Educational Scholarship

The Oduduwa Foundation Inc. (OFI) is a subsidiary of the YORUBA ACTION COUNCIL WORLDWIDE Organization. YAC WORLDWIDE is a registered 501C (3) non-profit organization in the U.S.A. and was incorporated in 2018 to actualize the action-oriented foci of the YORUBA WORLDWIDE.
OFI serves as the project’s implementation unit of YAC WORLDWIDE – to accomplish the organization’s mission, vision, and performance benchmarks that are comprehensively outlined in our strategic plan.

Please visit the OFI website for more information about our projects.

“YAC WORLDWIDE represents a new frontier in collective leadership and masses oriented economic advocacy.”

SCHOLARSHIP Program

Welcome to YAC WORLDWIDE Scholarship Program

Education is a fundamental aspect of creating a prosperous and rich society. Quality education at home has been compromised by poverty and politics. As children, we are told that we are the future leaders of our country and this is still true today. Children need to have the hope that one day they will have the opportunity to attend college and make a difference. ” Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It is like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won’t fatten the dog” – Mark Twain

YAC WORLDWIDE Education and Outreach Oduduwa Foundation Inc. (OFI): Scholarship Education Award

Yoruba Action Council Worldwide Organization was established in 2018 with the major objective of administrating OFI’s educational and outreach programs in South Western Region & all Yoruba with particular emphasis on the award of scholarships to Yoruba Citizen scholars in Nigeria. OFI also works to encourage the educational aspiration of Yoruba youths. In the first 5 years, we will be awarding more than 200 scholarship grants that total over $100,000 to Yoruba Youths in Nigeria through the contributions from all YORUBA in Diaspora Organization.

1. Definition

A. Higher Education Awards

Awards made under the Higher Education Awards are lump sums given to applicants to help defray their cost of education at an institution of higher learning in Nigeria. Institution of higher learning is here defined as an accredited Nigeria university leading to a Bachelor’s degree or higher, a college of education that awards the Nigerian Certificate of Education (NCE), college of technology or institutions that award Ordinary National Diploma (OND), and Higher National Diploma (HND) certificates/diplomas. This award may or may not cover one’s total expenses at such an institution. The recipients and their families are responsible for whatever this lump sum of money does not cover.
Types of Award

Q: Types of Award

A: 2. Types of Award

There are two types of higher education awards. It is the responsibility of the applicant to apply to the one for which he/she is most eligible.

(a) Merit Award

(b) Merit and Need Award

Eligibility
Q:Eligibility

A:3. Eligibility

Who can receive an award? All recipients must meet the criterion of academic excellence in addition to other criteria such as a scholarship essay to describe oneself (reasons for scholarship) & letters of recommendation that are specific to the type of award in question. We encourage scholarship essay to answer the following questions:

• What are your greatest strengths?
• What are your career goals?
• Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
• Tell me about a personal achievement that makes you proud.
• Tell me about a mistake that you made and what you learned from it.
• Who has influenced your life and why?
• Why would you be an excellent recipient of the YAC scholarship?

Next, we want the potential recipients to think specifically about the scholarship award that they are seeking. To make sure they are very well informed about the organization.

• What is the mission of the organization offering the award?
• Who have they given the award to in the past and why?
• Who are the judges?
• What is in your application that made you a finalist?

All Students

• Submit one completed scholarship application form (Word or pdf). The form is also available at YACWORLDE.org/scholarships.
• Submit a 450-word essay
• Have two letters of recommendation sent separately by recommendation
• Must include the Annual Scholarship Award Report with application materials if reapplying. The application must show new activities from which a previous award was received
• No more than 10 pages of application materials will be accepted
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• All application materials must arrive by close of business/Midnight (EST TIME) on 15 January. Materials arriving after the deadline will not be considered

Please check if you are a: Full-time student _____ Part-time student _____

Q: Merit Award

A: i) Merit Award (One Award Per Year)

(a) Academic Performance (Grade Point Average): If a prospective freshman (first-year student), an applicant must present evidence of superior performance on the WASC or GCE and JAMB and be offered admission to an institution of higher learning. If already in an institution of higher learning, an applicant must have a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.0 on a 4-point scale or 4.0 on a 5-point scale.

(b) Geographic Origin: Awards are made only to Yoruba indigenes that currently maintain physical residence within Nigeria. Scholars that have only one of their parents from Yoruba land shall also be eligible for consideration if the residence status (Birth Cert.) above is satisfied.

Q: Merit & Need Award

A: (ii) Merit and Need Award

(a) Academic Performance (Grade Point Average): If a prospective freshman (first-year student), an applicant must present evidence of superior performance on the WASC or GCE and JAMB and be offered admission to an institution of higher learning. If already in an institution of higher learning, an applicant must have a cumulative minimum grade point average (CGPA) of 2.0 on a 4-point scale or 2.5 on a 5-point scale.

