Co-op offers scholarships for local students

Flathead Electric Co-op is offering over $118,000 in scholarships to local students this year. Applications are due March 15.

Graduating high school seniors across the Co-op’s service area, as well as current undergraduates, are encouraged to explore the requirements on the co-op’s website at flatheadelectric.com/scholarships

All co-op scholarships are funded by unclaimed capital credits. Despite the co-op’s best efforts to return capital credits to its members, some go unclaimed. Most often, a member moves away and doesn’t provide a forwarding address. The state of Montana allows the co-op to use capital credits that go unclaimed for five or more years for educational purposes in the state of Montana. If the Co-op chose not to use the unclaimed capital credits for educational purposes, these funds would go into the Montana general fund.

The co-op strives to award scholarship dollars across its service area to meet varied community needs. Scholarship dollars are earmarked for each area high school, including Stillwater Christian School. Dollars are also earmarked for homeschool graduates and for those already attending a post-secondary Montana education institution. Additionally, scholarships are awarded each year to students pursuing trades degrees.

New this year, the co-op will also offer a $1,000 scholarship to a student studying early childhood education at Flathead Valley Community College. Recently, the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce studied area childcare needs, and the impact of those needs on area workforces. The study showed that the lack of affordable, appropriate childcare seriously impedes the area workforce’s overall potential.

Other co-op scholarships range from $1,500 to $6,000. The applicant or their parent/legal guardian must be a member of Flathead Electric Cooperative, served by the co-op at their primary residence. To learn more, and to apply, visit the co-op's website: flatheadelectric.com/scholarships.