About Us
Propel Scholars Award formed in 2020, a transformative year marked by social unrest, political shifting, and a global health crisis. The founder of PSA sought to develop a program that would serve as a force for good during a historically challenging time. Closing the wealth gap and providing economic mobility opportunities for students from underserved communities shifted from a personal mission to a collective cause.
Funded by the gifts of everyday working Americans and community-minded businesses, their contributions make a difference in shaping the lives of PSA recipients and struggling communities.
Our Mission
Propel Scholars Award (PSA) is on a mission to end the cycle of poverty by supporting students from underserved communities with scholarship opportunities, character-building service work, and money management instruction and resources. PSA disrupts the familial patterns of lack and serves as a social equalizer.
Our Vision
To be an endowed scholarship fund leading the nation's charge to support low-income students with access to post-secondary education, financial literacy, and the promotion of service work in disenfranchised communities.
Program Structure
Propel Scholars Award scholarship is a need-base award available to students residing in low-income communities outlined by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Scholarship winners receive a $2,500 renewable award covering four years of the undergraduate experience. Recipients will receive a total of $10,000 in scholarship funds. Scholarship awards are renewed for students who annually participate in the PSA's Propelling Forward: Summer Financial Literacy program annually and complete 50 hours of community service in their hometown or other struggling communities.
Propelling Forward is a five-week summer financial literacy boot camp co-facilitated by the Propel Scholars Award team and leading industry experts. During the month of July, students will have an online learning experience covering the foundational principles of money management, credit-building, and receive an introduction to investing. Propelling Forward is a low-cost summer enrichment experience seeking to introduce or re-orientate students to intelligent money choices.
The moral act of giving and serving is grounded in research and endorsed as a character-building practice that encourages compassion and an other-centered focus. Scholarship recipients are required to complete 25 hours of community service in their hometown or any other struggling community annually. Partnering schools can receive facilitated domestic and global service projects. Students participating in Propelling Forward will have the opportunity to serve on the front lines, leading change, and solving systemic social issues through an immersive service learning experience.