The Croatian Benevolent Association (“CBA”) approved a College Scholarship Program (“the Program”) at its annual membership meeting held on December 10, 2017. These Rules and Eligibility Requirements (the “Rules”) are intended to address the eligibility, application, award, and administration of the Program for the 2024-2025 academic school year. These Rules shall be subject to the annual approval, revision, and review by the CBA Board of Directors.
Eligibility
(A) The Program shall be open to the following male or female applicants:
(i) The applicant shall be a person of suitable Croatian descent.
(ii) The applicant shall be a current CBA member in good standing or the applicant shall be sponsored by a current CBA member in good standing.
(iii) The applicant shall be a domiciliary of the State of Louisiana.
(iv) The applicant shall be a high school graduate or have completed a general equivalency diploma.
(v) The applicant shall submit proof of full-time acceptance and/or enrollment at a university, junior college, or vocational/trade school.
(vi) No applicant may receive or be awarded a Scholarship Benefit under the Program more than four (4) times.
For purposes of part (ii) of this Section, a current CBA member in good standing may sponsor only one applicant for the 2024-2025 academic school year.
(B) All eligibility assessments and determinations shall be made by the CBA Scholarship Committee.
Application Process
All applications must be fully completed and submitted on the application form (link to application form) approved by the CBA and submitted to the CBA no later than August 1, 2024. All applications must include a final school transcript containing a complete transcript of all grades earned for the preceding school year. All applications must be submitted to the location and in the form set forth in the application form. Application forms may be obtained from the CBA website (www.cbanola.com).
CBA Scholarship Committee
The CBA Scholarship Committee was formed to perform the matters provided for in these Rules, and to handle the administration of the Program. The President of the CBA shall select and appoint the members of the Scholarship Committee. The Scholarship Committee shall consist of not less than three active members of the CBA. If any member of the Scholarship Committee has an eligible family member who has applied for a scholarship benefit under the Program for that year, that member shall not vote on the eligibility or award of any applicant for that year. “Family member” shall mean the following familial relation to the person: son, daughter, or any other relation or relationship that may reasonably call into question the impartiality of that member. Any objections or assessments regarding the potential impartiality and/or conflict of interest of a member or any other issues relating to the prospective service of a member on the Scholarship Committee shall be submitted in writing to the President of the CBA no later than July 1, 2024, and shall be decided by him in his sole discretion.
Educator Selection Committee
All completed and timely submitted applications will be considered by an Educator Selection Committee (the “Educator Committee”), and the Educator Committee shall make recommendations for the award of Scholarship Benefit(s) as provided under these Rules, as follows:
(a) The Educator Committee shall be comprised of no less than three (3) individuals who are current or retired educational professionals. The Educator Committee shall be selected annually by the Scholarship Committee. No member of the Educator Committee shall be a current or former member of the CBA.
(b) The entirety of the selection process shall be confidential and impartial.
(c) Prior to consideration of any applicant by the Educator Committee, the Scholarship Committee shall first consider each eligible applicant’s “involvement in the Croatian-American community,” and assign a point value (0-12 points) to each applicant. The following criteria shall be considered by the Scholarship Committee in its consideration and scoring of each candidate:
(i) CBA membership of the applicant and/or any current, past, or deceased family members;
(ii) Membership of the applicant and/or any current, past, or deceased family members in any Croatian-based or Croatian-related associations, organizations, or similar groups;
(iii) Croatian birth or citizenship of the applicant or other family members, living or deceased; and
(iv) Any other matters demonstrating the applicant’s involvement in the Croatian community.
The Scholarship Committee shall rank all eligible applicants in this category. The Scholarship Committee’s assignment of points to each applicant will not be disclosed to the Educator Committee.
(d) The Educator Committee shall consider the following criteria, in order of importance, and shall assign points to each applicant in each category according to the available point range set forth below:
(1) Academic achievement. (10 Points)
(2) Community service, extracurricular, and/or volunteer activities. (2 Points)
The Educator Committee shall rank all eligible applicants in this category and submit the assigned points for each applicant to the Scholarship Committee.
