DEI Scholarship Program Guidelines

Overview

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is the country’s leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors—highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.

Through its long-range planning process, NAPFA identified encouraging and promoting inclusivity in the field as a strategic imperative for the association. This led to the creation of the Diversity & Inclusion Initiative and the formation of a steering committee to steward any associated activities.

This Initiative operates under the following directives.

Our mission is to create a more inclusive membership by becoming a beacon for diversity within the financial planning profession by building and strengthening relationships between financial planning professionals and the diverse populations they serve.

Our vision is to become the standard for diverse advisors. We will do so by creating and promoting programs for underserved professionals to participate in career development and enrichment opportunities and championing their success within the industry and the communities they live in.

As a result, the organization now sponsors several merit-based Diversity Scholarships for both NAPFA members and non-members to attend a NAPFA National Conference.

National Conferences

  • NAPFA Fall Conference
  • NAPFA Spring Conference

Testimonials

"Walking into my first NAPFA conference I really didn’t know what to expect. This was my first financial planning conference and I must admit I was a bit hesitant at first. As a young African American financial planner, I felt that I would stick out, seeing that this profession is usually filled with older, more seasoned professionals. I am pleased to say that my experience at the NAPFA conference couldn’t have been more different than what I had imagined. I was welcomed with open arms from the beginning to the very end. One of the most shocking and humbling parts of the conference is when the NAPFA board recognized the scholarship winners in front of the entire conference. This demonstrated to me that the NAPFA board really appreciates the diversity scholars and wanted to highlight our achievement."

- Cortlon Cofield, Spring 2019 Scholarship Recipient

"There are two words to describe my NAPFA experience– game changing. At the conference, I was recruited by Dr. Vickie Hampton, Department Chair of the Personal Financial Planning Program at Texas Tech University. Today, I have applied for the nationally recognized program and have been considered for a “New Recruitment” scholarship. I formed bonds with TTU students that I had not expected to form–they even included me in their official NAPFA photos! At the conference, I also attended break-out sessions that broadened my perspective on the financial planning industry."

- Valerie Franco, Spring 2019 Scholarship Recipient

Frequently Asked Questions

What do the conference scholarships include?

  • Conference registration fee
  • One-year paid individual membership to NAPFA (applicable to non-members)
  • One-year free subscription to the NAPFA Advisor magazine (Included in membership)

Who is eligible to apply for the conference scholarships?

  • Financial planning students, current Fee-Only professionals and professionals planning to convert into Fee-Only professionals within a year

What is expected of conference scholarship recipients?

  • Attendance each day of the conference
  • Participation in local study group during the one-year paid NAPFA membership
  • Briefly speaking with someone from our Committee post conference to discuss your experience

Additional Information

  • The decisions to award these scholarships shall be made at the full discretion of the NAPFA DEI Committee's scholarship subcommittee or other body duly appointed by the NAPFA Board of Directors.
  • All applicants are responsible for reading, understanding, and abiding by all the scholarship program guidelines.

Submission

Complete application packages must include the following items:

Diversity Scholarship Application:

  • Section 1: About Me – Fill out and return.
  • Section 2: Short Response – Answer the four short response questions in your own words. This can be in written or video format (preferred). If written, limit each response to 250 words. If in video format, submit in a reasonable format (YouTube, Vimeo, etc). The maximum time for all four questions is eight minutes total. (Or roughly two minutes per question. You may respond longer or shorter on a response as long as the entire video is no longer than eight minutes.)
  • One letter of recommendation from either a professor, firm manager/partner, supervisor, or other financial services professional who has witnessed your work ethic or involvement in the financial service industry. This can be on original letterhead or via email clearly listing the author’s name, position, company, and contact phone number.

Scholarship submissions must be complete (application and letter of recommendation) and received at NAPFA by the submission deadline. Submissions received after the deadline, or still incomplete will not be forwarded to the selection subcommittee for consideration.