Scholarships

The Missouri Association of Fairs & Festivals (MAFF) Past Presidents Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce 2024-2025 applications are available for the $1,000 scholarship. 

MAFF Requirements: 

1. Applications MUST be completed from the fillable PDF file, saved as applicant last-first name-county, i.e. Schlueter-Elizabeth-Lincoln.  Hand-written applications will not be accepted.
2. The application follows. Please note the application deadline and the address to which the application and essay should be emailed.
3. Recipient must be present at the MAFF Convention on Saturday, February 8, 2025, to receive scholarship award. Convention held at Margaritaville Lake Resort, Osage Beach, Missouri.
4. Documents must be submitted as ONE PDF document in the following order: three-page application/ signature sheet, two-page essay, resume (one page preferred, maximum of two pages); school transcript, signed by school official.

Whether you are pursuing a trade school, vocational certificate or a two-year or four-year degree, don’t miss your chance to apply for a National FFA Scholarship to help with your next steps in education. If you are a senior FFA member in high school or FFA Alumni in college, just one application is required for multiple scholarship opportunities totaling nearly $2.5 million.

 The Karen D Brinkman Memorial Scholarship provides financial assistance to students wishing to pursue a degree in an Agriculture course of study at a properly accredited College or University. 

Amount: One $500 scholarship will be awarded. 

Eligibility: This scholarship is for students who attend/graduated from an approved program of study in Missouri (as stated in Missouri statute, RSMO 167.031 – includes public, private, and home school) or from Wayne City High School in Illinois. The student need not be a SWCS member. Applicants must be in their senior year of high school, or in a full-time undergraduate academic study. They must major in a conservation or natural resource-related field such as soil science, land use planning, forestry, wildlife management, fisheries, agricultural engineering, hydrology, rural sociology, agronomy, water management, agricultural economics, biology, agricultural education, or related environmental protection or resource management curricula. Applicants must attend, or plan to attend, a college or university that is properly accredited by national or regional accrediting bodies, or their equivalence. Financial need will not be a factor in selection. 

The Missouri State Fair and the Youth in Agriculture Committee are accepting applications for Youth in Agriculture scholarships for Missouri high school seniors graduating in 2025. The application form can be found on the Fair’s website.

Applications should be submitted to the Missouri State Fair and must be postmarked by January 21, 2025. Applicants must submit an original copy of their application and three additional copies.

These scholarships are possible thanks to the gracious contributions of many individuals and companies supporting Youth in Agriculture. A total of 62 scholarships amounting to $103,500, the largest amount ever, were awarded in 2024.

The following scholarships will be awarded in 2025:

• one $5,000 S. Wayne Yokley Platinum Scholarship sponsored by Youth in Agriculture supporters,
• one $3,500 Sharon Topliff Scholarship sponsored by Youth in Agriculture supporters,
• one $2,500 supreme scholarship sponsored by Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners/Sydenstricker Genetics,
• four $2,500 supreme scholarships sponsored by the Missouri State Fair Foundation,
  and numerous $1,500 (plus) scholarships sponsored by Youth in Agriculture supporters.

Applicants must be high school seniors, active members of Missouri 4-H or FFA, and have participated at least once as a 4-H or FFA exhibitor at the Missouri State Fair. Selected students must enroll (fall and/or spring semester immediately following graduation from high school) in an accredited community college, college or university.

Agriculture has a tremendous impact on our nation’s economy, and Missouri is at the heart of this industry. It is important that young people carry on the tradition and heritage of those who have made this state the agricultural leader it is today and develop the skills necessary to continue that legacy in the future.

Since 1988, the Missouri Agribusiness Academy (MAbA) has awarded 1,110 academy memberships through a competitive application and interview process. To be eligible for the Missouri Agribusiness Academy, students must come from a farming family or be an active member of FFA or 4-H. The 2025 MAbA class will tour agribusinesses, explore educational opportunities, and meet with agricultural leaders in the Kansas City area June 2-6, 2025.

MFA Foundation Scholarships are offered to graduating high school seniors where the following conditions are met:

1. Applicant is a child or grandchild (including step) of a member of an MFA Scholarship Sponsor participating in the MFA Foundation and sponsoring a scholarship.
2. Applicant must be a resident of Missouri, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma or Tennessee.
3. There must be an MFA Scholarship Sponsor within a fifty (50) mile radius of where the applicant is located.

The scholarship may be used to pursue any course of study that leads toward an academic degree such as a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science or Associate’s Degree at an accredited college or university. Recipients must be enrolled in school full time by Sept. 1 or the funds will be allocated to the runner-up. The scholarship is applied toward the student’s freshman year of college. It is not renewable.

Each year the Missouri Pet Breeders Association awards 4 scholarships in the amount of $500.00 each to students pursuing a degree or certification in fields related to and supportive of agriculture.

Eligibility Requirements
• Each recipient must be enrolled as a full-time student (12 hours minimum per semester) starting in the fall of the year the scholarship is awarded.
• Applicant must have a minimum academic GPA of 2.5 or higher.
• Applicants receiving their high school degree through the HiSET program must be in the upper 50th percentile on a standardized equivalency exam.
• Individuals previously awarded this scholarship may reapply if they meet the eligibility requirements.
• Applicants must submit a letter of recommendation from a school teacher, counselor or administrator.
• Each applicant must submit a copy of his/her high school transcript or HiSET diploma.
• Applicants must submit an essay of 500 words or more, telling about themselves and their goals for the future.
• Applicants must submit the enclosed scholarship application with a current photo.

Scholarship Award
The award will be paid directly to the winning student’s account at the school he/she will be attending upon verification of enrollment. Upon accepting the scholarship, the student agrees to remain enrolled full time, and maintain a satisfactory grade point average.

FCS Financial believes in the future of our next generation. For that reason, the Board of Directors began the FCS Financial Scholarship Program in 2004 to support higher education for children or grandchildren of FCS Financial customers. Each year up to 35 scholarships in the amount of $2,000 each are provided to eligible Missouri high school seniors. Since its inception, more than $875,000 and 705 scholarships have been awarded through the program.