(e) The Educator Committee shall convene and make its recommendations and ranking for the award of Scholarship Benefit(s) to the Scholarship Committee no later than August 15, 2024.
Scholarship Committee
The Scholarship Committee shall convene no later than August 23, 2024, to review, consider, and approve the Scholarship Benefit award(s) recommended by the Selection Committee. The Scholarship Committee shall rank all applicants based on all points awarded by the Educator Committee, and all points awarded previously by the Scholarship Committee pursuant to Section 5(c) of these Rules. In the event of a tie in rankings of one or more applicants, the Scholarship Committee shall have the discretion to further rank those applicants. The Scholarship Committee shall promptly make its recommendations to the Board of Directors, and thereafter the Board of Directors shall consider, approve, and issue notice of all Scholarship Benefit awards no later than August 31, 2024.
Scholarship Benefit
The 2024-2025 Program provides for potential “Scholarship Benefit(s)” as specified herein. The CBA has committed a minimum of $10,000.00 in funding towards the 2024-2025 Program. The amount and number of Scholarship Benefits that may be awarded to individual eligible applicants selected and approved under these Rules for the 2024-2025 academic school year shall be determined in the sole discretion of the CBA Board of Directors. The minimum Scholarship Benefit to any one individual shall not be less than $1,000.00, and the maximum individual Scholarship Benefit to any one individual shall not exceed $2,500.00 for the 2024-2025 academic school year.
Notification and Payment of Scholarship Award
The Scholarship Committee shall provide notice of the award of Scholarship Benefit(s) no later than September 1, 2024. Subject to compliance with these Rules by each individual awarded a Scholarship Benefit, and upon submission of evidence of full-time enrollment in any college, junior college, or vocational or trade school for the 2024-2025 academic school year, the Scholarship Benefit shall be paid to each recipient by check made payable to the order of the recipient by September 15, 2024.
In the event that sufficient evidence of full-time enrollment in any college, junior college, or vocational or trade school is not submitted by any recipient by September 15, 2024, the Scholarship Benefit awarded to such recipient(s) may be rescinded.
Other
(a) The Board of Directors reserves the right to make any changes, revisions, or amendments to these Rules or to the Program at any time in its sole discretion.
(b) These Rules apply solely to the 2024-2025 academic school year. The Board of Directors reserves the right to make any changes, revisions, or amendments to these Rules or to the Program at any time in its sole discretion for upcoming academic school years, including the right to discontinue or abandon the Program.
(c) Any individual’s receipt of a Scholarship Benefit for the 2024-2025 academic school year does not guarantee receipt of a Scholarship Benefit, in any amount or at all, for the following academic school year or any future academic school year(s).
(d) Notice of the Program and the Rules shall be posted on the CBA website and its Facebook page as soon thereafter as possible. The Board of Directors may, at its sole discretion, circulate additional notice of the Program by other means by email, U.S. mail, or other means. Any member or individual’s receipt of a Scholarship Benefit for the 2024-2025 academic year, or for any previous academic years, does not entitle the recipient to specific notice of the Program for any subsequent year.
(e) All decisions by the Board of Directors shall be final, with no rights of appeal or redress.
(f) The CBA intends to disclose and publicize the identity of all recipients of any Scholarship Benefits, including the recipients’ names and the recipients’ anticipated college, junior college, or vocational or trade school identified by the recipient. By accepting the Scholarship Benefit, each recipient acknowledges and consents to this anticipated disclosure by the CBA and the CBA Board of Directors without limitation the recipients’ names and the recipients’ anticipated college, junior college, or vocational or trade school identified by the recipient.
QUESTIONS/CONTACT
Please direct all questions or other inquiries relating to the CBA Scholarship Program to selectioncommittee@cbanola.com or by mail to Croatian Benevolent Association, Att: CBA Scholarship Selection Committee, P.O. Box 7981, Metairie, Louisiana 70010.