Member benefits

Scholarships

NALC members have access to a number of scholarship funds to assist them financially in pursuing higher education for themselves or their children:

1. The William C. Doherty Scholarship Fund, which awards five renewable grants of $4,000 each to children of NALC members. The fund is supported by contributions, which may be sent to Doherty Scholarship Fund, c/o NALC, 100 Indiana Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001-2144. Deadline: Dec. 31.
2. The John T. Donelon Scholarship Fund, which each year awards one $1,000 scholarship, renewable for three consecutive years. Deadline: Dec. 31.
3. The Costas G. Lemonopoulos Scholarship Trust, which awards scholarships to children of NALC members attending Florida state-supported four-year colleges and universities or St. Petersburg Junior College. Deadline: June 1.
4. The Union Plus Scholarship Program, available to members, spouses and children of NALC and other unions that participate in the AFL-CIO's Union Privilege program.

William C. Doherty Scholarship Fund

Sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers in honor of its president from 1941 to 1962, the William C. Doherty Scholarship Fund awards five scholarships of $4,000 each to children of members in good standing.

Print and fill out the Doherty & Donelon Scholarships preliminary application form and mail to the William C. Doherty Scholarship Committee, c/o NALC, 100 Indiana Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001-2144 no later than Dec. 31.

Eligibility

• Applicant must be the son, daughter or legally adopted child of a letter carrier NALC member in good standing—active, retired or deceased. Stepchildren and grandchildren are eligible if they live with the letter carrier in a regular parent-child relationship.
• Applicant’s parent must be a member in good standing of NALC for at least one year prior to making an application.
• Applicant must be a high school senior when making an application and must submit the application form, signed by the NALC member and an officer of the member’s NALC branch. This form must be returned to NALC headquarters by December 31.

Requirements

• All applicants must take the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT) in either their junior or senior year, and a copy of the original printout of the scores from the administering organization must be received at NALC headquarters by midnight, March 31.
• All biographical questionnaires and secondary school reports must be received at NALC headquarters by midnight, March 31.

Regulations

• Scholarship is to be used toward pursuing an undergraduate degree at an accredited college of the recipient’s choice.
• Winners may accept other college scholarship assistance in addition to the NALC award.
• Any change of schools or course of study must be done only with the permission of the NALC Scholarship Committee.
• A transcript of grades must be forwarded to the committee at the end of each school year.
• If the winner suffers certified serious illness, the scholarship will be held in abeyance for not more than one year.
• If unusual conditions are going to require an interruption in schooling, the recipient must state the reason(s) in writing to the Scholarship Committee and request that the scholarship be held in abeyance. Request(s) will be reviewed by the Committee and a decision rendered.
• If the NALC member is suspended by his/her local NALC branch or enters supervision, the scholarship will be canceled.

Terms of award

• The official scholarship judges will award one scholarship in each of the five USPS Regions. Winners are judged on the basis of secondary school records, personal qualifications and test scores. As in the past, the scholarship judges will consist of experienced persons in the educational field. Decisions of the judges will be final.
• Scholarship awards will be $4,000 annually, renewable for three consecutive years thereafter providing the winner maintains satisfactory grades. Award money will be deposited annually with the college. It will be credited to the winner’s account to be drawn upon under the rules and regulations which the college has established for handling scholarship funds. Award money is to be used for required college fees, including room and board and transportation fees.
• Children of NALC national officers are not eligible.

John T. Donelon Scholarship

A scholarship for sons and daughters of NALC members honoring the late John T. Donelon, longtime assistant to three NALC national presidents, was announced in 2003. Donelon’s wife Louise established the Donelon Scholarship as a bequest in her will.

The $1,000 scholarship is renewable for four years. Eligibility criteria for the scholarship is identical to criteria used for the William C. Doherty scholarships and winners will be selected by the NALC Scholarship Committee, the Committee that also administers the Doherty Scholarships. Interested students should complete the application form to request information about both the Doherty and Donelon Scholarships.

Costas G. Lemonopoulos Scholarship Trust

The Costas G. Lemonopoulos Scholarship Trust awards scholarships to children of NALC members attending public, four-year colleges or universities supported by the state of Florida or St. Petersburg Junior College (no private colleges or universities and no other junior colleges). Scholarships are renewable one time.

The trust was established in 1985 by the late Costas G. Lemonopoulos, a retired letter carrier and member of West Coast Florida Branch 1477 in St. Petersburg.

To receive details about eligibility and requirements and an application form, print and fill out the preliminary application form and mail to the Costas G. Lemonopoulos Scholarship Trust, NALC, 100 Indiana Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001-2144 no later than June 1.

Union Plus Scholarship Program

Members, spouses and children of NALC and other unions that participate in the AFL-CIO's Union Privilege program are eligible for Union Plus scholarships, which range from $500 to $4,000. This is a one-time cash award sent to individual winners for undergraduate study beginning in the fall of the same year.

A story about two winners is here.

Information about future awards is available on the Union Privilege website at www.unionplus.org.