ALPENA — The Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan is accepting applications for its 2021 competitive scholarship season. Current and former graduates of high schools in the counties of Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency and Presque Isle are invited to apply.

Scholarship opportunities through CFNEM are based on a wide variety of criteria including the student’s high school, year of graduation, college they plan to attend, or their planned field of study. Many scholarships are for students who have already graduated from high school, and also for those planning to attend a certificate program or trade school. To be eligible, students must complete the application by the March 1 deadline.

Most of the scholarships must be applied for directly through the Community Foundation’s online platform. Students applying for awards will complete one online application, and will be considered for any scholarship for which they are eligible.

New scholarships, or those being awarded for the first time this year, include:

— The Helen Sanecki Scholarship for females graduating from Alcona High School who plan to study in the field of education, high school counseling, or writing;

— The Henry Sanecki Scholarship for graduating students from Alcona High School to study in the field of aviation, Air Force, or engineering;

— The Charles L. Snyder Scholarship for students of Alcona, Alpena and Iosco Counties planning to study agriculture or education;

— The Jim and Luann Gaasch Scholarship for graduates of high schools in Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency and Presque Isle Counties who will attend Alpena Community College.

The Community Foundation also holds scholarships that are available for students through CFNEM’s affiliate foundations: the Iosco County Community Foundation (iccf-online.org), the North Central Michigan Community Foundation (ncmcf.org), and the Straits Area Community Foundation (sacf.net). These counties include Cheboygan, Crawford, Ogemaw, Oscoda and Iosco. Affiliate scholarship applications are accessed through a separate online platform, available through each affiliate website.

While most of the awards are for one year of study, some of the available scholarships are multiple-year awards.

Scholarship applicants should visit the “Scholarships” section of the Community Foundation’s website at cfnem.org, as well as the affiliate websites.

Scholarships awarded during the 2021 competitive scholarship program are for the 2021-22 academic year and are paid directly to the educational institution the student has chosen. The application deadline for all CFNEM and its affiliate scholarships is March 1.