The Cary Carbonaro Women & Wealth Career Changer Scholarship

About The Scholarship

Cary Carbonaro, MBA, CFP® is an award-winning, internationally recognized personal finance expert with more than 25 years of experience in wealth management. She currently serves as Managing Director and Women and Wealth Ambassador for Arax Private Wealth, formerly Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, where she runs a multimillion-dollar practice helping clients and advisors navigate the financial and emotional dimensions of wealth through a lens of empowerment and inclusion.

Cary has been widely recognized for her leadership and impact. She has been honored as an InvestmentNews Woman to Watch, DEI Trailblazer of the Year and Financial Education Champion, and she has been ranked multiple times among Investopedia’s Top 100 Financial Advisors. Cary is the author of Women and Wealth: A Playbook to Empower Clients and Unlock Their Fortune (Wiley, April 2025), a guide for financial advisors seeking to better serve the growing female investor population. In 2025, Wealth Management listed Women and Wealth in the Top 10 books for Financial Advisors. She is also the author of The Money Queen’s Guide for Women Who Want to Build Wealth and Banish Fear (2015), an Amazon #1 bestseller in Wealth Management across several countries. Cary has also served as a CFP Board Ambassador for over a decade and was a keynote speaker at the 2025 CFP Board Connections Conference.

The Cary Carbonaro Women & Wealth Career Changer Scholarship is designed to support the next generation of women financial planners. The scholarship provides financial support to women who identify as career changers — individuals who have never worked in the financial services ecosystem. Eligible candidates must also demonstrate financial need.

The scholarship awards up to $5,000 per student seeking to complete a certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program, which would qualify the student to sit for the CFP® exam. All eligible applicants who opt-in during the application process will receive a copy of her book, Women and Wealth: A Playbook to Empower Clients and Unlock Their Fortune.

Applications will be reviewed by a scholarship panel comprised of CFP® professionals.

Requirements

• Must not be a prior recipient of a CFP Board Center for Financial Planning education scholarship;
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident;
• Must be a woman;
• Must identify as a career changer (an individual who has never worked in the financial services ecosystem);
• Must have demonstrated financial need as explained in an essay to be submitted during the application process;
• Must possess an undergraduate degree;
• Must be enrolled in a certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program and must not have completed 6 or more courses at the time of application or must enroll in a certificate-level program within 3 months of receiving the award;
• Must provide documentation of enrollment in an eligible program and costs prior to receiving the award;
• Must demonstrate commitment to the financial planning profession as explained in an essay to be submitted during the application process; and
• Applicants will be required to pass a background check conducted by CFP Board, and must enhance and maintain the profession’s public image.

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

Scholarship awards will be disbursed in two equal installments. To receive the first installment, recipients must demonstrate proof of enrollment in an eligible undergraduate or certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program. If not currently enrolled in a program, recipients will have up to 3 months to enroll after being notified of the award. The second installment will be awarded either upon completing the program (if the awardee has already started coursework) or when the awardee is halfway through the program (if the awardee has not yet started coursework).

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.