The Kentucky Blood Center Education Grant Program provides financial support to public and private schools for scholarships or educational expenses as outlined in this application. The program was designed to reward schools for supporting blood donation and introducing the lifesaving impact of giving to its students through in-school blood drives throughout the school year.
Most young people make their first blood donation during this critical time in life and often this donation leads to a lifetime of selfless giving. The COVID-19 pandemic kept most blood centers from holding drives at schools and as a nation, we saw a huge impact on the number of young people giving blood.
Program Details
High school chair people or interested administrators will work with a KBC Donor Recruitment Specialist to schedule blood drives at your school and complete the necessary paperwork for the Education Grant Program. Each drive collecting a minimum of 12 units will receive $250. Drives collecting 18 or more units will receive $300 plus an additional $3 per (1) unit collected above the 18 units. (e.g. $300 + $36 (30 collected units) = $336). The educational institution must be the primary sponsor or co-sponsor for the blood drive, and must have active student participants to be eligible.
Approved funding options and appropriate specifications are:
Traditional Scholarship Fund: Defined as a traditional scholarship for students to pursue post-graduate studies. Criteria for receiving the scholarship cannot be based on blood donation or blood drive participation. Non-donors must have equal opportunity to receive the scholarship. Money cannot be used solely for the benefit of sponsoring group members. Funds must go into a specified scholarship fund maintained by the school and then transferred to the recipient’s post-graduate institution.
Educational Expenses: Funds are paid directly to the school. Funds can be used for, but not limited to, payment for books, classroom supplies and/or equipment, technology, educational field trips or approved educational conferences (not to include hotel costs). Funds must be put toward an approved educational expense that benefits classroom curriculum and students directly. A detailed description of intent for funds must be provided within the documented request of fund designation.