(b) Geographic Origin: Awards are made only to Yoruba indigenes that currently maintain physical residence within Nigeria. Scholars that have only one of their parents from Yorubaland shall also be eligible for consideration if the residence status above is satisfied.

(c) Evidence of Need: As the name suggests, this award is made partly on the basis of need. Thus, the applicant must provide evidence that the immediate family cannot afford to support him/her. This may include a letter or financial statement that indicates parents’ annual income and the number of dependent siblings, etc. The Award Committee may also require information on current funding/support sources if the candidate is already in a higher education institution.

Note: Eligibility is not a guarantee of an award. Given that the number of awards is limited as specified above and the funding available each year, the awards will be made based on applicants ranking. The rankings are based on the total of points assigned to eligibility factors. The awards are offered to the top-ranked applicants.

Conditions of Award
Q: Conditions of Award

A: 4. Conditions of Award

A recipient of the YAC Education Foundation Scholarship (Merit as well as Merit and Need Awards) must maintain his/her eligibility to continue to receive the award. The following conditions guide renewal or continuance of award.

(a) Academic Performance: A Merit Award recipient must maintain an annual CGPA of 3.0 or 4.0 on a 4-point scale or 5-point scale, respectively. A Merit and Need Awardee must maintain an annual CGPA of 2.0 or 2.5 on a 4-point scale or 5-point scale, respectively. The scholarship is terminated once this condition is violated. The individual can reapply during the general application period and vie for a scholarship with all other applicants for the next award year. Students must authorize his/her institution administrators to release their academic records to the Foundation’s office.

(b) Combination of Award: The YAC WORLDWIDE Education Foundation Award may not be combined with any other full scholarship awards. In other words, a student or prospective student who is receiving or promised a partial award of tuition only, or Room and Board only, may still apply to the YAC WORLDWIDE Education Foundation for funds to pay the remaining cost of higher education. An individual who already has a full scholarship from any and every source will be disqualified for an initial award or become ineligible for further support if already a recipient.

Q: Duration of Award
A: 5. Duration of Award

The duration of award for the Merit as well as the Merit and Need Awards is the length of the program, in academic years, for which the award is made, e.g. three years for a three-year program; six years for a six-year program, etc. Years count only if the institution is in session. The status of recipients that change their course of study during the period of award will be reviewed and their awards may continue subject to the original number of academic years in the initial award and the maintenance of the award and eligibility criteria.
Q: Amount of Award

A: 6. Amount of Award

The amount of money scholars receive will be determined on an annual basis by the Award Committee depending on the available funding for that particular year. The determined amount will be made available during the application process. The amount will be paid as a lump sum for the academic year.

Application Procedure
Q: Application Procedure

A: 7. Application Procedures

All eligible candidates will follow the following application procedures. You may make only ONE application per year.

(a) Application forms: Application forms will be obtained through the website by request through our email (info@yacworldwide.org) or by sending a self-addressed and stamped envelope to the US headquarter office. Only applications submitted using the original application forms might be processed. Applications may be completed and submitted any time before the deadline. All applications postmarked or received at the YAC WORLDWIDE Education Foundation office by the 31st of October each year will be processed for the award for the following academic year. No late application will be accepted for any given school year. The onus is on the applicant to submit completed applications early enough to be considered for the academic year of interest.

(b) Evaluation and Selection Process: Initial screening of applications will be conducted by the US/Nigeria Award Committee of the YAC WORLDWIDE Education Foundation based at LGA Office, New Jersey-USA. They will rank all candidates and forward the ranked candidate list together with each candidate full portfolio to the YAC WORLDWIDE Education Foundation office in the United States. The Education Committee of YAC WORLDWIDE shall review the applications and make recommendations for Award and the Award amounts to the Education Foundation Board/YAC WORLDWIDE Global/National Executive. The award amount shall depend on the available fund for the year in question. The YAC WORLDWIDE Education Foundation Board/YAC Global Executive will have the power to approve, modify, or disapprove the recommendations as the case may be.

It is expected that the application process will be completed by August ending each year and that the Awards shall be announced during the annual YAC National Convention in September of each year.

Award Notification
Q: Notification of Award

A: 8. Award Notification

Award recipients will be notified in writing by mail and/or by public media (newspaper) latest by December of each year. Those who wish to accept the Award and conditions of the award will complete and submit to the YAC Education Foundation an Award Acceptance Form by March 30. These dates may change without prior notification to the applicants.

The decision of the YAC Education Foundation Board and the YAC Executive is final, and under no circumstances should any applicant, friend or family lobby, plead, appeal, or appease any member of the Executive Committee or Board on behalf of the applicant. Any applicant found to contravene any of the lobby regulations is automatically disqualified for that academic year.

Disbursement of Award
Q: Disbursement of Award