USA Scholarships
Brave of Heart Scholarship 2026 - Up to $50,000/yr
This guide stays up for reference. Check the official website for the next round, or see what else closes in April.
The Brave of Heart Scholarship honors frontline healthcare workers, volunteers, and support staff who lost their lives to COVID-19 by funding education for their children, spouses, and domestic partners. Scholarship America administers the program for the Brave of Heart Fund, which Cigna and New York Life foundations helped establish. You must be a U.S. citizen or legal resident with at least a 2.0 GPA, enrolled full-time or part-time at an accredited U.S. or territorial school. Children must be age 26 or younger and live in the worker''s household or be primarily supported by them. Undergraduate certificates and degrees in any major qualify; graduate awards require patient-facing healthcare majors. The scholarship is not competitive: eligible applicants who demonstrate financial need receive tiered awards, while others may receive a one-time $5,000 honorarium. Scholarship America confirmed 2026 as the final application year with no future funding. The last window opened 19 February 2026 and closed 22 April 2026, with decisions emailed in late June and checks mailed in August.
What is the Brave of Heart Scholarship?
The Brave of Heart Fund started in 2020 when healthcare workers were carrying extraordinary risk at the height of the pandemic. Cigna and New York Life foundations helped launch the fund through E4E Relief, and Scholarship America later took over day-to-day processing so families could focus on grief instead of paperwork mazes.
The scholarship side of the fund targets the people left behind: kids still in high school or college, spouses trying to restart careers, and domestic partners who shared a household with someone on the front lines. You do not need a perfect GPA or a stack of extracurriculars. The bar is relationship, enrollment, and honest financial need documentation.
Award sizes scale with what you study. A business major and a nursing major at the same community college do not receive the same ceiling, and medical school sits at the top tier because those programs cost the most. What surprised many applicants is that the program was never a contest. If you checked every box and uploaded clean documents, you were funded rather than ranked against other families.
Scholarship America posted clearly that 2026 was the last ride. If you missed the April 2026 deadline, new Brave of Heart dollars will not reopen, but this guide keeps the rules visible for appeals, tax planning, and comparison with Frontline Families or other survivor scholarships still listed on the administrator site.
Eligibility
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✓Child, spouse, or partner of a deceased frontline healthcare workerYou must be the biological, step, or legally adopted child (age 26 or younger), spouse, or domestic partner of a frontline healthcare worker who died from a COVID-19-related cause. The worker must have lived in the U.S. and worked or volunteered where COVID-19 patient exposure was possible.
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✓Frontline healthcare occupation of the deceasedEligible workers include staff at licensed hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, triage centers, medical transport, or certified EMTs, paramedics, and ambulance technicians. Supermarket workers, delivery drivers, police, and non-EMT firefighters are generally ineligible unless they meet the medical frontline definition.
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✓U.S. citizen or legal resident at a U.S. institutionApplicants must be U.S. citizens or legal residents attending an accredited vocational-technical school, two-year college, four-year university, or graduate program in the U.S. or a U.S. territory. Study abroad is allowed when run through a U.S. institution.
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✓Minimum 2.0 GPA or non-traditional student statusYou need at least a 2.0 on a 4.0 scale unless you are a non-traditional student returning without recent grades. Scholarship America may still consider you with supporting documentation.
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✓Enrollment plan matching award tierUndergraduate study in any field qualifies. Graduate applicants must pursue patient-facing healthcare majors such as medical school, a master of science in nursing, or physician assistant studies. Full-time undergrad is 12+ credits; part-time is 6+ credits.
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✓Financial need documentation for full awardsFull tiered awards require demonstrated financial need via IRS Form 1040 and related materials. Without need, you may receive a one-time $5,000 honorarium and reapply if your situation changes.
Benefits
- Undergraduate non-healthcare major Up to $15,000/year ($60,000 lifetime max)
- Undergraduate healthcare or pre-med Up to $25,000/year ($100,000 lifetime max)
- Graduate patient-facing healthcare Up to $50,000/year ($200,000 lifetime max)
- Part-time enrollment Up to 50% of tier amounts
- Without demonstrated need One-time $5,000 honorarium
- Competitive selection Not required; all eligible applicants funded
- Renewable automatic awards Reapply each cycle; not auto-renewed
- Future cycles after 2026 Program ended; no new funding
Document checklist
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✓Proof of relationship to the deceased workerUpload a birth certificate, marriage certificate, or other documentation showing you are the eligible child, spouse, or domestic partner.
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✓Proof of the worker's healthcare occupationProvide employment or volunteer records confirming the deceased worked in an eligible licensed medical setting or as a certified EMT or paramedic with possible COVID-19 exposure.
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✓Death certificateSubmit the official death certificate tying the loss to COVID-19-related causes as required by the application portal.
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✓2025 IRS Form 1040Dependent students supply their parent or guardian tax form. Independent students and spouses submit their own return to establish financial need.
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✓Most recent transcript (2025)Upload your latest academic transcript when applicable. Prior recipients may only need updated tax forms and transcripts.
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✓Complete Scholarship America online applicationAll materials must be uploaded electronically before the deadline. Use a personal email and safelist [email protected] for notifications.
How to apply
Deadline and timeline
FAQ
What is the Brave of Heart Scholarship?
It is a need-based education fund for children, spouses, and domestic partners of frontline healthcare workers who died from COVID-19-related causes. Scholarship America administers it for the Brave of Heart Fund with tiered awards based on degree type.
Who qualifies for the Brave of Heart Scholarship?
U.S. citizens or legal residents who are related to an eligible deceased healthcare worker, meet GPA or non-traditional student rules, and enroll at accredited U.S. schools. Graduate students must study patient-facing healthcare fields.
How much is the Brave of Heart Scholarship worth?
Need-based awards reach up to $15,000 per year for non-healthcare undergraduates, $25,000 for healthcare or pre-med undergraduates, and $50,000 for qualifying graduate healthcare programs, subject to lifetime caps and part-time reductions.
When was the Brave of Heart Scholarship deadline in 2026?
The final cycle ran from 19 February through 22 April 2026. Scholarship America stated that no funding would be available in future years after this window.
Is the Brave of Heart Scholarship competitive?
No. Scholarship America confirms the program is not competitive. Every applicant who meets eligibility and documentation rules receives an award or honorarium based on financial need.
Can Brave of Heart Scholarship recipients reapply?
Yes, while the program was active you could reapply each cycle you remained eligible, up to eight terms or through the 2026-27 school year, whichever came first. Children who first won by age 26 could continue if they applied every year without gaps.
What documents does the Brave of Heart Scholarship require?
Typical first-time applications need relationship proof, proof of the worker's occupation, a death certificate, 2025 IRS Form 1040, and a recent transcript uploaded through Scholarship America.
Are there other scholarships for healthcare worker families?
Scholarship America notes that qualifying families may also explore Frontline Families Scholarships. Check scholarshipamerica.org for current programs because Brave of Heart funding ended after 2026.
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