ELCA Fund for Leaders Scholarships
Scholarship Sponsored by Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Fund for Leaders has supported students training for rostered ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) since 2000. For the 2025–2026 academic year alone, the fund will award nearly $3.2 million in scholarships to 458 ELCA seminary students.
Eligibility and selection guidelines differ by scholarship type:
- ELCA Fund for Leaders Direct Full-Tuition Scholarship: Available to students beginning a degree at an ELCA seminary who have initiated the ELCA candidacy process to pursue rostered ministry as a pastor or deacon. These awards are granted in a student’s first year of seminary and, provided the student maintains eligibility, the scholarship is guaranteed for the length of the required seminary program.
- ELCA Fund for Leaders Federal Chaplaincy Ministries Scholarship: Designed for ELCA seminary students preparing for chaplaincy in the military, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or federal prisons. These scholarships are administered through ELCA Federal Chaplaincy Ministries.
- ELCA Fund for Leaders Mission Developer Scholarship: Intended for rising middlers, rising seniors, or TEEM (Theological Education for Emerging Ministries) candidates at ELCA seminaries who have been identified and nominated by their seminary and by ELCA Christian Community and Leadership (CCL) as mission developer prospects.
- ELCA Fund for Leaders Synod or Congregation Scholarships: Scholarships established by individual synods or congregations through Fund for Leaders that are made available to ELCA seminary students.
- TEEM Scholarship: Open to current TEEM students at ELCA seminaries and to those who will begin the TEEM program in the upcoming fall semester, provided they are taking coursework. Eligible TEEM students are identified by the TEEM program directors at their ELCA seminaries.