The Pauline V. Hoffman Memorial Scholarship Application

SCHOLARSHIP GUIDELINES

Thanks to the generosity of the Hoffman family and others, a fund was established in 1996 in memory of Pauline V. (Polly) Hoffman and Emory E. (Jim) Hoffman. This fund was created to provide scholarship aid to qualified persons in accordance with guidelines which will be administered by a scholarship committee. That committee shall consist of the current congregation council president, the current Pastor and a member of the Hoffman family.

“Qualified person” means a member of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Upperco, MD and any member of that person’s immediate family or household who has been accepted at the time of application by an institution which provides post high-school education or training.

“Immediate family” means parent, child, brother or sister.

“Household member” means any individual actually residing at the principal residence of the church member.

Although the fund may well benefit college students, further education at any accredited institution is eligible and the fund is not limited to any age group. Although the impact of the scholarship on the applicant’s ability to attend school will be considered, the award is not intended to be based upon need.

The scholarship shall be awarded based upon consideration of the following factors:

1. The applicant’s contribution to the church and/or community services, either financially or by personal services.

2. The purpose of the education or training, i.e. for career advancement, qualification for a new position, personal interest, etc.

3. The existence of other aid or scholarships available to the applicant.

4. The impact of the church scholarship upon the applicant’s ability to receive the further education or training, i.e. whether attendance will be financially impossible without the aid, or work-study demands may be lessened, or whether funds would be helpful but not otherwise affect attendance or outside workload.

5. The scholarship(s) will be awarded annually in the summer preceding the fall semester. The decision of the scholarship committee shall be final, subject to approval of the congregation council. The committee may determine that no applicant in any given year has qualified for this scholarship.

6. A letter of acceptance from a higher learning institution must accompany the application. The principal, as well as any interest of the fund, may be used to provide the scholarship(s), provided that the fund shall not at any time be decreased below the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). A one-time exception in any one year may be allowed for special circumstances. The committee shall determine the size of the scholarship(s) to be awarded each year, based upon the available funds. It is preferable for the award(s) to each be a minimum of two hundred and fifty dollars ($250.00). However, if in any year, there are insufficient funds to pay an award of at least $250.00, it will be up to the fund committee to decide whether to give awards that year in a lesser amount or none at all. If there are no qualified applicants for an uninterrupted period of five (5) years, the congregation council may, but is not required to, abolish this fund. If such action is taken, any remaining funds shall be deposited into the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Good Samaritan fund to be used according to that funds’ guidelines.

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Completed applications should be returned to a member of the fund’s committee. If possible, the scholarship(s) will be awarded before the fall semester begins.