Scholarships Plus Procedures

Last updated: July, 2026

Scholarships Plus deadlines for the 2026-27 school year

Major Scholarship Cycle Deadlines

Deadlines for payment and submission of student information

Scholarship disbursements are contingent on the timely submission of each student’s eligibility criteria to PEF. 

September 28, 2026 – Deadline for student scholarship recipients to submit documents demonstrating scholarship eligibility (FALL Semester)

June-September 2026 – Checks for FALL will be issued as eligibility documents have been verified.

September 28, 2026 – FINAL checks are issued for FALL semester. If a student does not confirm their eligibility before September 28, 2026, they will not receive a fall disbursement from PEF.

Some scholarships require continuing eligibility verification on a semesterly basis. Spring scholarship disbursements are also contingent on the timely submission of each student’s continuing eligibility criteria to PEF (if applicable).

January 25, 2027 – Deadline for student scholarship recipients to submit documents demonstrating eligibility for renewable scholarships (SPRING Semester)

December-January 2027 – Renewable checks for SPRING scholarships are issued.

If a student does not confirm their continuing eligibility before January 25, 2027, they will not receive a spring disbursement from PEF.

Please contact PEF staff at scholarships@thepef.org about processing summer school payments.

Calendar for payment of scholarships

Donor payments for both one-time and renewable scholarships are due January 15 of each scholarship cycle. Renewable scholarships must be paid in full prior to the scholarship being awarded. Any unused renewable scholarship funds will be either refunded to the donor or credited to future award recipients at the donor’s discretion.

Setting up a Scholarship

Scholarship cycles
Each scholarship cycle begins in summer (July/August/September), when Letters of Intent are sent by PEF to new and existing scholarship
donors. Scholarship cycles end at the conclusion of the school year.

Process for establishing a scholarship
All new prospective scholarship donors should contact PEF staff at scholarships@thepef.org to discuss the creation of a scholarship.

PEF staff will work with the donor to:

• Develop scholarship program goals
• Establish selection criteria
• Create a program description
• Develop scholarship-specific application questions
• Outline the review and selection process

In consideration of the time required to complete this process, new scholarships may be charged an additional administrative fee. Thereafter, annual renewals will be charged the administrative fee discussed upon scholarship initiation.

Following inquiry by PEF, the donor will receive a Letter of Intent to complete.

Process for a contact change
To administer scholarships, PEF and the donor must be mutually responsive. It’s essential to have a primary contact on both sides. Donors must fill out a New Contact Form when the primary contact changes or any contact information needs to be updated, including contact information for payment. A secondary contact is required in case the primary contact becomes unresponsive.

Communication with Students, Donors, and Reviewers
PEF staff administers a growing program with more than 300 scholarship opportunities. We strive to respond to all student, donor, and reviewer requests within 24 business hours.

Email communications should be sent to scholarships@thepef.org.

Questions/inquiries about Kaleidoscope and any technical issues can be directed to their Customer Support Team at help@mykaleidoscope.com.

Review Process

The donor will indicate in the Letter of Intent whether they want to participate in the review process. Information about the review process must be provided when the donor completes the Letter of Intent.

Each scholarship donor’s reviewer selections (if applicable) must be submitted to PEF by January 15 of each cycle. PEF will happily work with reviewers to ensure they have the right review committee in place. However, we can only make one revision to the review committee members in our system.

Tax-deductible scholarships
When donors seek to receive a tax deduction, PEF must be involved in the scholarship review process in a manner that complies with IRS regulations. Donors who wish to receive a tax deduction can choose between two generally accepted review practices:

• PEF reviewers will initially review all applications to narrow down the applicant pool. Once that initial review is complete, PEF staff will provide the top 10% of scored applications to a donor-assembled final reviewer or selection committee to select the recipient(s) without further input from PEF. Exceptions can be made based on the number of applications and awards.
• PEF reviewers can review applicants simultaneously with donor reviewers; the resulting scores will be combined to determine the recipient(s).

Donors who elect to forgo the above review options will do so with the understanding that their scholarship does not meet IRS requirements and is therefore not tax-deductible.

Number of reviewers required for each application
To help ensure a fair selection process, PEF requires that at least two individuals read and score each completed scholarship application.

Declaration of a conflict when reviewing scholarships
To help ensure a fair selection process, PEF requires scholarship reviewers to notify us at scholarships@thepef.org if they are assigned a scholarship to review for a student with whom they have a family, community, or school connection that may prevent them from impartially grading specific applications. In this case, PEF will reassign the application to another reviewer to avoid any potential conflict of interest.

