Washington State Scholarships

The National Federation of the Blind of Washington is thrilled to announce that we are accepting applications for our 2026 state Scholarship Program. We will award three $3,000 scholarships to three outstanding blind scholars in our state. The scholarships will be awarded at the banquet of our National Federation of the Blind of Washington annual state convention, which will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel Seattle Airport in Seattle., Washington  from February 26 - March 1, 2026. More information about convention can be found on the state convention website.

All applicants must be:

• Legally blind in both eyes
• Residents of the state of Washington
• Pursuing a full-time undergraduate or graduate course of study. If employed, part-time study will be accepted. 
• Available to participate in the entire NFB of Washington state convention
• 18 years of age by the first date of convention

In addition to a scholarship, each winner will receive directions and financial assistance to attend the 2026 NFB of Washington annual convention, providing an excellent opportunity for networking with active blind persons in many different professions and occupations. The scholarships are awarded at the banquet on Saturday night of the convention. Attendance at the convention is mandatory.

Each scholarship application must include:

• Completed scholarship application form
• An essay describing the applicant’s abilities, academic achievements, community leadership, future goals and philosophy of blindness. Please let your personality shine through. We want to get to know you.
• High school and/or up-to-date college transcripts
• 3 current letters of recommendation, specific to this application

All applicants MUST contact one of the scholarship committee co-chairpersons for a telephone interview. Please contact:
Nikki Palm: (360) 703-8641
Bennett Prows: (425) 814-4187

All completed scholarship packets must be received by Friday, January 2, 2026. 

APPLICATION PACKETS RECEIVED AFTER the deadline WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Additionally, INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

Send completed scholarship application packets to:
 NFB of Washington Scholarship co-chairpersons
Nikki Palm: nikkirae83@gmail.com
Bennett Prows: BJProws@comcast.net
 

Click on the link below to download the scholarship application & instruction document. This document is in Microsoft Word format. After clicking the link, you will be directed to save the document to your device. If you need assistance with this process, please contact Nikki Palm using the contact details listed above.

DOWNLOADABLE APPLICATION PACKET!
 

National Scholarships

The National Federation of the Blind's annual scholarship program is the largest of its kind in the nation. Every year, we award more than $250,000 in cash and prizes to blind scholars across the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in recognition of their achievements and professional aspirations. To learn more visit https://nfb.org/programs-services/scholarships-and-awards/scholarship-program.

The National Federation of the Blind national scholarship program application will open on November 1, 2023 and end on March 31, 2024.