An application submission by the student
An interview with the student
Vetting calls to the student's listed recommender/s
Before beginning your application, please fully review the criteria and requirements. This program is open to all students who meet the requirements below regardless of identity.
You must be currently enrolled in grades 9-12 to qualify for the SpendMatch Prize.
You must NOT be eligible for a fully paid college tuition through FAFSA (the maximum Pell Grant). You can calculate if you are eligible for a full Pell grant by using this link. You are still eligible for the SpendMatch prize if you are eligible for a partial Pell grant.
You must be doing an activity in your school or community that furthers financial understanding, financial equity, or financial inclusion for people who have historically been low-income or underrepresented in financial institutions.
You will need to provide the contact information of at least one supporter/recommender. Your supporter must be a teacher or counselor at your high school who knows about your financial equity efforts and your efforts to improve financial understanding in your school or community. You may optionally provide a second recommender in addition to the school counselor who is unrelated to you and who can speak to the work you do in your community to further financial understanding, for example the supervisor of a project you worked in at a university, company or non-profit.
Please do not supply any additional material unless it would add substantially to our understanding of your efforts and activity.
If you receive one of the awards it may be necessary for you to provide a U.S. taxpayer identification number to collect the cash award.
All parts of the application must be completed to be considered for the prize. You must fill out Part 1 of the application and submit it for our team to schedule an interview (part 2) with you, and to call your recommender (part 3) using the contact information that you provide.
Part 1: To be completed by you
Before beginning the application, spend some time preparing your responses to the following questions. Please note: The work you have done toward financial understanding and inclusion is much more important than the quality of your writing.
The significance of your activity and how, through action and service, you have demonstrated leadership in advancing financial inclusion or promoting financial understanding in your school and community
Your role in the activity
The scope and impact of your activity on your school or community
You must submit your application online by November 30th. Applications are read on a rolling basis until November 30th, so earlier submissions are encouraged to allow for the vetting and interview process to begin earlier.
View a PDF of the full application.