Scholarship offered to poultry, agriculture majors

The City of Gainesville is pleased to announce the application process for the 2023 Gainesville Chicken Festival Scholarship opens Jan. 15.

You may apply for this scholarship through March 1, if eligibility criteria is met. Below you’ll find details on the scholarship opportunity.

Gainesville Chicken Festival Scholarship Overview + Criteria

The City of Gainesville and the local poultry industry recognize the need for outstanding young men and women to continue the City’s legacy as “Poultry Capital of the World”. The Gainesville Chicken Festival Scholarship Fund supports college students pursuing a degree in poultry science or a related agricultural degree. Those who apply have the opportunity to receive up to a $2,000 scholarship.

Funding for the scholarship comes from sponsors of the Gainesville Chicken Festival, Georgia’s official chicken cook-off held annually in the fall. Applicants should be graduating high-school seniors, GED recipients or current full-time college students pursuing a career in the poultry industry, majoring in Agricultural Business, Poultry Science, Food Science, Animal Science, Food Marketing, Agricultural Economics, etc. They must be a resident of the State of Georgia with a minimum 3.0 GPA.

How do I apply?

The scholarship is administered by the North Georgia Community Foundation (NGCF). Applicants interested in applying should visit the NGCF website for this opportunity, as well as others they may be eligible for.

Once students create an account, they’ll need to fill out the common scholarship application. When they submit this, it will populate the scholarship(s) they’re eligible for. If they selected “yes", that they’re majoring in poultry science or a related field, then the Gainesville Chicken Festival Scholarship application will become available. Before final submission for the scholarship, the applicant will be directed to complete a separate addendum that has one essay question: “What are your career goals and reasons for pursuing the poultry field?”

The application deadline for all scholarships is 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 1.

Questions should be directed to NGCF by calling 770-535-7880 or sending an email to [email protected].