Founder’s Scholarship Application

Established in honor of HEPNet’s founders, the Founders Scholarship helps expand access to HEPNet membership for youth protection professionals who lack institutional financial support. Scholarship recipients receive a complimentary one-year individual membership.

Applications are due November 12, 2026.

Details

Founder's Scholarship

Scholarships provide a complimentary 1-year higher education individual membership to HEPNet, valued at approximately $285.

Established in 2022 to celebrate HEPNet’s fifth anniversary, the Founders Scholarship honors our founders by extending the benefits of HEPNet membership to others.

The scholarship supports youth protection professionals in higher education who lack institutional funding for membership. Recipients are selected by the HEPNet Finance Committee.

Who is Eligible?

Eligible applicants are individuals who:

Work in or are associated with higher education and could benefit from HEPNet membership.
Do not have organizational support to obtain membership.
If selected for an award, the recipient will be encouraged to serve on a committee starting in January 2026.

How to Apply

Complete the online application form and supervisor statement by November 12. This includes:

Contact and demographic information
Three essay questions about your career and learning objectives
Your resume
A statement of support from a supervisor that includes the institution’s inability to pay for the membership*

*A statement of support from the applicant’s supervisor is required. It must be submitted on university letterhead through the online application’s invitation process and consists of short-answer questions. Statements from individuals who are not supervisors or institutional leaders will not be accepted.

Selection Criteria

The review committee will select one recipient who demonstrates a strong commitment to learning and applying new knowledge to benefit their career, organization, and community. New youth protection professionals are encouraged to apply.

All applicants will be notified of results via email by close of business on November 30.

Our Founding Members

Ann Franke of Wise Results, LLC; Omar Andujar of the University of Florida and later the University of Connecticut; Anne Koester of Georgetown University; Lindsay Bond of The Ohio State University; Dawn Riddle of Vanderbilt University; and Sandy Weaver of Pennsylvania State University

Contact and Demographic Information

Name(Required)

First Last

Phone(Required)

Email(Required)

Title(Required)

Institution/Organization Name(Required)

Essay Questions

What would you like to gain from a HEPNet membership?(Required)

Describe your institution’s current youth protection policies, procedures, and practices.(Required)

Describe your intention for a continued career in youth protection.(Required)

Describe any additional related qualifications/experiences/needs.(Required)

Supervisor's Information

A statement of support from a supervisor that includes the inability for the institution to pay for the membership is required to have a completed application. Statement must be completed by a supervisor and be on university letterhead. The applicant must request the statement of support through the online application. The statement of support is made up of a series of short answer questions and must be completed via invitation through the online application. Statements from those other than supervisors or an individual in a leadership position will not be accepted. No further action is needed on the applicant's part once this information is submitted.

Supervisor's Name(Required)

First Last

Supervisor's Email(Required)

My supervisor is aware that I am applying for this scholarship and is expecting a follow-up email to provide proof of financial need.(Required)

Yes

Last Step!

Please upload resume here(Required)

Max. file size: 100 MB.