Donor input on scholarship selection
PEF welcomes donors who participate in the scholarship application process. We must be provided a record indicating that applications were reviewed and scored. We require donors to log into our scholarship management platform to view applications and log scores. Students must have submitted an application for the individual scholarship in the scholarship management platform in order to be awarded the scholarship. Please note that PEF cannot submit scores on behalf of a donor or reviewer, when the donor or reviewer has accepted the responsibility to evaluate an application.

If donors do not submit student names by April 1 or if a donor is unresponsive, PEF will select the recipients based on the highest score provided by a volunteer reviewer. 

In order to ensure a fair and equitable selection process, neither donors nor PEF will consider external applicants or input once the review process has begun.

Misrepresentation of student information
Scholarship applications can be disqualified and scholarship funds can be terminated if it is determined that a student misrepresented information about themselves in their scholarship application or at any point during eligibility renewals.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write essays and other scholarship materials
Many scholarships require applicants to complete one or more essays as part of the application process. PEF recognizes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a widely used educational tool to help students complete school-related assignments.

However, PEF screens scholarship essays for AI through its application platform. Donors will have the option to disqualify application essays authored fully or in part by AI. PEF will also work with donors to develop essay questions that encourage students to provide their own perspectives and personal experiences.

Invoice and Payment Process

PEF will invoice all donors after they sign the Letter of Intent (LOI).

Payment Deadlines
PEF’s Scholarships Plus program processes thousands of payments totaling more than $6 million each year.

For PEF to review scholarship applications, payments must be received by January 15 of each scholarship cycle. PEF will not review applications and award scholarships when payment is not made by January 15.

Collecting Funds
PEF will make reasonable attempts to collect outstanding invoice balances. Still, ultimately, each donor is responsible for paying outstanding invoices in full before the due date of January 15 of each scholarship cycle.

The donor must ensure that their billing contact information is updated yearly with the Letter of Intent (or, if they have already signed a Letter of Intent for the year, with the New Contact Form) so that PEF staff may reach the appropriate party responsible for paying the outstanding invoice.

Donors sometimes have a credit on their account if a prior scholarship recipient does not fully collect their scholarship. In these cases, PEF will provide confirmation after the donor signs the Letter of Intent to inform the donor that they do not owe the full amount for the upcoming scholarship cycle.

Multi-donor Scholarships
PEF appreciates that community members often establish scholarships in memory of or in tribute to community members and that multiple donors often contribute to those scholarships. We are willing to collect checks and online donations for those scholarships. We will provide semiannual updates on the amount of funds deposited into accounts for the scholarship (in September and February). Please note that PEF staff cannot provide more frequent updates on account balances for multi-donor scholarships. PEF cannot help collect funds from individual donors, and we will award the amount of the scholarships that have been paid in total by January 15 of each scholarship cycle.

Tax-deductible letters
PEF confirms all donations made to competitive scholarships that comply with IRS regulations. To ensure all received donations are properly acknowledged, PEF requires all donors’ names, addresses, and emails. Letters confirming the tax-deductible status of donations are distributed on a calendar year basis. If your outstanding invoice is paid on or before December 31, you will receive a donation letter for that calendar year. If the payment is made between January 1 and the January 15 deadline, you will receive a donation letter for that calendar year. 

Abandoned Funds Procedures

Donor Abandoned Funds
At the beginning of each scholarship cycle, PEF staff contact our donors to determine if they intend to continue offering their scholarship and/or make changes to the scholarship criteria. If donors fail to respond to this annual engagement process, PEF will conclude that the scholarship will not be offered in the current cycle.

Before labeling unused funds as “abandoned,” PEF staff will initiate two (2) rounds of contact in a calendar year utilizing all available contact information provided by the donor (email, phone, and/or mailing address).

If the donor does not respond after a calendar year, the remaining funds will be designated as “abandoned” and deposited into the PEF Scholarship Administration account to support Scholarships Plus programming directly.

Student Deferrals, Missions, and Gap Years:

Select donors may allow students to defer acceptance of their scholarship for up to two years; however, deferrals are only granted on a case-by-case basis and with the permission of the donor and PEF staff. Students must request a deferral from PEF staff, who will share the request with the donor for a final decision. Acceptable reasons to request a deferral include:

• One-year deferral: deferred from program of choice, experiencing major financial difficulties, medical issues, problems with financial aid, or family problems that prevent a student from attending school
• Two-year deferral: participating in mission work

PEF typically does not approve “gap years” for discretionary student travel and other recreational purposes (this gap year policy does not apply to overseas academic studies).

Accessing and Collecting Scholarship Funds

To collect funds, students must:

• Accept their scholarship(s) in the scholarship management platform, including verifying their eligibility for their scholarship through the Acceptance Form before they receive any individual payment.

