Our Scholarship Programs

Primary School Program

This academic year, we provided 228 scholarships for children in Pre-K to 6^th grade.  These students attended 52 schools in the Artibonite Valley, usually closest to their homes (see the map on back page). To help as many families as possible, and to distribute educational opportunities widely, it is The Crosby Fund’s policy to offer scholarships to only one child per family.  Students are selected at the pre-K to first grade level based on their family’s financial need and situation.  We try to maintain a 50-50 gender balance, and select students from townships within the 30-mile region where we work in the Artibonite Valley.  Students who meet a certain academic standard, will advance to the next grade.  This year, 18 Primary students advanced to the Secondary Program.  This success is due in part to our tutoring program that gives assistance to 5^th and 6^th graders in French and mathematics.

The average Primary School Scholarship is $250-300 per year. It includes tuition, books, and a uniform.

Secondary School Program

210 scholarships were granted this year to students in grades 7 to Philo (a 13^th college preparatory year mandatory for post-secondary study).  These students attend 39 schools in the Artibonite Valley region. Most of these students advanced from our Primary School program, but each year we select about 10 new students into the program based on their academic achievement and financial need.  Throughout the year, we assist struggling students with tutoring opportunities in math, sciences, and languages at our Education Center in Deschapelles and a local school in the nearby town of Verrettes. (see our tutoring report). 21 students graduated this year and will go on to post-secondary study either in the university program or the technical/professional school program.  The type of post-secondary school they attend depends on the results of the standardized Philo exam administered by the Ministry of Education in Haiti. Due to budget constraints, some graduates will have to wait a year before receiving their post-secondary scholarship. This past year 3 students were placed on a waiting list for the Technical and Professional Program, but they will all begin either university or technical school this fall. The average Secondary School Scholarship is $350-$450 a year.  It includes tuition, books, and a uniform.

Technical School Program

This academic year we granted 63 scholarships to students who continued on to our Technical and Professional school program.  These students attended 20 schools in Gonaive, St. Marc, Limonade, Mirebalais, Cap-Haiten, and Port-au-Prince. For the safety of our students we now require that they choose a schools located in towns other than Port-au-Prince. In addition to providing full tuition, we also provide each student a stipend for room and board, as well as a laptop computer. If they are able to commute from home a travel stipend is provided.  Most of the programs of study are 3 to 4 years in duration. As part of our community support, we reserve a small amount of money to aid local students not in our program that need financial help to complete their final year of study. This year we had 5 in that category.  We are proud to announce that 10 students earned their degrees or certificates. Areas of study include nursing (2), medical laboratory sciences (3), computer accounting (1), science of education (2), industrial mechanics (1), and computer networking (1).

Technical and Professional School Scholarships range from $1,500 to $3,000 a year depending on the school, location, and their living or travel stipend.

University Program

Scholarships to universities are granted to our secondary school graduates based on their standardized Philo scores, overall academic record, and their desire and aptitude for university study.  This year, we granted 48 full university scholarships. We also granted an additional 10 scholarships for students who are finalizing their degrees in a required 5^th year internship. After their internship year, students formally present a report or paper to the director of their program as the final step to graduation. This year, 7 finished their degrees in studies ranging from agronomy (1), dentistry (1), physical therapy (1), and nursing R.N. (4).

Each university specializes in different fields of study, and most require an entrance exam.  Students are required to choose their field of study when they enter the program. To help students navigate this important decision, The Crosby Fund’s Haitian staff guides each individual student as they make this critical next step in their education and future.  All University Program students receive a living stipend that helps pay for rent, food, and transportation. Students also receive a laptop, as all reading assignments, homework, and papers are downloaded and submitted electronically. A laptop also is needed when on-line learning is available.We are so grateful to the Nan H. Altmayer Charitable Trust for once again providing a grant for the purchase of laptops for our entire freshman class.

A university scholarship on average is $3,500 a year, depending on the school and area of study.  This covers the tuition and living expense stipend.

Career Development Program

As a part of our core mission to help deliver the promise of an education, The Crosby Fund continues to work with our university and technical school graduates to prepare them for long-term professional careers. To that end, since 2021, The Crosby Fund’s Career Development Program has provided grants that help young entrepreneurs build new businesses across The Artibonite Valley, not only setting them on a path to lifelong careers, but providing important services to their communities at large.

This past year, Jeanvil Wilson, one of our Crosby scholarship recipients with a degree in engineering from Université Élisé Joseph, applied for and received a Crosby Fund Grant to construct a new school building in the remote region of Haute Bélanger.  Having founded the school several years ago, Jeanvil has been operating the school in a temporary open-air facility, but now with new funding provided by the Crosby Fund, we anticipate this new school building will be completed in 2026.

Past Crosby Grants have gone toward funding commercial agriculture and poultry projects, a health clinic, and a welding business. This coming year, as new applicants bring forward new business ideas, the Career Development Program will continue to work to develop and fund new initiatives that will bring jobs and critical services to the communities of The Artibonite Valley region.