17 Best Catholic Scholarships for Elementary School

The importance of Catholic education cannot be overemphasized, whether it’s bringing genuine academic excellence along with Christ-like values and disciplines or even preparing kids for college and a proper spiritual foundation. If you’re a Christian parent, you know the importance of these values, especially seeing what is happening in our society and our schools nowadays.

However, many families still find it difficult to afford these schools.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops once said in 2005, “It is the responsibility of  the entire Catholic community –  bishops, priests, deacons, religious, and laity – to continue to strive towards the goal of making our Catholic elementary and secondary schools available, accessible, and affordable to all Catholic parents and their children, including those who are poor and middle class.”

However, there hasn’t been any serious progress in this statement because we’re still seeing an increase in tuition fees, even growing more than the cost of living. The best approach we could be grateful for is the enormous merit- and need-based Catholic scholarships for elementary school, we could say there are lots of them out there.

We could also say there are other Christian scholarships for high school students that still bring in the Christ-like foundation in our kids’ high school, if you intend to send your kids to private school, there is also financial aid for them. Then, if you’re an international student who intends to enroll in a Christian School, then these scholarships are perfect for you. 

Catholic scholarships for elementary school

Catholic Scholarships for Elementary School

Most of these scholarships have schools affiliated with them, so you need to see if the school you intend to enroll your kid(s) or they are already attending is partnering with these organizations.

1. Catholic Education Foundation Scholarship Programs

  • Award: Varies

For years, the Catholic Education Foundation has been providing children in need with scholarships to attend Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Kansas City. Currently, the foundation provides $4 million in scholarships and they are awarded through 3 types to qualified K-12 students.

There is the;

  • Tuition-Assistance Scholarships
  • Tax Credit Scholarships
  • Guardian Angel Scholarships

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2. Catholic Financial Life

  • Worth: $200

CFL provides different catholic scholarships for elementary school, high school, and college programs. Students that attend a Catholic elementary school are eligible for $200 worth of scholarships through the CFL.

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3. Roman Catholic Foundation Elementary Scholarships

  • Award: Ranges from $750 to $1,750

Annually, the Roman Catholic Foundation provides up to 1,000 elementary school awards to pupils from low-income families, their family’s annual income will solely determine the amount students will receive. Preference will be given to Catholic students in Catholic families registered in a Parish of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Interestingly, awards are renewable.

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4. Alive in Christ Scholarship

  • Award: $1,000 to $2,000

The aim of the Alive in Christ Scholarship is to increase and retain enrollment of children in Catholic elementary schools. They do this by providing financial assistance to families, regardless of religion who wish to offer their children an education at a Catholic elementary school in the archdiocese.

Just like most other Catholic scholarships for elementary school, we’ve listed, this one is also offered based on financial need, and it’s on a first come first served basis. Preference will be given to K-4 applicants.

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5. Help for Today – Hope for Tomorrow Scholarship

  • Award: Varies

This is another Catholic scholarship for elementary students provided by Today & Tomorrow and it’s awarded to Kindergarten through 8th Grade pupils. Besides families’ expression of financial need, applicants’ residency also matters in deciding eligibility.

Whether your kid is new or already attending a participating school, they are still eligible.

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6. Catholic Family Tuition Assistance Scholarship

  • Award: Varies

This Scholarship is awarded to kids from Catholic families to attend an archdiocesan or parochial elementary school or an archdiocesan or parochial high school. Preference will be given to students in K-12 regardless of whether they are new or already attending an eligible school.

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7. Futures Scholarship

  • Award: Full-tuition scholarship

This is one of the few Catholic scholarships for elementary school that completely takes care of recipients’ full tuition. Applicants need to enroll their kids in an eligible Catholic school in St. Louis City, and it doesn’t matter their faith.

Also, families with multiple children that are eligible, can receive more than one Futures Scholarship

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8. Parish Employees Endowment Fund

If you’re a parish employee, your kid could be eligible for this scholarship, as long as they will attend an archdiocesan or parochial elementary school or an archdiocesan or parochial high school.

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9. The Catholic Foundation – Archdiocese of Santa Fe

The Catholic Foundation provides different scholarships for elementary students that intend to study in a Catholic school, students need to first fill out a FACTS Grant and Aid Application. Here are some of their scholarships;

  • Archbishop’s School Fund
  • Phillip J. Maloof Scholarship Fund
  • Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan Scholarship Fund
  • Praying Mothers of Our Lady of Hope Scholarship Fund

And many more

10. Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York Scholarships

Annually, the Archdiocese of New York and its Parishes provide 2 kinds of Catholic scholarships for elementary school, and it doesn’t matter family’s Immigration status. The first one is the Inner-City Scholarship Fund awarded to eligible students in K-12 while the second one is the Children’s Scholarship Fund.

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11. Archdiocese of Baltimore, School of the Incarnation Scholarships

Just like some Catholic scholarships for elementary schools we’ve listed, this one also requires applicants to first complete a financial aid application through FACTS. Parents are allowed to submit an aid application prior to receiving an offer of acceptance.

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12. Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic School Scholarships 

The Archdiocese of Chicago annually provides tens of millions of dollars worth of financial assistance to new and current families and partners with local scholarship organizations. Your kid(s) need to be enrolled in one of their Catholic partner schools and must have completed their FACTS application.

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13. Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Scholarships

Catholic Diocese of Cleveland provides both internal and external scholarships to different elementary students, some of these assistance include;

  • Cleveland Scholarship Program
  • EdChoice Traditional Scholarship Program
  • Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program

And many others

14. St. Anne Scholars and St. Martin de Porres Scholarship Funds

The Pandemic sparked the establishment of this scholarship, and it has continued to grow and has helped more than 300 students from 43 schools across the Archdiocese of Detroit. For you to apply, you need to reach out to your pastors and principals or the Catholic Foundation because it’s them who will nominate three eligible families from their communities.

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15. Diocese of Allentown Scholarships

This is among the Catholic scholarships for junior school provided by the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholarship Foundation (EPSF) in partnership with the Diocese of Allentown. The scholarship is for school-age students ranging from Kindergarten to 12th grade. 

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16. Foundations in Education – Bishop’s Scholarship Fund

This is a non-profit firm created to assist the Diocese of Bridgeport’s ongoing mission to support Catholic education in Fairfield County. Through their Bishop’s Scholarship Fund, more than $2.5 million is awarded to over 1,000 students.

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17. Diocese of Erie Scholarships

The Diocese of Erie awards two (2) scholarship programs to help families in the Diocese of Erie afford Catholic school tuition; it’s not necessary to apply more than once. These scholarship programs include;

  • The Bishop’s Tuition Assistance Program for Elementary and Secondary Schools: for elementary and secondary school students.
  • STAR Foundation Tuition Assistance: for students in grades K-12

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Conclusion

Even though Catholic elementary schools are not so cheap, you can see there a several scholarships provided that can help reduce the cost of studying in a Catholic school.

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