Overview

The Lumana'i Education Gift (L.E.G.) is monetary and in-kind support for Samoan students who live in the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue their academic & artistic goals. The gift started in 2009 and was open to 8th grade students enter Private High School and High School Seniors entering a 2 to 4 year institution. Each year, we look at the needs of our community and make adjustments to the different categories to better uplift our students. To date, the Lumana'i Education Gift now offers gifts for:

• Middle School students in 6th - 8th grade (in-kind gift)

• High School Seniors entering in to a 2 or 4 year college institution (monetary)

• 2nd year College Students who are transferring to a 4 year institution (monetary)

• 6th - 12th grade student artists (monetary)

THE NEED

We initially began developing the Lumana'i Education Gift after we received an inquiry from a parent seeking financial support for their student who was entering Private High School. They shared frustrations of the lack of financial aid offered by private high schools. When we took a closer look, we realized there was a growing number of families who had students that prioritized their academics and earned their acceptance into private high schools, yet struggled to financially to come up with tuition. When we took a look at our High school families, we saw the same economic barriers for their students who were preparing to enter College. In addition, scholarships available at the time were extremely competitive and limited. 

Our first year of offering the Lumana'i Education Gift, we identified the need to familiarize our youth with the process of applying for gifts and scholarships. From there, we opened up the in-kind category for all qualifying middle school students to submit for their own category of the Lumana'i Education Gift. In this same fashion, the gift has grown to serve the needs of our Samoan students/artists over the years. 

THE DETAILS...

The Lumana'i Education Gift currently awards the following gifts:

• Monetary Award for currentHigh School Seniors entering a 2 - 4 year college institution fall of the following academic year. This gift was created to support our students pursue higher education. 

• Monetary Award for current 8th grade students who are entering into a private high school fall of the following academic year. This gift was created to support our students who have done their part in qualifying and being accepted into a private high school yet may need additional financial support. 

• IN-KIND Award ($150 Target Gift Card) - Open to students in 6th - 8th grade. This gift was created to offer our middle school students an opportunity to practice creating and submitting a scholarship application process. We firmly believe the more familiar our students become with applying for financial support the greater the chance they will apply for support when headed into College. 

• LUMANA'I EDUCATION MATTHEW PALAITA SOCIAL JUSTICE GIFT - This gift is open to current college students who will be transferring to a 4 year college institution in fall of the following academic year. This gift was created specifically to support the financial needs of our transfer students. This gift is named after the late Matthew Palaita a former San Francisco City College 

• LUMANA'I ART GIFT ($150 monetary gift)- This gift is open to students currently in 6th -12th grade who are interested in pursuing art as a career pathway. It was created to help support our Pasefika artists and to nurture their talents and gifts. 

TO QUALIFY:

Students must meet the following criteria to apply:

• Be of Samoan descent

• Live in one of the 9 San Francisco Bay Area Counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties.

• Meet the specific gift criteria listed above for each gift. 

APPLICATION PERIOD:

Applications period is:  January 1st - April 19th of the current year. 

TO APPLY FOR THE 2023 LUMANA'I EDUCATION & ART GIFTS CLICK THE BUTTONS BELOW: