Scholarships

Scholarship At a Glance

Albert and Toni Roothbert established the Roothbert Fund to assist those in need of financial aid to further their education. Based in New York City, the Roothbert Fund operates as a volunteer organization. Through scholarships, the Fund supports fellows’ graduate or undergraduate study at an accredited institution based in the United States.

• The Fund seeks candidates whose daily actions are guided by spiritual values.

• Applications from graduate students, as well as undergraduates with one year of college completed, are preferred.

• Applications from candidates who reside in or attend schools in the following states are preferred: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia.

• Grants are typically $5,000 to $7,000 and may be renewed for subsequent years. 

Meet Our Fellows

Roothbert Fellows (2024) | Roothbert Fellows (2023) | Roothbert Fellows (2022)

Application At a Glance

While the deadline is February 1st each year, applicants may apply starting November 1st each year. Awards are announced in late April, and grants are mailed to the grantees' institutions in August.

To successfully apply for a scholarship from the Roothbert Fund, applicants must submit the following materials:

• The Roothbert Fund Application Form

• A scanned copy of an official transcript from the applicant’s current or most recent institution.

• Three autobiographical essays

• Three letters of recommendation

The application contains more detailed information. You can save an application in progress. 

Application Timeline

November 1st: The Roothbert Fund online application is available to the public. 

February 1st: Completed applications, including letters of recommendations and academic transcripts, must be submitted online by February 1st at 11:59pm.  

March: Throughout the month of March, select candidates will be invited to interview with the Scholarship Committee. Interviews are typically held in person (virtual interviews are considered on a case-by-case basis) in New York, NY, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA, and New Haven, CT.

Please note that interviews are a required part of the application process. Applicants are encouraged to consider carefully whether or not they will be able to attend an interview at one of these locations on short notice. The Fund does not reimburse transportation/travel expenses incurred by applicants during the interview process.

April: Awards are announced in late April. Recipients will be notified by mail. 

August: The scholarship will be delivered directly to the grantee’s institution by late August. 

Note: Fellows are eligible to apply for a renewal for every year they are continuing their degree program. The Fund does not grant renewals for the pursuit of more than one academic program (e.g., If a fellow applies for a 3-year Masters program and receives a fellowship, the fellow is eligible to apply for renewals to fund all 3 years. However, the Fund will not support an additional academic program after the completion of the Masters program).

Fellowship Requirements

In accepting an award from the Roothbert Fund, recipients must:

• Maintain a high standard of work and conduct

• Provide transcripts to the Fund yearly

• Attend one Pendle Hill Weekend each year on grant. Pendle Hill is a Quaker study center just outside of Philadelphia. Retreats are held twice a year – in June and September. Led by former grant recipients, these retreats aim to foster thought provoking discussion as well as community among the Roothbert network.

• Complete 7 hours of additional Roothbert Fund programs, such as Playing in the Spirit, Fellowship Pods, and Social Hours.

• Keep a close relationship with the Fund through correspondence and visits

• Advise the Fund promptly of any change in his or her academic/financial situation 

• Accept our awards as subject to revocation if, in the opinion of the Fund, the recipient fails to meet the terms of acceptance listed aboveEvery year a Roothbert Fellow is on grant, they are required to attend a weekend meeting at Pendle Hill, a Quaker study center just outside of Philadelphia. Pendle Hill retreats are held twice a year, in June and September. led by a former grant recipient and foster thought provoking discussion as well as community among the Roothbert network.

 Carl T. Solberg Award

In addition to its regular scholarships, the Fund has established the Carl T. Solberg Award. Candidates do not apply directly for this award. Rather the Fund may, when appropriate, identify an individual from among a year's pool of applicants who seems to exemplify the attributes associated with the award.

The Solberg Award was created by the Fund to honor Carl Solberg for his service, his guidance and his dedication. In 1996, Carl T. Solberg retired as President of the Fund. At the time, Carl had given nearly 40 years of service to the Fund beginning by consulting with the founders about its very inception. During his long term as President and Board member, he provided not only continuity but also the enormous energy and tireless commitment that enabled this remarkable enterprise to survive far beyond the mission originally envisioned by Albert and Toni Roothbert. Carl continued until his death in 2003 to contribute to the Fund as its Secretary and as "chief fanner of the flame" of fellowship among the nearly 1000 fellows who have benefited from the founders' generous vision during his lifetime.

By vocation, Carl was a journalist whose career at Time, Inc. included stints on the Latin America desk and the Middle East desk at Time magazine and at Time-Life Books. During the Time years he contributed cover stories on many political leaders including David Ben Gurion, Gamal Abdul Nasser, Harold MacMillan and Nikita Khrushchev. Later, as a freelancer, Carl wrote, among other things, books on the Cold War, the politics of oil, a history of American aviation, a biography of his fellow Minnesotan, Hubert H. Humphrey, and an account of his experiences during World War II with Admiral William Halsey in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the South Pacific.

The Carl Solberg Award is funded not by capital left by the founders, but by a special account established for that purpose with donations from over 100 Roothbert Fellows. The authorizing resolution provides that the Award will be given from time to time to students of history or journalism who demonstrate the diversity of interests and the breadth of mind that characterize Carl Solberg, or students who have rendered unusual service to the Fund, and who otherwise exhibit those characteristics that typify the Roothbert Fellow. The first Solberg Award was granted in 1998.