The Lester L. Carpenter Scholarship

The Lester L. Carpenter Scholarship

The goal of the Lester L. Carpenter Scholarship is to honor the wishes of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Carpenter with their gift to the First United Methodist Church, Belmont, NC. They were active long-time members of FUMC in Belmont. As requested by Mr. Carpenter in his will, a scholarship was established and will provide financial assistance for those students desiring to attend college, who demonstrate a legitimate financial need to support, pay, or defray the costs of tuition, room and board, books, and other educational related expenses.

Endowment Committee

The scholarship program is administered by our Church Endowment Committee. The committee members are Dottie Iron, Hollan Delany, David Brinkley, Stephen Love, Calvin Harris, Dottie Moore, Annie Joe Ragsdale, Barbara Byrum, and Marsha Harris. The Application for the Lester Carpenter Scholarship will be managed and maintained by the Committee. A yearly review and update to the Application process will be made by the Committee.

Scholarship Funding

The funding for the scholarships is taken from the Lester Carpenter Endowment Fund as maintained by the United Methodist Foundation of Western North Carolina. The funding of the yearly scholarships is based on criteria established by our Endowment Committee based on the year-end fund balance and growth; thus, scholarship availability varies from year to year. The Endowment Committee has reviewed the Endowment Fund for 2024 and is pleased to announce that scholarships will be awarded. The number of scholarships and the amount of each scholarship will be determined based on the number of qualified applicants.

Application Criteria

An application has been established to apply for the scholarship with the following criteria:

  • Demonstration of Financial Need based upon application review by the Scholarship Committee and guidelines set forth within this document
  • A Member of First United Methodist Church Belmont OR a First United Methodist Church Belmont Youth participant OR a Student from South Point High School in Belmont, NC
  • A 2024 Graduating High School Senior with a minimum GPA of 2.5 or above

Applications are evaluated using criteria set forth by the Committee that includes the following:

  • Family’s expected financial contribution
  • GPA
  • Number of siblings in the home and ages (Under age 24)
  • Number of siblings in college next year and ages (Under age 24)
  • Service within the community, church, and beyond
  • Any family hardships or unusual financial circumstances
  • Plans for financing education
  • Other scholarships or grants applied for or awarded
  • Colleges or Technical Schools planning to attend/apply
  • Reason for applying for the Lester Carpenter Scholarship
  • Member of FUMC Belmont

The Committee members will individually review each unidentified application and rate the candidate based upon a number scale as identified by the Committee. The scholarship recipients will be determined based upon overall score rankings by the committee members. Applicants who are members of First United Methodist Church receive additional points to determine their score.

Application Information and Deadlines

The application can be completed online by clicking here.

It is requested that all applications, including transcripts and related materials from eligible Members of First United Methodist Church Belmont and First United Methodist Church Youth participants be completed and submitted by Thursday, April 11 to the church office.

First United Methodist Church

Attn: Lester Carpenter Scholarship Committee

807 South Point Road

Belmont, NC 28012

Questions

If there should be questions concerning the scholarship process, please contact one of our Committee Members.