Since its inception in 2015, The Cynthia Lennon Scholarship for Girls has awarded 87 scholarships to girls in Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Myanmar, South Africa, The United Kingdom and The United States. We are happy to announce that applications for the 2026 school year are now open to prospective candidates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can apply?
Any registered educational institution, charity, NGO or school program with a functional website (note: social media pages do not qualify) is eligible to apply on behalf of their female students, providing they represent a minimum of two students.
Can parents or guardians apply on behalf of their daughters?
No. We do not award funding to families; only registered schools, programs, NGOs and charities may receive the funds for the girls’ educational needs.
Can students apply themselves?
No, we do not accept student submissions.
Which countries may apply?
The scholarship does not have location restrictions. Remote learning institutions are also eligible to apply, but a country of origin where the students reside must be listed.
What is the age range of students who are eligible to receive the scholarships?
Students aged 5 – 18 are eligible.
What are acceptable uses of the funds?
Tuition, room and board (if applicable), transportation, school uniforms, vaccinations (if required by school), meals (if served at school), hygiene kits, school supplies (including books, paper, calculators, laptops, etc.)
We do not fund teacher salaries, school building renovations, etc. through the scholarship (though those types of projects may qualify for one of our Education & Health grants—watch this website for announcements about when the 2027 grant will be awarded).
Who are some examples of previous winners?
Ella Together (UK); Studio Samuel (Ethiopia); Teach Her (India); GLOW Academy (US) and Health and Hope (Myanmar) are just a few of our previous award recipients.
In what language should the application be submitted?
To avoid any meaningful entries getting lost in translation, we require all applications to be completed in English.
Should we email you for status updates?
Please do not—we receive thousands of applications each year, and cannot respond to each applicant. If your group is chosen as a finalist, you will be notified directly at the time of that decision. Groups that do not respect this process will be removed from future consideration.
When are applications due?
11:59 pm (Pacific Time) on August 14, 2026.
When are the award recipients announced to the public?
On Cynthia Lennon’s Birthday, September 10th.
Is only one group/organization per year awarded the scholarship?
Not necessarily. For example in 2025, we split the award between two worthy groups, in two different countries.
How many scholarships will be awarded this year?
That is dependent upon the amount of donations we receive right up to the point when the finalists are chosen. We do that to maximize the amount of recipients. If you would like to donate to the fund, or become a monthly member of The Muse, which allocates funds directly to this scholarship, start here.
How to Apply
Simply complete this scholarship application anytime between now and August 14th. Please take your time to provide the most thorough, thoughtful responses and only submit one application per group (duplicates will be removed).
If you have successfully submitted your form, you’ll receive a confirmation at the end of the process.
We wish all candidates the best of luck!