Florida Banking August 2022

FLORIDA BANKERS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

GOING BACK TO SCHOOL? APPLY FOR AN FBEF SCHOLARSHIP OR LOAN

BY LETTY NEWTON, DIRECTOR OF FLORIDA BANKERS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION (FBEF)

H ave you or a coworker been thinking about going back to school but wonder how you would pay for it? The cost of returning to school may seem expensive, but it doesn’t have to be with the right resources. Contact the Florida Bankers Educational Foundation (FBEF) to find out more about funding opportunities for bankers. With four application deadlines each year (August 1, November 1, February 1 and May 1), it is never too late to apply. Contact the FBEF office today to see if we can help you. Since 1956 the FBEF Scholarship/Loan Program has offered forgivable loans which are paid in full after the student completes one year of employment with a Florida bank or trust company following graduation. Before applying, students must have already been employed at least part-time by a Florida bank or trust company. Undergraduate and graduate applicants must have been employed for two years prior to application. The FBEF Scholarship/Loan Program offers financial assistance of $4,000 for junior and senior students and $5,000 for graduate students. Students attending one of the FBEF’s participating colleges and universities, majoring in a banking-related field of study, and planning to continue their career in Florida banking are eligible to apply. Since many of the FBEF Scholarship/Loan recipients work full-time, students are only required to take twelve credit hours a calendar year. Any banker who has five years of full-time employment in Florida banking prior to applying for the FBEF Scholarship/Loan is eligible for a grant. Grant recipients are excused from the required one year of full-time employment in Florida banking after graduation. Freshmen and sophomore students who are career bankers are also eligible for an additional $3,000 in funding, increasing the amount of potential funding for undergraduate grant recipients to $7,000.

In addition to providing financial assistance to bankers who wish to return to school to complete their college degree, the FBEF created the FBEF Career Development Program . Bankers who will be attending an approved professional development program, but do not have financial support from their employer, will be able to apply for FBEF tuition assistance. The FBEF Career Development Program offers financial assistance of $500 per year for FBA programs such as the Florida School of Banking and Florida Trust School. FBEF also offers financial assistance of $1,500 per year for programs such as the LSU Graduate School of Banking, Stonier Graduate School of Banking and any ABA/ICBA/FBA endorsed graduate school of banking. Recipients may reapply in the following year to renew funding for the next year of school, if enrolled in a multi-year program. Annual funding limits are set by the FBEF Board. In the event that applications received exceed budgeted funding amounts, recipients will be chosen based on the length of employment in Florida banking. Because the FBEF’s goal is to help as many different students as possible, one funding application per student per program will be accepted each year for the LSU Graduate School of Banking, Stonier Graduate School of Banking and any ABA/ICBA/FBA endorsed graduate school of banking. For more information about how the FBEF might be able to help you, please contact FBEF Director Letty Newton at (850) 701-3522 or lnewton@floridabankers. com. FBEF applications can be found online in the Education section of www.floridabankers.com. For the past 66 years the FBEF has helped bankers around the state advance their careers through education. The FBEF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered with the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Registration Number CH7621.

WWW.FLORIDABANKERS.COM AUGUST 2022 — 23