Please note: The Golden LEAF application is now closed for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Golden LEAF Scholars Program for Two-Year Colleges is funded through a grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation, a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to help transform North Carolina’s economy. The scholars program provides funds up to $2,250 annually for curriculum students and up to $1,850 annually for occupational education students.
Scholarship funds are limited to tuition, books, fees, credentialing tests, childcare services, transportation, and other components of the total cost of attendance for the 2022-2023 fall and spring semesters.
To be eligible, a community college student must:
- Be a NC resident, demonstrate financial need as determined by the FAFSA, and reside in a rural county that is tobacco dependent and economically distressed as determined by the Golden LEAF Foundation
- Degree-seeking students must be enrolled at least full time for full award. Less than half-time students may be considered pending the availability of funds.
Finalists meeting all the eligibility criteria will undergo a separate “merit” competition. Selection is based on:
- The effect of the declining economy on the student's family
- Owned or employed in farming/agriculture business
- Owned or employed in traditional industries such as textiles or furniture manufacturing
- Household member lost their job or gone from full-time to part-time
- Academic record
Spring application deadline is January 18, 2023