NEW YORK - s4story -- The Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) is proud to announce it has partnered with the UNCF (United Negro College Fund) to launch the Editorial Freelancers Association Ruth Mullen Memorial Scholarship program. Under the program, the EFA is sponsoring two $5,000 scholarships, beginning with the 2022–2023 academic year. One scholarship is for an undergraduate attending a historically Black college or university (HBCU) and one is for an HBCU alum attending graduate school. HBCUs are institutions founded before the 1964 Civil Rights Act to provide educational opportunities to African Americans.

This scholarship opportunity is named in memory of Ruth Mullen, longtime EFA member and volunteer. At the time of her tragic death in September 2021, Ms. Mullen was serving as an EFA co-executive. "Ruth had a lifelong commitment to social justice, so it seemed completely natural to name this scholarship in memory of her," said Robin Martin, EFA co-executive. "Ruth believed that this endeavor is a good first step on the long road toward equity in the publishing industry."

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The scholarships are available to students who are Black, African American, or of Black African descent and enrolled in a degree program leading to (1) employment in the publishing or communications industry, or (2) a career that could lead to their becoming a member of the EFA. Each $5,000 award will be paid directly to the scholarship recipient's HBCU in two annual installments of $2,500.

The program is being administered by the UNCF, the nation's largest and most effective minority education organization. Founded in 1944, the UNCF is a groundbreaking organization made famous by its slogan, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." Since then, more than 500,000 students have earned degrees with the help of UNCF scholarships.

"This scholarship program represents a unique opportunity for the Editorial Freelancers Association to address longtime inequities in the publishing world," said EFA co-executive Christina Frey. "What better step toward our long-term vision, which sees the EFA as a 'vibrant community of freelance editorial professionals—esteemed for their expertise, inclusive in their ethos, and thriving in their businesses.'"

The application page for the program's 2022–2023 cycle opened on April 12 and will close on May 26. Finalists will be selected June–July and scholarship recipients will be announced August–September.

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"Although the program is initially for two scholarships beginning with the upcoming academic year, the EFA is raising money to continue, and hopefully expand, the scholarship program going forward," according to co-executive Frey. As a first step in that process, a donation page has been established on the UNCF website.

Founded in 1970, the Editorial Freelancers Association is the largest and oldest national professional organization of editorial freelancers. Its approximately 3,000 members are editors, writers, indexers, proofreaders, researchers, self-publishing consultants, graphic artists, website designers, journalists, literary agents, translators, and others who offer a broad range of skills and specialties to the modern publishing and communications industries. The EFA's services enhance the professional status of its members and make the freelance life more rewarding.

For more information about the scholarship program, email HBCUscholarships@the-efa.org. For more information on the EFA, please visit the-efa.org.