Kevin R. Keller Scholars

About The Scholarship

The Kevin R. Keller Scholars program was established to honor Keller’s 19 years of transformative leadership as CEO of CFP Board. This scholarship fund advances CFP Board’s vision of a robust, diverse community of CFP® professionals.

This program supports academically successful first-generation college students — the first in their immediate families to earn a degree — as they complete their studies in baccalaureate CFP Board Registered Programs and move closer to CFP® certification. Eligible candidates must also demonstrate financial need through the application process.

The scholarship awards up to $11,250 per undergraduate student per year. The amount of the award will be based on submitted documentation showing program costs and other aid. Applications will be reviewed by an independent Scholarship Review Panel comprised of CFP® professionals as well as Kevin Keller himself. One junior and one senior award will be selected as the inaugural cohort of the Kevin Keller Scholars community in 2026.

Beyond financial assistance, scholarship recipients gain something first-generation students often lack: a community of peers, connections and professional development opportunities that reflect Keller’s enduring commitment to education access and leadership. “When we expand access to financial planning education, we open doors not just for students but for the families and communities they will serve,” Keller says. The Keller Scholars program helps open those doors by providing additional resources including virtual or in-person connection and professional development opportunities.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must meet all the following criteria to be eligible for consideration for the Kevin R. Keller Scholars program:

• Not be a prior recipient of a CFP Board Center for Financial Planning education scholarship.
• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Demonstrate financial need as evidenced by the applicant’s answers to the question asking them to describe their financial need.
• Be a current college undergraduate student beginning their junior or senior year at the time of application (must have an anticipated graduation date between May 2027 and June 2028).
• Be enrolled in an undergraduate-level CFP Board Registered Program (major, minor, track or concentration in financial planning), which qualifies the student to sit for the CFP® exam.
• Be a first-generation college student, which means that an applicant’s parents and guardians must have not earned a baccalaureate degree.
• Submit a current, complete unofficial transcript. Unofficial transcripts must display student name, school name, grades and credit hours for each course and term.
• Submit an Enrollment Verification Letter from the academic institution that verifies an applicant’s anticipated graduation date.
• Have and maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
• Agree to share the student’s contact information with and be contacted by CFP Board Center for Financial Planning, and to provide information that the Center requests concerning the scholarship, the student’s education and the student’s advancement toward a financial planning career.
• Agree to participate in the financial planning profession and the Kevin R. Keller Scholars community, including but not limited to attending virtual and in-person events and engagements, completing surveys, and pursuing opportunities that concern the scholarship, the student’s education or the student’s advancement toward a financial planning career.
• Commit to sitting for the CFP® exam within 36 months of graduation.
• Agree to allow CFP Board to review their background pursuant to the same process that CFP Board reviews applications for CFP® certification.
• Not engage in conduct that reflects adversely on their integrity or fitness or on CFP Board, CFP® certification, Kevin R. Keller or the financial planning profession.

Submission Requirements

Please note that applications will only be accepted through this webpage. Please do not attempt to submit application materials via email, mail or fax.

When submitting application essays and materials, please pay close attention to spelling and grammar, as that will be factored into the grading process.

Award Process

If a selected recipient is in their junior year at the time of the award notice, then CFP Board Center for Financial Planning will send their year-one award funding to their academic institution within two months from the award notice. The Center will send the remainder when the awardee provides an updated transcript at the start of their senior year showing their final grades from junior year and continued enrollment in a CFP Board Registered Program going into their senior year and demonstrates that the awardee continues to meet the eligibility criteria.

If an awardee is in their senior year at the time of the award notice, then the Center will send their entire single-year award to their academic institution within two months of the award notice.

Application Deadline

The application window will be open until September 30, 2026.

Award Decision

Scholarship applicants will be notified of the award decision via email by December 11, 2026. If you have a question about the status of your application, please contact us.