Jeannette Rankin was the first U.S. Congresswoman representing Montana and a passionate racial and social justice advocate. Our Tribal Scholar Grants are awarded to individuals attending Tribal Colleges across the country. These unrestricted nontuition grants are dedicated to students who self-identify and present as women and who are:
- Age 25 and older
- Demonstrate financial need
- Pursuing a technical or vocational education, a first associate’s degree or first bachelor’s degree
- Show proof of enrollment in a Tribal College and Tribal member enrollment (Certificate of Indian Blood or Tribal Identification Card).
Please note: If you are attending a Tribal College but not an enrolled Tribal member, we invite you to apply for our Emerge Grant for Montana and Georgia residents 25 and older, or our National Scholar Grant for students 35 and older living anywhere in the country.
Tribal Scholar Grants are up to $3,000 annually, distributed directly to recipients and are renewable for up to five years.
STEP 1:
Take the survey to find out if you are eligible to apply:
STEP 2:
Have you confirmed your eligibility for the Tribal Scholar Grant and reviewed the application process and timeline below?
Applying for a Tribal Scholar Grant?
What you need to know: 2026-2027 Grant Cycle
Application period status: The Grant Cycle is now OPEN.
Application opened: Oct. 5, 2026
Application closes: Feb. 12, 2027
Application and recommendation letter deadline: Feb. 12, 2027
Applicants notified: Jul. 31, 2027
*Only a select number of applicants will be chosen as grant recipients. All applicants will be contacted in regards to your application status whether you have been chosen as a recipient or not.
Preparing your application
Once you’ve confirmed your eligibility by taking the survey above, read through the entire application and familiarize yourself with the application components. To help you prepare your application, you can use this Word document Rankin Foundation_Application_
We recommend preparing and saving your essay responses within a Word or Google document, then copying and pasting your responses when they are finalized and you are ready to submit your application. The application takes at least 90 minutes to complete.
Application review process
The Jeannette Rankin Foundation Team will review all applications.
Application review criteria
Your application will be reviewed and assessed based on the following criteria:
- Your academic and/or professional goals. Reviewers assess each application to see if the applicant provides concrete and realistic goals along with examples of how they plan to achieve their academic and professional goals stated in the application.
- Your plan for reaching your goals. Reviewers look to see that the applicant provides a clear plan for how they will reach their goals.
- How you will use your education to give back to your community.
Questions?
Contact our info box: info@rankinfoundation.org