Richard B. Wagner Memorial Scholarship Fund

About the Scholarship

The Richard B. Wagner Memorial Scholarship Fund was established jointly by the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning and The Financial Planning Association^® (FPA^®) in an effort to advance and diversify the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^™ professional workforce.

The Fund honors the memory of Dick Wagner, who held the CFP^® certification and was a well-known thought leader in the financial planning community with a passion for building the financial planning profession and empowering younger financial planners to succeed. He passed away in 2017 at age 68. Dick also contributed to the advancement of the profession through foundational articles such as “To Think… Like a CFP® (Professional)” and efforts like the What is Finology? Project, which studies our personal relationships with reciprocity and money.

The scholarship awards up to $5,000 to qualified students seeking to complete a certificate level CFP Board Registered Program that would qualify them to sit for the CFP^® exam. Eligible candidates must demonstrate financial need and be from populations that are underrepresented in the financial planning profession in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation. Applications will be reviewed by an independent Scholarship Review Panel comprised of CFP^® professionals. Scholarship recipients will have up to 3 months to enroll in a certificate-level program.

Eligibility Requirements

• Must be a U.S. resident;
• Must possess an undergraduate degree and must not have completed more than 5 courses in the certificate-level program at the time of the application.
• Must be enrolled in a certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program, or be a prospective candidate who will matriculate in a certificate-level program within 3 months;
• Must be from an underrepresented population within the financial planning profession in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation;
• Must have a demonstrated financial need, as explained in an essay to be submitted during the application process;
• Must demonstrate commitment to the financial planning profession, as explained in an essay to be submitted during the application process;
• Must exhibit professionalism and dignity and demonstrate the ability to enhance and maintain the profession’s public image. Applicants that are selected to proceed to the final round of the application review process will be required to pass a background check indicating eligibility to become a CFP® professional;
• Scholarship recipients will be required to provide documentation of certificate program enrollment (e.g., academic transcript, official course completion letters) and costs prior to receiving their award; and

Applicants who are selected to proceed to the final round of the application review process will be required to pass a background check conducted by CFP Board.

Submission Requirements

Applications will only be accepted through the application form below. Please do not attempt to submit application materials via mail, fax or email.

Applications will only be accepted through the application form below. Please do not attempt to submit application materials via mail, fax or email. When submitting application essays and materials, please pay close attention to spelling, grammar and presentation, as that will be factored into the grading process.

award process

Scholarship awards will be disbursed in two equal installments. To receive the first installment, recipients will have to demonstrate proof of enrollment in a CFP Board-Registered certificate program. If not currently enrolled in a program, recipients will have up to 3 months to enroll after being notified of the award. The second installment will be awarded either upon completing the program (if the awardee has already started coursework), or when the awardee is half-way through the program (if the awardee has not yet started coursework).

Application Deadline

The application window will be open until October 22, 2023.

Award Decision

Scholarship applicants will be notified of the award decision via email by November 30, 2023. If you have a question about the status of your application, please contact us at scholarships@cfpboard.org.