The Folds of Honor scholarship pays up to $5,000 per academic year toward tuition and related costs for spouses and children of fallen or disabled American service members and first responders. A nonprofit founded in 2007, Folds of Honor bases every award on unmet financial need rather than on grades alone. Families apply once a year through an online portal, and the 2026 window runs from February 1 to March 31.
This guide explains the award amounts, the two scholarship tracks, the eligibility categories, the required documents, and the exact application steps. Payment rules, the check-in schedule, and answers to common family questions appear in the sections below.
What Is the Folds of Honor Scholarship?
The Folds of Honor scholarship is a need-based education award for the spouses and children of United States service members and first responders who were killed or disabled in the line of duty. Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney founded the organization in 2007 after returning from Iraq, where Rooney flew F-16 fighter jets for the United States Air Force. Rooney built early fundraising around his second career with the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA), and Patriot Golf Day events supplied the first scholarship dollars. Since 2007, the foundation has awarded more than 73,000 scholarships, and recipients live in all 50 states. Two tracks run under a single application window each year. Higher Education funding supports college, graduate, technical, and trade students, and the Children’s Fund supports private K-12 tuition and tutoring.
How Much Is the Folds of Honor Scholarship Worth?
The Folds of Honor scholarship pays up to $5,000 per academic year, capped at $2,500 per term for full-time students and $1,250 per term for part-time students. Award size follows unmet need, so classmates at one school can receive different amounts. Take a full-time sophomore with $3,800 of uncovered fall charges: Folds of Honor pays $2,500 for the fall term because the term cap controls the payment. Money left in the annual award stays available for the spring and summer payment windows. Children’s Fund payments follow a different pattern, with private school tuition paid as one lump sum of up to $5,000 for the year. Tutoring awards split into two payments of up to $2,500, one for the fall half of the year and one for the spring half. The table below compares the three funding tracks side by side.
| Scholarship Track | Students Served | Maximum Annual Award | Maximum Per Term | Costs Covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higher Education | College, graduate, technical and trade students | $5,000 | $2,500 full-time; $1,250 part-time | Tuition, fees, on-campus housing, meal plans, required textbooks |
| Children’s Fund: Private School | K-12 students in accredited private schools | $5,000 | Paid as one lump sum | Tuition, most fees, required textbooks, required uniforms |
| Children’s Fund: Tutoring | K-12 students in registered tutoring programs | $5,000 | $2,500 per half year | Tutoring services from an established business |
Who Is Eligible for the Folds of Honor Scholarship?
An applicant qualifies for the Folds of Honor scholarship only as the spouse or dependent child of a service member or first responder who died or became disabled through service. Folds of Honor reviews the service member’s qualifying status first and the student’s enrollment second. Both tests must pass at the same time.
Military Scholarship Eligibility
Six service categories qualify a military family for the scholarship.
- Service members killed in action or in the line of duty
- Veterans who died from a service-connected disability
- Service members carrying a service-connected disability rating of 10 percent or higher from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- Service members currently classified as prisoner of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA)
- Service members forcibly detained or interned by a foreign government or power
- Service members who received a Purple Heart, including personnel still on active duty
Dependent children on the Higher Education track must be 24 years old or younger and unmarried. Students must enroll, or plan to enroll, at an accredited institution inside the United States or a United States territory. Grades matter at the acceptance stage, and recipients must show a term grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher for the two most recent academic terms. Consider a 22-year-old daughter of a Purple Heart recipient: the daughter passes the relationship test, and enrollment plus grades decide the rest of the review.
First Responder Scholarship Eligibility
First responder families qualify through a death or a catastrophic, career-ending injury suffered in the line of duty. Firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians (EMT) form the core definition, and trained volunteers in legally organized response organizations count as well. No deadline runs from the date of the incident. A police officer’s teenage son can apply in 2026 for an injury that occurred in 2019, because Folds of Honor sets no look-back limit.
Future Use Awards for Younger Children
Young children can receive a Future Use Scholarship years before college begins. Folds of Honor grants Future Use awards to eligible children who are too young for college enrollment, and the award waits until the student starts a degree program. Families activate the money by notifying the foundation and filing a Higher Education application in the year the student enrolls. A child awarded at age nine in 2019, for example, claims the funds by applying again as a college freshman.
What Does Unmet Need Mean for the Award Amount?
Unmet need equals the share of tuition, fees, on-campus housing, meal plans, and required textbooks left unpaid after other grants and scholarships are applied. Student loans and work-study earnings stay out of the calculation. Excluding loans protects the award, since borrowed money never shrinks the amount a family receives. Run the numbers on one fall term: charges total $9,000, a Pell Grant covers $4,000, and a school scholarship covers $2,000. Unmet need for the term lands at $3,000, and the $2,500 term cap sets the actual payment. Families should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) before March 31, because FAFSA results support the need review.
Which Expenses Does the Scholarship Cover and Exclude?
Covered charges include tuition, fees, on-campus dormitory housing billed through the school, meal plans, and required textbooks. Higher Education awards cannot pay for the charges below.
