Blackland Income Growth Scholarship

BLACKLAND INCOME GROWTH SCHOLARSHIP

 

Blackland Income Growth is awarding scholarships to outstanding 4-H members in Blackland Prairie counties.  The scholarships will be presented at the BIG Luncheon on Tuesday, January 6, 2026 

 

AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIPS

· There will be ten (10) Blackland Income Growth scholarships awarded for the amount of $1000 each.

· There will be one (1) Scott Felton Blackland Income Growth scholarship awarded in the amount of $1500.  Consideration will be given to applicants planning to study agribusiness.  Major will be verified at the time of payment.

· There will be one (1) Ronald C. Woolley Blackland Income Growth scholarship awarded in the amount of $1500.  Consideration will be given to applicants planning to study agriculture.  Major will be verified at the time of payment.

· The same application will be used for all scholarships.  

· Recipients will only be eligible to receive one of the above-mentioned BIG scholarships.

 

ELIGIBILITY OF APPLICANT

To be eligible, a student must:

· Be a 4-H member in a Blackland Prairie County which include Bell, Bosque, Burleson, Collin, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Grayson, Hill, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Lee, Limestone, McLennan, Milam, Navarro, Rockwall, Tarrant, or Williamson.

·  Be a resident or attend school in a Blackland Prairie County

·  Be a graduate of high school in the 2025-2026 school year.

·  Have been an active member of 4-H for at least three (3) of the last four (4) years.

· Meet entrance requirements of a Texas college, university, or technical school.

· Enroll full-time in a Texas college, university, or technical school in the Fall of 2026.

· Plan to major in an Agriculture (including Horticulture) or Family and Consumer Sciences related field.

· Attach an official copy of high school transcript.  Unofficial transcripts will not be accepted.

· Submit the completed application and attachments and return by Friday, November 16th, 2025. Must be completed online. DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATION.  

  

DEADLINE

The completed application and attachments must be received by Friday, November 14, 2026  via this website.

IF SELECTED, SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS MUST ADHERE TO THE FOLLOWING:

Attend the BIG Scholarship Reception and Luncheon on Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Mail a thank you note and copy of college, university, or technical school schedule by August 31, 2026. 

Students must be enrolled as a full-time student in a college, university, or technical school.  Full-time is defined at 12 hours per semester. 

Scholarship recipients will forfeit their scholarship if the college, university, or technical school schedule is not received by January 1, 2027. 

 

SCHOLARSHIP TIMELINE

Friday, November 14, 2025
Deadline for application to be received. (postmark deadline)

 
By December 12, 205
Notification of scholarship winners

  
Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Arrive by 11:30 am
Scholarship recipients will be asked to attend the Scholarship Reception at the BIG Conference to be recognized at the BIG Luncheon at the BASE (Extraco Event Center) in Waco. 

 
August 31, 2026
Scholarship recipients must send a copy of their college, university, or technical school schedule to the above address so that funds can be sent to the appropriate college scholarship office. 

 
January 1, 2027
Scholarships will be forfeited if not claimed by this date. 

 

 

 

SHORT BIO FOR PROGRAM: Include a 100-125 word paragraph about yourself to include in the program at the BIG Conference. Be sure to include your name, your parents’ names, county, school, future plans, and other interesting information that the luncheon attendees may find interesting. Please do not exceed 125 words. Space is limited. See the examples below to help in writing your own bio. 

4-H PROJECT EXPERIENCES: List up to four (4) of your most significant 4-H projects throughout your entire 4-H career. Describe years involved, knowledge and skills gained, scope and activity related to projects, demonstrations, talks, exhibits, workshops, tours, interviews, etc. Describe why these projects were important and significant and what impact your involvement provided you to have on other people. Reference the level of participation/involvement as L=Local, C=County, D=District, R=Regional, S=State, N=National, and I=International. Put emphasis on quality of your experience. (You are limited to 3500 characters, which translates into roughly 1 page).

4-H LEADERSHIP ROLES: List your major 4-H leadership roles throughout your 4-H career. Include volunteer, promotion, and elected/appointed leadership. List roles and responsibilities, years, levels of involvement, as L=Local, C=County, D=District, R=Regional, S=State, N=National, and I=International. Put emphasis on quality of your experience.

4-H CITIZENSHIP AND 4-H COMMUNITY SERVICE: List your major citizenship and community service activities. List activity, year, and your role in the activity (use Y=preformed yourself, M=member of a group, or P=provided primary leadership to the group). Describe why your citizenship and community service was important in these activities and what impact your involvement provided you to have on other people. Put emphasis on quality of your experience.

4-H HONORS: List up to four (4) of your most important honors received through 4-H. List the honor, year received, level of award, (use L=Local, C=County, D=District, R=Regional, S=State, N=National, and I=International), and why you consider the honors listed to be the most important (i.e. how did they contribute to and provide significance toward your personal development?). Put emphasis on quality of your experience.

OUTSIDE 4-H EXPERIENCES: Describe how you spent time outside of your 4-H activities, why you devoted time to a particular activity, the impact the activity had on your personal development, and how it benefitted other people. List Leadership roles and activities, honors, work experience, and volunteer and community service. This may include school, church, other youth groups, etc.

CAREER NARRATIVE:  Describe how you have prepared yourself to have an awareness of and an understanding about career(s) applicable to the degree or technical certificate you wish to pursue.  Type of information you may provide includes:

• Visits to college/universities and conversations with personnel at those institutions.
• Investigations of job/career opportunities and availability.
• Persons/experiences that have influenced you to pursue the degree/certification you have indicated.
• How you decided to pursue a technical certification versus baccalaureate or vice-versa. 

FINANCIAL NEED NARRATIVE: Describe your need for financial assistance, and the effect that this scholarship would have on your college education. This narrative could include details about family situations such as: care of family members, medical, and/or family financial burdens.

If “YES” to the above question, you are required to complete the next portion of the form.  You will need to list ALL scholarships, grants, loans, financial aid, and monetary awards that you have applied for, received, or being considered for at the time of submission.  You will need to provide dollar figures (estimate amount of scholarships that may be variable from past amounts awarded). 
Definitions of financial aid you should be listing:

 

Award(s): Honors such as Gold Star Scholarships, SALE Rural Youth Scholarship, etc.

Loan(s): Money that you have applied for or have been given with the intent to pay back. This money could be from sources such as a commercial lender, family member, or some other person/business.

Scholarship(s): Any application that you have submitted to be considered for money to be used for college expenses (i.e. tuition, housing, meals, books, etc). Scholarships for champion animals or high point honors at SALE should be listed here.

Financial Aid: Federal, state, institutional, and private fund(s) used to assist eligible students in funding their education. Financial aid can be a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, waivers, and student employment.