California Scottish Rite Foundation - General Application 2026
Introduction
“THE CALIFORNIA SCOTTISH RITE FOUNDATION IS DEDICATED TO SUPPORT AND ASSIST CHILDREN IN CALIFORNIA BY PROVIDING CHILDHOOD SPEECH-LANGUAGE, LITERACY, AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR A LIFETIME OF IMPROVED COMMUNICATION AND CONFIDENCE.”
Description
The Foundation provides scholarships to fully accredited Colleges or Universities nationwide through 3 primary and 7 secondary scholarship funds including the Baldwin Scholarship, Ruppert Scholarship, Harry Lister Scholarship, and the William F. Stovall Scholarship.
Applicants must be California residents, have a 3.0 GPA, and be planning on enrolling full-time according to their school program. Beyond that, each of our 11 scholarships have more specific requirements such as field of study, or current city of residence (see qualification section for more details). The Foundation takes pride in partnering with students who wish to pursue higher education by acquiring either an undergraduate or graduate degree. We are proud to make an investment in tomorrow’s future leaders.
To submit an application, simply complete the online application here. A 2026-2027 FAFSA is required to complete the application as well as 2 letters of recommendation for high-school students and 1 letter of recommendation for undergraduate students. Letters must be submitted by the recommender themselves. You may only submit one application, however, if you qualify for more than one scholarship, you can potentially be awarded more than one scholarship. The application must be submitted by April 15th at 11:59 pm. You will be notified of the results by early June.
In the last 30 years we have given more than 6 million dollars in college scholarships to more than 2,800 deserving students to assist with the pursuit of an undergraduate or graduate degree. Scholarship payments range from $1,000 - $6,000 per year, some are one-year scholarships, while others are multi-year scholarships. The California Scottish Rite Foundation places a strong emphasis on education and scholarships are provided for degrees in many fields including engineering, foreign service, forestry, medicine, public school administration, public service, and speech and language pathology.
Qualifications
All scholarship applicants must be California residents, have a 3.0 GPA, be planning on enrolling full-time according to your school program, complete the application, include your FAFSA SAI number, and have the recommender upload your letter of recommendation (undergraduate degree). Below are additional qualifications for each of the scholarships.
The William F Stovall Scholarship and the Baldwin Scholarship support students pursuing a Master or Doctorate Degree in a field of public service such as Public-School Administration, Speech Language Pathology, Public Administration, Special Education, etc.
The Ruppert Scholarship supports students pursuing an undergraduate degree in either medicine, engineering, forestry, or public-school administration.
We are not offering a Lister Scholarship this year; it is currently still being paid out to a previous recipient.
The Youth Fund is offering scholarships to students who are initiated members of DeMolay or a Senior DeMolay in the Southern California jurisdiction.
The Scottish Rite Valley of Santa Rosa supports students pursuing an undergraduate degree who reside in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Lake, or Mendocino County.
The Scottish Rite Valley of Burlingame supports high-school students entering their first year of college, pursuing an undergraduate degree or technical/trade school certification from a public (taxpayer funded) school and reside in San Mateo County.
The Scottish Rite Valley of Coachella Valley supports students pursuing an undergraduate degree who reside in Coachella Valley or the High Desert (Yucca Valley & 29 Palms) or Blythe area.
The Scottish Rite Valley of Sacramento supports high-school students entering their first year of college, pursuing an undergraduate degree and reside in Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, or Yuba County.
The Scottish Rite Valley of Orange County supports students pursuing an undergraduate degree that have a family member who is a member of the Orange County Scottish Rite or an Orange County Lodge.
The Scottish Rite Valley of San Francisco supports students pursuing an undergraduate degree who a family member or friend who is a member of the San Francisco Scottish Rite or a SF Bay Area Lodge.
Selection Process
Applications are scored via a scholarship committee. The scholarship committees look at numerous factors in your application such as merit, financial need, and your story/voice shown in your essay answers. They will award the top candidates and those they feel are most deserving.
We are leaders in transitioning children with childhood communication disorders to realize their full potential. The RiteCare Childhood Language Centers of California and the Foundation adhere to the premise that every child with speech, language or literacy disorders should have the opportunity to receive vital therapy from certified Speech Pathologists so that they may lead productive lives; freely communicating with their family, peers, and succeeding academically. Acquiring these services can be life-changing, providing a renewed sense of self confidence, and the ability to communicate that many take for granted. All of the above is provided at NO COST to the children we serve. The RiteCare Childhood Language Centers of California is a program of the California Scottish Rite Foundation that was founded in 1958 and is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation.