The term ‘teen entrepreneur’ was hardly used 10 years ago, if at all. The thought of a teenager with a business usually brought to mind images of an ambitious young man mowing several lawns per week, or a geeky 10 year old genius in a suit about to enter Harvard Business School. There weren’t very many of them, and no wonder, there were few places they could go to learn what they needed to know.
The internet has been a huge factor in leveling the playing field for all of us, teens included. However, credit is due to entrepreneurial foundations like The McKelvey Foundation, who awarded $40,000 to entrepreneurial teens this year. I recently read an interview with Christine McKelvey, president of the foundation and encourage you to take the time to read it, too. The numbers of applicants for the scholarships are rising every year, and how the image of a teen entrepreneur has changed are a few of the insights given. (She also gives you some tips in case you are thinking of applying for one of their scholarships!)
There are many other foundations that award scholarships to teen entrepreneurs now, and many more are applying for these than ever before. Teens are finding out that they really can start a successful business, and there are people out there that really want to help them succeed.
Some other places to look for scholarships and funding for teen entrepreneurs:
Business-minded high school seniors can win scholarships of up to $10,000 in an award program sponsored by the National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneur Foundation.
Another site for scholarships and college information is http://www.morethangrades.com With their new re-release, they will be posting the “Show us why you are more than a grade” contest. The award will be $20,000. Besides that scholarship, there are numerous other scholarships based on talents and skills.
A list of resources for young entrepreneurs can be found at http://www.score.org/resources_young.html
Check with your local Chamber of Commerce and Scholarship Search portals like FastWeb for many more privately funded scholarships programs directed at entrepreneurial-minded teens.
great resource
Thank you so much for posting this article! This is exactly the kind of information I’m always looking for as a homeschooled teen entrepreneur, but I’m never really sure where to find it. I’ve searched for teen entrepreneur scholarships before, but I havn’t seen these websites yet (except the Mckelvey Foundation)!
Thanks again!
Christine
Homeschool Hangout Zone
Thanks Christine for letting us know that! We’ll be sure to keep posting more on this as we come across more on scholarships for teens. There’s more, I know!
Hi! I was just wondering when the results will be announced for the Summer Bloggging Contest?