Scholarships
We ask those who can afford our program to pay the training fee, though we work with people no matter their ability to pay. Trainees who purchase our courses and coaching are also helping us offer scholarships to those who need it the most. Cultivate subsidizes over 97% of our costs - allowing us to offer scholarships to over 96% of all our trainees.
Scholarships are offered to trainees based on their financial need. We only offer scholarships to our Engaged Learner Program. Scholarship funds are limited and are not guaranteed, but we will do everything we can to help you join our program.
- If you would like to join our program and pay the training fee yourself, choose the program level you would like to join by clicking here and follow the process for payment.
- If you would like to find sponsors but not apply for a scholarship, please click here.
- If you would like to join our program but need financial assistance through scholarships, please fill out the application by clicking on the button below.
Scholarship Applications Due January 15, 2024
Future Application Cycles: Applications accepted July 1-15, 2024, for a program start date of September 1, 2024.
Note that Cultivate will no longer accept scholarship applications outside of these cycles. If you wish to start at a different time, please purchase access to our program or secure your own sponsors.
January 1
The application form will become available on this page on January 1, 2024.
January 3 and 8
Attend an online information sessions to understand the application process.
Jan. 3 at 8 am Central Standard Time
Jan. 8 at 12 pm Central Standard Time
January 15
Applications must be submitted by 11:59 pm Central Standard Time. No late applications will be accepted.
January 22 to February 2
Scholarship interviews conducted online. All applicants must be available for interviews during these times.
February 5 -26
Qualified applicants will be invited to complete online onboarding and training. Please set aside approximately 7-15 hours to complete. This must be completed by Feb. 26 to qualify for the scholarship.
March 1
Accepted applicants will be notified if they are awarded a scholarship.
March 1, 2024 to February 28, 2026
Accepted applicants have two years to complete the full program.
Sponsorships
If you do not qualify for a scholarship, but cannot pay the fee on you own, you will need to find sponsors.
Sponsors are people who know the trainee personally, who are invested in their leadership development, and who have the ability to help by contributing towards their training fees. Please fill out the application below, then we will help you to find sponsors.
Please fill out the sponsorship intent form and follow the instructions.
Please read these instructions and follow the suggested activities to find sponsors to help pay for your training fee.
If you have sponsors who are helping you pay for your training, please share this guide with them.
As you find sponsors, it is so important to maintain a relationship with them! We encourage you to follow these instructions for stewarding your sponsors.
Frequently Asked Questions
To qualify for a scholarship, you must have the following things:
- Be able to pay for internet (about 1-2 GB per month) to work through our training and participate in coaching calls.
- Have access to a computer to use for about 1-2 hours each week.
- Have sufficient time each week to complete the courses in their timeframe. We suggest each trainee set aside 3-5 hours per week for our program.
If you do not qualify to apply for a scholarship, you can find sponsors to pay the program fee. Please be patient, as we cannot give scholarships to everyone immediately.
If you are unable to cover the entire training fee through sponsorships, you can apply for a scholarship to cover the remaining amount. Please first try to find sponsors (follow the instructions here) and then we will communicate with your throughout the process to ensure you can participate in our program.
Because of IRS regulations, contributions which specifically benefit an individual trainee cannot be tax-deductible, such as program training fees. Your contribution is still needed though! Without your help, many of our trainees may not be able to participate in our program. Though we offer scholarships, they are based on financial need and the availability of funds, so it is not guaranteed that all applicants will receive a scholarship.
You can make a donation towards our scholarship fund! Though we cannot guarantee your friend or family member applying to our program will be awarded a scholarship, your donation will be used to award scholarships to applicants with the most need. Because of this, per IRS regulations, your donation will be tax-deductible. To make a tax-deductible donation towards our scholarship fund, please give here.
If a trainee drops out of our program at any time, whatever funds were given as sponsorships will be retained by Cultivate. Funds will instead be used to award scholarships to other applicants.
If applicants receive contributions that exceed the full application fee, those funds will be used to provide scholarships to other trainees. Because of IRS regulations, we cannot give trainees those funds and we cannot return those funds to the contributor.