It is the intent of the Deacon Body of First Baptist Church of Gainesville, Texas that this scholarship fund be operated in perpetuity. To achieve this purpose, the following guidelines have been adopted by the Deacon Body as of November 12, 2023 and in accordance with the instructions set forth in the last will and testament of Nelma Juarece Weatherly.
General Guidelines
The gift to the church shall be used to establish the Weatherly Scholarship Program. Any person may make a gift to the church and add to the scholarship funds by requesting the gift be made to the Weatherly Scholarship Endowment. Management of the scholarship program shall be overseen by the Deacon Body with the daily administration of the program conducted by the Weatherly Scholarship Team or the FBC Gainesville Scholarship Coordinator (if applicable) working in coordination with the Team.
Unless otherwise specified, scholarships are only awarded for first time degrees at the associate and/or bachelor level. In addition, scholarships will support any certificate or degree earned at North Central Texas College. All scholarship funds are paid directly to the college or university the applicant is attending. No scholarship funds will be paid directly to a student.
All gifts to the Weatherly Scholarship Endowment shall be held in an endowment account and invested as recommended by the designated investment firm. A separate account (Earnings Account) will be maintained and used for paying out scholarship awards. The funds in the Earnings Account shall be deposited in an interest bearing money market fund.
The Team will consist of five to seven adult members of the church. At least three members must be active deacons and will be recommended to the Committee on Committees and Teams by the Deacon Body. Annually, the Deacon Body may reconsider the deacon members of the Team and recommend any changes to the Committee on Committees and Teams. The remaining members of the Team will be nominated by the Committee on Committees and Teams. The Finance Committee will advise the Team as necessary. The Team may enlist any advisors or subject matter experts to assist with academic or college standards, but these advisors will not review or score applications as part of the Team. Only members of the Team may review and score candidates.
In accordance with the wishes of Mrs. Weatherly, only income from the Weatherly Endowment may be used for educational scholarships. In addition, up to 5% of the principal amount in the Weatherly Endowment may be drawn on for the purpose of awarding such scholarships in any year. However, to exercise this authority, the Team must request and provide to the Deacon Body justification for using up to 5% of the principal for this purpose. The request must be approved by the Deacon Body (with no more than two negative votes) along with an endorsement of the request by the Finance Committee. Under no circumstances will a request exceeding 5% of the endowment principal be considered or authorized.
Members of the Team who may have a genuine or perceived conflict of interest, or a blood relative in the applicant pool, shall not participate in any discussion, review, or scoring of the applicant’s application. If there is any question about a Team member’s conflict of interest, the conflict will be resolved by the Deacon Officers and the Senior Pastor.
Scoring Criteria
Church Involvement – (church of like faith) up to 15 points
FBC Gainesville – up to 3 bonus points
Other Baptist Church — up to 2 bonus points
School Activities – up to 15 points
Community Service – up to 15 points
Regular Sunday Worship Attendance – (church of like faith) up to 15 points
FBC Gainesville – up to 3 bonus points
Other Baptist Church – up to 2 bonus points
Financial Need – up to 40 points
Maximum Score – 100 points (not including bonus points)
| Score | Award |
| 95 or over | $5,000 |
| 90-94 | $4,000 |
| 85-89 | $3,000 |
| 80-84 | $2,000 |
| 70-79 | $1,000 |
Note: Award amounts are per academic year. Applicants that score below 70 will not be awarded a scholarship. In no case will a scholarship award exceed the cost of attendance. For example, if seeking a scholarship for a certificate program and the cost of the program is $500, the scholarship award will be reduced to match the cost of attendance. After all scholarships have been awarded, if there are any funds still available, the Team (at it’s discretion) may award additional funds to any or all the applicants.
Scholarship Eligibility
To be eligible for a scholarship, an applicant must meet all of the following requirements:
- Maintain a permanent address in Cooke County, Texas. Residents with a permanent address in bordering counties may be considered at the discretion of the Team.
- Be a young person; meaning a person who is 16-24 years of age.
- Demonstrate significant financial need.
- Provide three letters of recommendation:
- From a teacher/professor
- From a church member or pastor
- From a person who can speak to character, academic achievement, and community involvement.
Dual Credit
Scholarships for Dual Credit courses are only for attendance at North Central Texas College (NCTC) when the applicant is enrolled at a school with an agreement with NCTC or the applicant is home schooled. Awards are in the amount of $250 per semester.
Renewal Scholarships
Previous recipients may renew their scholarship for up to three years after the first year, for a total of four years. Renewal applications will be assessed on the same criteria as above. Renewal applicants must be in good academic standing as determined by submission of grade reports or transcripts to the Weatherly Scholarship Team. Renewal applicants must maintain a grade point average of 2.5 or higher and be enrolled full-time for a minimum of 12 credit hours.
Staff Scholarships
The Deacon Body desires to support the education of ministerial staff members who are serving in the church and working to support the spiritual growth of the children, youth, and young adults of the church. Those ministerial staff members who have not yet earned a certificate or degree in a field of ministry may be considered for a scholarship. Academic work must be toward a certificate, bachelor’s degree, or graduate degree at one of the six seminaries that are entities of the Southern Baptist Convention. A scholarship may be awarded after the staff member demonstrates they have secured (or attempted to secure) external scholarship support through the seminary or another institution. The staff member must show that their work toward a ministry related certificate or degree is supported by the Personnel Committee. Any scholarship funds awarded to a staff member shall not count toward or be a substitute for compensation.