Eau Claire Energy Cooperative Scholarships Opening Soon
Offered by Eau Claire Energy Cooperative
About This Scholarship
Eau Claire Energy Cooperative (ECEC) is a member-owned electric cooperative serving rural Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, and each year it returns up to $19,000 to member families through a slate of nineteen $1,000 scholarships. Sixteen go to high school seniors, two to students already in post-secondary programs, and one is reserved for a student in the Electrical Distribution (line worker) program at Chippewa Valley Technical College.
The cooperative's selection philosophy is unusually egalitarian: ECEC states a preference for students who are unlikely to receive other scholarships, alongside average or above-average academic performance and demonstrated potential for post-secondary success. In practice that means solid students who fall outside the straight-A, award-collecting profile have a genuinely better shot here than in most merit competitions.
Awards are funneled through Wisconsin's Federated Youth Foundation, the charitable trust many Wisconsin cooperatives use to administer education funds. The applicant's family must be an ECEC member with active residential service, which keeps the pool small and local.
Eligibility
- Student's family must be an Eau Claire Energy Cooperative member with active residential electric service
- Sixteen awards for high school seniors; two for current post-secondary students; one for a CVTC Electrical Distribution Program student
- Average or above-average academic performance
- Preference given to students unlikely to receive other scholarships
How To Apply
- Download and complete the Federated Youth Application form from ECEC's scholarship page. The 2027 application opens November 2, 2026 and is due January 8, 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do straight-A students have an advantage?
Not necessarily. ECEC explicitly prefers students who are unlikely to receive other scholarships, so solid students without a long list of awards are strong candidates.
Is there a scholarship for line worker training?
Yes. One of the nineteen $1,000 awards is reserved for a student in the Electrical Distribution Program at Chippewa Valley Technical College.
Who is eligible to apply?
Students whose families are ECEC members with active residential service in the cooperative's Eau Claire County, Wisconsin territory.