The College for Financial Planning is launching a diversity scholarship program offering 60 full one-year scholarships for CFP certification to underrepresented candidates annually, the organization announced Thursday, the first day of National Financial Planning Month.
The scholarships are valued at $7,600 per candidate and cover the full cost of a one-year program for CFP certification through the college, including required coursework and exam prep review.
“We believe that fostering diversity and inclusion accelerates business success and benefits financial services as a whole,” said Dirk Pantone, president of the College for Financial Planning, which is owned by Kaplan Professional Education.
“Our Diversity Scholarship Program for CFP Certification will help increase the number of CFP professionals who belong to an underrepresented population in the financial planning field, in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation,” Pantone added.
Only 3.7% of the more than 87,000 CFP professionals in the United States are Black or Latino. Women are also underrepresented, at only 23%, while accounting for 52% of the overall population, according to recent CFP Board statistics.
The scholarship program will offer up to half a million dollars in scholarship assistance.
Applicants must be U.S. residents and demonstrate how they represent an underrepresented demographic, which might include differences based on gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, etc., the college said. Applicants should also demonstrate a history of academic excellence and the highest personal integrity and financial need. Industry experience is strongly preferred but is not required, the college added.
“This scholarship program will do more than help cultivate greater diversity … the goal is to broaden the diversity of people served by our profession, which will lead to improved wealth stewardship in underserved populations. The college is committed to bringing the best to the financial planner workforce and to our society,” Pantone said.
The scholarships will be awarded three times a year with up to 60 scholarships being awarded annually. Applications for the first 20 scholarships are being accepted now through December 15, 2020. The first round of recipients will be announced by January 15, the organization said.
Diversity scholarships will be chosen by the College for Financial Planning Scholarship Committee, which is made up of faculty members. Applications are available here: www.kaplanfinancial.com/cfp-diversityscholarships.