The Kimberly-Clark Foundation has established a scholarship program to assist employees’ children who plan to continue their education in college programs seeking a bachelor’s degree. Renewable scholarships are offered each year for full-time study at an accredited institution of the student’s choice.
This program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarship, tuition assistance and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Awards are granted without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or national origin.
Children of employees in position rated Grade 4 or above, are ineligible to apply to this program. (Children of employees in positions rated Grade 5 through 18 are eligible.) If both parents work for Kimberly-Clark, both must meet the Grade requirement.
*Dependent children are defined as natural or legally adopted children, as well as stepchildren living in the employee’s household who receive more than 50% of their financial support from the employee, OR children by legal guardianship who receive 100% of their financial support from the employee (excluding the child’s own income if the guardian provides at least 50% of the total support).
Students who receive other scholarships that pay for all of the student’s tuition, required fees, books, supplies, and room and board, or who receive appointment to a military academy where no tuition is required, are ineligible to receive a cash award.
Scholarship America reviews and gives careful consideration to all information submitted on the application, and reflected in the transcript and recommendation.
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
Academic achievement counts for one-half of the evaluation. The other sections of the application that illustrate participation and leadership comprise the other half of the evaluation. Financial need is not considered.
Students from Canada or Puerto Rico who will be attending colleges in Canada or Puerto Rico will not be required to take or submit scores from SAT or ACT tests, and their academic rating shall be based on the other academic factors used to evaluate applicants. Due to the impact of COVID on availability of standardized testing, in the event a student does not supply test scores to be evaluated, the other academic factors provided will be used instead. Students will not be negatively affected by a lack of test scores.
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of Kimberly-Clark Corporation or the Kimberly-Clark Foundation play a part in the selection except for the verification of parent/guardian employment. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
If selected as a recipient, you will receive an award of $5,000 (U.S.) per year for up to four years, subject to satisfying renewal criteria. Up to 100 awards will be granted each year. Under IRS rules, awards may be granted to only twenty-five percent of eligible applicants.
Scholarship awards may be used only while students are full-time candidates for a bachelor’s degree at the college and in good standing as determined by the college. Scholarship awards may be used for education-related expenses including, but not limited to, tuition, required fees, books, required supplies, and room and board. (Check with your Bursar or Financial Aid officer for your school’s definition of education-related expenses.) All checks are payable to the college. Some uses of the award may result in all or a portion of the award being taxable to the student. The reporting of the scholarship award for income tax filing purposes is the responsibility of the recipient. You or your parents may wish to consult a tax advisor regarding reporting obligations.
Awards are renewable to provide assistance for up to four years of continuous study, provided you maintain satisfactory academic performance, remain in good standing as a bachelor degree candidate as determined by the college, and submit a transcript at the conclusion of each school year. Satisfactory academic performance means 1) achieving a 2.0 grade point average (GPA) or better on a 4.0 scale (or a “C” average or better in Canada) each grading period (semester or quarter), with no more than one grading period below the requirement, and 2) maintaining full-time status, with no more than one grading period below the requirement.
If you earn a bachelor’s degree in three years, you may use the fourth year’s grant for graduate study. The graduate study must begin the semester immediately following receipt of a bachelor’s degree.
Applicants will be notified in March. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. Once the scholarship is awarded, continued parent/guardian employment with Kimberly-Clark is not required for the recipient to continue receiving the award.
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of the Kimberly-Clark Foundation. Payments are made in equal installments on or within two days of August 1 and December 15. Checks are made payable to the school and will be distributed by EFT to the educational institution of choice if the institution is a participating affiliate or mailed to the student’s permanent home address along with a check memo that specifies how the funds may be used. The student is responsible for transmitting both the check and check memo to the appropriate school office for application to the student’s account.
You are solely responsible for gathering and submitting all information necessary to the application process. Applications are evaluated on the information supplied; therefore, answer all questions as completely as possible. Before registering, you may wish to gather the following information prior to creating your application account:
As part of your application, you must upload (online application) or include (French application) the following:
Also, as part of your application, one online recommendation from a teacher, principal, or counselor who knows your credentials must be submitted on your behalf:
For applications submitted online through the Scholarship America Hub, the online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf no later than 3:00 p.m. Central Time on January 29, 2021.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
If submitting a French application, send your transcript and completed Applicant Appraisal/Academic Record Form to the address below. Please ensure the program name and address are printed exactly as shown.
Email: kcbrightfutures@scholarshipamerica.org
Call: 1-507-931-1682 or 1-800-537-4180 and ask for the Bright Futures Scholarship Program