Dedicated donors committed to expanding access to quality mental health services helped to raise over $8,000 for the NBCC Foundation during their 2020 Giving Tuesday campaign. These donations support the Foundation’s initiatives, including their scholarship program.

Over the last 15 years, one of the most integral parts of the Foundation’s mission to leverage the power of counseling by strategically focusing resources for positive change is the Foundation’s scholarship program. Since 2005, the Foundation has awarded $860,000 in scholarships to counseling students committed to working with military, rural, and other underserved or never-served populations around the world, and over $360,000 in capacity-building initiatives impacting military, rural, and international communities.

The Foundation’s scholarship program awards at least five rural and five military scholarships each year in the amount of $8,000 per award. For many recipients, the monetary award allows them to take unpaid internship opportunities where they gain invaluable knowledge working with populations like veterans or those with substance use disorders. This program also provides recipients with a mentor who offers a guided professional relationship and perspective for the students while they navigate school and begin field or client work.

The reach of Foundation scholars spreads far, with past scholarship recipients working with statewide veterans’ affairs organizations, migrant communities in the Yuma Valley area of Arizona, rural areas stretching from Idaho to Eastern North Carolina, and many other underserved and never-served populations.

The Foundation’s resources also give scholars access to continuing education opportunities such as monthly webinars and additional trainings, like the 2020 Bridging the Gap Digital Experience, which offered 27 different virtual workshops for continuing education focused on working with underserved communities.

With the addition of the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) in 2012 and expanded funding awarded in 2014, the Foundation now awards scholarships, fellowships, training awards, and capacity-building grants to around 120 counseling students and counseling professionals each year. The Foundation recently awarded a new set of awards to 12 scholars and looks forward to supporting them in their work to bridge the gap for their communities.