the institution of your choice at home or abroad.
2. Global Funds for Widows
This is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering widows and female heads of households to overcome poverty through skills-based training, job creation, and micro-finance. Since its inception, this organization has been able to empower more than 25,000 widows, serve over 6 million meals, and many others.
One of the interesting things is that you can get funds from them to invest in your education.
3. Crane Fund for Widows & Children Scholarship
This is among the scholarships for widows, needy students whose parents are deceased and disadvantaged students to enable them to further their education. The Crane Fund for Widows and Children is administered in such a way that most contributions are channeled through the individual operating units of Crane Co. and its subsidiaries and are made to organizations serving the local communities of these operations.
4. Mrs. Patty Shinseki Spouse Scholarship Program
This scholarship is in memory of Mrs. Shinseki, who was an Army spouse for over 50 years and was a strong supporter of military spouse education and other military family programs. It is also a need-based scholarship program established to assist Army spouses, including women that lost their husbands in obtaining an undergraduate degree or similar professional certification.
Applicants may receive assistance for up to four academic years of full-time study or eight academic years of part-time study. Applicants must re-apply each year.
5. Wells Fargo Veterans Emergency Grant Program
This is another scholarship for widowed persons, spouses of disabled veterans, and those that have served in the United States military, this includes the Reserves and National Guard. You need to be enrolled full-time in postsecondary education and experience unexpected financial difficulties that might cause you to drop out of school.
The Grant is worth a maximum of $1,000.
6. The Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firefighter’s Fund
WODFF is a non-profit charity, founded in 1906, and dedicated to helping the families of firefighters injured or killed in the line of duty or facing other crises. The purpose of this charity is to assist their firefighter families with financial, emotional, and other much-needed support, including covering the cost of rent, mortgage, food, clothing, utilities, and other basic bills and necessities including educational costs.
7. The American Widow Project
The American Widow Project is among the scholarships for widows that have played a significant role in the healing of military widows since 2007. They provide support like;
- Growing Through Grief Virtual Retreat
- Passing The Torch Grant
- AWP Book Club
8. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
This foundation aims to honor America’s fallen fire heroes; support their families, colleagues, and organizations; and work to reduce preventable firefighter death and injury. They also provide scholarships for spouses of firefighters who died in the line of duty.
9. The Hope for Widows Foundation
The Hope for Widows Foundation is a non-denominational organization that assists widowed women, who have lost their partner and are looking to find hope and light in their darkness. They do this by giving listening ear to widows and providing online support, resources, incentives, and financial support.
All of their assistance comes from having the same experience you have.
Conclusion
You might or might not meet the eligibility of these scholarships for widows (we wish you do), but even if you don’t, you can still do other research. You can make inquiries in your local community. You might be shocked by the level of scholarships you can get when you just ask.