Hispanic Development Fund Scholarship Program

The Hispanic Development Fund Scholarship Program was established in 1984 to invest in the Hispanic/Latino/x youth of the Greater Kansas City Area by providing annual awards to both entering and continuing college students.

The primary focus was to assist Latinos living in the area with the largest concentration of Hispanic and Latino residents. The scholarships are designed to supplement the students' financial resources from family, government, and other sources. It is the intent of the Hispanic Development Fund Scholarship Program to bridge the financial gap between students and their educational goals. It is expected that these scholarships will result in better educational and, ultimately, economic opportunities for the community HDFKC serves. It is the express intent of the Hispanic Development Fund Scholarship Program that scholarship recipients make use of the scholarships to graduate from college and return to the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area to contribute to the local Hispanic/Latino community.

The Fund is comprised of money raised from the public and private sector and matching scholarships from area colleges and universities.

Eligibility: 

  1. Be of Hispanic/Latino heritage.
  2. Graduating or have graduated from a Greater Kansas City metropolitan area high school or obtain a general equivalency diploma (GED) or HiSET from a local organization. (The Greater Kansas City metropolitan area is generally defined as Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte, Johnson and Wyandotte counties.)
  3. Attend or have attended a Greater Kansas City metropolitan area high school for the last three years prior to graduation.
  4. Accepted or enrolled in a fully accredited college or university and working towards a trade/certificate, associate, bachelor, or graduate degree.
  5. Enroll or be enrolled as a full-time student. (A minimum 12 credit hours for undergraduate and 9 credit hours for graduate. Extenuating circumstances will be reviewed for part-time enrollment.)
  6. U.S. Citizenship/Residency is not required to apply.

For more information on eligibility, contact Alejandra Perez at perez@hdfkc.org or 816.589.0442.

Evaluation: 

  1. Proven academic merit as reflected in GPA and answer to essay question.
  2. Demonstrated need for financial assistance as exhibited by family’s gross income, size of family and other financial need.
  3. Demonstrated community involvement as reflected in the application.
  4. Applications are reviewed anonymously by the scholarship review committee.

Amount:  Average award is $1,000

Application: Available from December 1 to February 1 annually


Apply Here

Questions? Contact Director of Scholarship Program Alejandra Perez at perez@hdfkc.org or 816.589.0442

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