The Ballentine Partners Scholarship to Create a Diverse Financial Planning Profession aims to advance the financial planning profession by growing the number and diversity of CFP® professionals. The scholarship provides financial assistance to qualified individuals who identify as Black or African American and/or Hispanic or Latino and who strive to obtain CFP® certification.
Ballentine Partners is independent multi-family office with over 130 employees and $12 billion of assets under management as of December 2024. The firm’s mission is to help families make smart decisions about their wealth.
We strive to give our clients the freedom to focus on the lives they want to lead and the legacies they want to create. Ballentine Partners has partnered with the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning to offer this scholarship to help create a more diverse and sustainable financial planning profession, so that every American has access to competent, ethical financial planning advice.
The scholarship awards up to $5,000 to qualified students seeking to complete the education coursework at a CFP Board Registered Program that qualifies the student to sit for the CFP® exam.
Eligibility Requirements
Must not be a prior recipient of a CFP Board Center for Financial Planning scholarship;
Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident;
Must identify as Black or African American and/or Hispanic or Latino;
To receive the award, must be enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate , or certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program. Click here for a list of eligible programs.
If not enrolled at the time of applying, scholarship awardees will have up to 3 months to enroll or forfeit the award;
If applying for a graduate or undergraduate-level scholarship, must not be in the final semester at the time of the application;
If applying for a graduate or certificate-level scholarship, must possess an undergraduate degree;
If applying for a certificate-level scholarship, must not have completed 6 or more courses in the certificate-level program at the time of the application.
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
Applications will only be accepted through the application portal. Please do not attempt to submit application materials via mail, fax or email.
When submitting application essays and materials, please pay close attention to spelling, grammar and presentation, 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 will have to demonstrate proof of enrollment in an eligible 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 at the time the scholarship is awarded), or when the awardee is halfway through the program (if the awardee has not yet started coursework at the time the scholarship is awarded).
Application Deadline
The application window will be open in late August 2025.
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