- Off-campus housing and leased apartments
- Greek housing fees and Greek meal plans
- Computers and computer accessories
- Certification and license exam fees
- Student insurance premiums
- Charges from a previous term or year
- Parking passes and transportation passes
- Sports tickets
Children’s Fund awards exclude curriculum materials beyond required textbooks, parent-teacher organization fees, sports uniforms and sports fees, and music lessons. A $650 laptop remains the student’s own expense, because computers sit outside the covered list.
What Documents Do You Need to Apply?
A complete application combines proof of the family relationship, proof of the qualifying service event, and current school financial records. Military families upload the following documents.
- Current military identification or a state-issued birth certificate
- A state-issued marriage license for spouse applicants
- Legal adoption papers or guardianship documents, where applicable
- Death documentation, a VA disability rating letter, POW or MIA status records, or Purple Heart orders
First responder families upload a different proof set.
- Proof of the responder’s service
- A death certificate for a fallen responder
- A letter from the responder’s agency describing the event behind the death or catastrophic injury
- A medical certificate explaining the injury and the injury’s impact on the responder’s career
Both tracks require school paperwork.
- An official transcript
- A current tuition statement
- A class schedule for the term
Folds of Honor accepts uploads through the portal only, and staff reject documents sent by mail, fax, email, or phone. One account can hold separate applications for each child, and parents name each application by student for tracking.
How Do You Apply for the Folds of Honor Scholarship?
Applicants complete the entire Folds of Honor application online through the portal at fohscholarships.communityforce.com between February 1 and March 31.
- Verify eligibility under the military categories or the first responder categories.
- Create one portal account with a single email address.
- Select the Higher Education Scholarship or the Children’s Fund Scholarship.
- Complete one application for one student.
- Upload the service, relationship, and school documents.
- Submit the application and save the confirmation email.
An application sitting in Pending Submission status earns no award. Portal dashboards display the live status in the upper corner of the screen, and applicants should confirm the submitted status before March 31 ends. Changes stop at the deadline, because the foundation locks every application once the window closes.
What Are the Key Dates for the 2026 Application Cycle?
The 2026 application window opens at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on February 1, 2026 and closes at 6:00 p.m. ET on March 31, 2026.
- February 1, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET: Application window opens
- March 15, 2026: Folds of Honor posts a submission reminder for applicants
- March 31, 2026, 6:00 p.m. ET: Application window closes
- Mid to late July 2026: Award offers and denial notices arrive by email
- September 15, 2026: Scholarship Acceptance and Check-In 1 deadline
Weekend rule: the closing date shifts to the next business day in any year when March 31 falls on a Saturday or Sunday. No exceptions exist after the window closes, and the foundation states plainly that late applications cannot be accommodated.
How Is the Scholarship Paid to Your School?
Folds of Honor mails every payment directly to the school, never to the student. Recipients release each term payment by completing a check-in on the applicant dashboard. Three check-ins run across the year: Check-In 1 in July and August for fall, Check-In 2 in December for spring, and Check-In 3 in April and May for summer. Each check-in requires a current tuition statement, financial aid information, and a class schedule from the school. Tulsa Community Foundation (TCF) writes and mails the checks on behalf of the foundation, so school staff see the Tulsa Community Foundation name on the check. A student who submits a complete Check-In 1 in early August should expect the fall payment on the school account by mid-September, inside the standard 4 to 6 week processing range. Dashboard tracking under Award Status Information shows the amount paid, the check number, and the print date for each payment. Reimbursement exists for families who paid tuition before a check arrived. The school receives the funds first, and Folds of Honor then authorizes the school in writing to release money to the student after the student supplies a zero-balance statement and detailed payment receipts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Folds of Honor scholarship worth?
The award pays up to $5,000 per academic year based on unmet need. Full-time students receive at most $2,500 per term, and part-time students receive at most $1,250 per term.
Can a student apply for the Folds of Honor scholarship every year?
Yes. Students reapply during each February 1 to March 31 window and must keep a term GPA of 2.0 or higher across the two most recent terms.
Does the scholarship cover graduate school and trade programs?
Yes. Higher Education funding covers graduate degrees, professional programs, technical schools, and trade programs that lead to a certificate or license at an accredited institution.
Are student loans counted against unmet need?
No. Folds of Honor excludes student loans and work-study earnings from the financial aid side of the calculation, so borrowed money never reduces the award amount.
Can one parent submit applications for several children?
Yes. One portal account supports a separate application for each student, and Folds of Honor sets no limit on the number of dependents who may apply.
When do applicants learn the award decision?
Folds of Honor emails award offers and denials in mid to late July. Recipients then complete Scholarship Acceptance and Check-In 1 before the September 15 deadline.
Can the scholarship pay for a school outside the United States?
No. Payment restrictions limit awards to accredited institutions inside the United States and United States territories.
Conclusion
Families who match a qualifying category should gather service records, transcripts, and tuition statements during January. Early filing inside the window leaves time to correct document problems before the deadline. The 2026 Folds of Honor scholarship window closes at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 31, 2026, and Folds of Honor accepts no late applications.