Students must confirm eligibility before accessing scholarship funds

• Before funds are sent to a college or university, every scholarship recipient must provide evidence that they meet the criteria for eligibility for the scholarship.
• These documents typically include transcripts and class schedules that establish a Grade Point Average, a major/minor area of study, and confirmation that the student is taking a certain number of credits/classes.
• PEF team members will send out eligibility forms and instructions. Failure to submit the ongoing eligibility form promptly may result in suspension or termination of the scholarship.
• These online forms must be completed by September 28, 2026 to receive a payment for the fall semester and January 25, 2027 to receive a payment for the spring semester.
• For renewable, multi-year scholarships, students must submit the information form for each individual payment and meet the deadlines communicated.
• The failure to respond to PEF communications by these deadlines may result in the suspension or termination of the scholarship.

Non-collection of Student Funds
PEF will make at least four attempts (three emails and one text) to contact students and ask them to complete their Acceptance Form. If students do not collect their scholarship funds and do not request a deferral from PEF, their scholarship will be canceled. PEF will contact the donor to determine if funds should be returned or advanced to a future recipient.

Disbursement of Renewable Scholarships for College-Enrolled Students
PEF offers a variety of renewable scholarships that are typically paid over a four-year period. When college freshmen, sophomores, or juniors receive multi-year scholarships, their scholarships will be allocated evenly based on their expected graduation date, unless specifically indicated otherwise by the donor. For example, a $10,000 scholarship won by a college freshman would be allocated as $3,333 for each of the student’s remaining years in college. The same $10,000 scholarship won by a college sophomore would be allocated as $5,000 for each of the student’s remaining years in college.

Allocation of Scholarship Funds When Students Transfer Schools:
Students who transfer schools must provide the same documentation to confirm scholarship eligibility as any other student, including proving that they are full-time students and any other eligibility requirements specific to their scholarship.

In the case when a student has funds remaining at their previous school, transferring students must request a refund directly from their initial postsecondary institution. PEF will not make this request on the student’s behalf. PEF will submit documentation requested by the school if necessary. PEF is not responsible for refunds due to transfers.

PEF cannot provide reimbursement to students and families who expend tuition funds during the transition between schools until:

• PEF receives the refund from the original school, AND
• The student/family provides receipts of their expenses.

Please note that refunds from student transfers can take up to six months if all requirements are met. PEF cannot control how long this process takes nor intervene with the postsecondary institution on the student’s behalf.

Use of Scholarship Funds:
Scholarship disbursements are typically sent directly to the postsecondary institution identified by the student. This ensures that the scholarship is processed properly and reduces the likelihood that a student or their family could incur income tax liability.

Funds typically will not be sent directly to the student. In cases when the student does not utilize the full amount of the scholarship, postsecondary institutions typically will refund the amount directly to the student. Additionally, in some cases, when the student’s tuition and fees are fully covered, students may ask PEF for reimbursements of other educational expenses. Scholarship funds should be utilized for educational expenses that may include:

• Tuition and fees
• On-campus housing and meal plans
• Summer classes
• Study Abroad programs through a postsecondary institution
• Certifications
• Technology, including laptops, calculators, and lab equipment
• Tutoring
• School supplies
• Books and materials directly related to studies

Backup documentation is required for any refund or reimbursement request. 

How students use the scholarship money they receive directly could affect the potential for tax liability for students and their parents/guardians. In these instances, PEF strongly advises students and their families to record education-related expenses and consult a tax professional.

Scholarship Displacement:
When some students win a private scholarship and report it, their universities reduce their financial aid package accordingly, resulting in no additional financial support for the students. This is called “Scholarship Displacement.” If students encounter this, they must present their financial aid package and university’s policy on scholarship displacement to PEF staff members by emailing scholarships@thepef.org. They must also provide a plan of how the student would like to disburse the funds on educational expenses utilizing a 529 account for educational purposes. Students can also propose to be reimbursed for educational expenses on a semester-by-semester basis. PEF staff will then consult with the donor to determine a course of action. Some donors may decide to honor the university’s displacement policy, while other donors may decide to supplement the student’s financial aid package. The donor’s decision is final.

529 Accounts:
PEF is unable to assist students with creating a 529 Account. PEF will pay scholarship payments to 529 Accounts when students have documented cases of scholarship disbursement. Otherwise, PEF’s policy is to provide scholarship funds directly to schools.

Guidelines for the use of uncollected scholarship funds:
Some donors have allowed students to utilize uncollected scholarship funds for graduate school. This is determined on a case-by-case basis at the individual donor’s discretion. Students who have completed their bachelor’s degree or certification must make this request through PEF before planning to use scholarship funds for graduate school or any other purpose. When making this request, students must provide a time frame for their graduate studies (the number of program years).