The Blk Pwr Coalition has launched a scholarship program with four different opportunities to help support self-identifying African American University of Wisconsin students in their college careers, according to an Instagram post.

The scholarship has four opportunities with four different focus areas — Academic Achievement, Bridge to Success, BPC Changemaker and Organizational Excellence, according to the Instagram post.

“The scholarship was created to reward and encourage Black excellence here on our campus,” BPC Managing Officer Jonah Dixon said. “We saw a need to give back to our campus specifically and we felt like a scholarship would be just a great way to keep people motivated, keep people going and acknowledge the hard work that Black students are already doing on our campus.”

The hope with the scholarships is to help as many students as possible, according to BPC Chief Officer Jekiah Manor. The BPC is focused on helping Black students succeed at the university, so scholarship awards are intended to support students in a variety of ways.

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Black students face disproportionate financial barriers, which can make expenses for things like food and personal maintenance challenging, according to Manor. The goal of the BPC by creating the scholarships is to give Black students the full-time student experience their non-Black counterparts have.

“A big saying in our Black community is that it takes a village to actually succeed and grow in this life — and specifically in the environment that we have here at UW–Madison,” Dixon said. “I mean, it’s not too many people that look like us, and through the BPC, I personally think that this is where we can unite Black people and support them throughout the whole journey.”

The scholarships are being funded using money that has been donated to the BPC, according to Manor. The application deadline is May 1 at 11:59 p.m.

“We’re hoping eventually we’ll be able to expand and offer more financial assistance to Black students and Black student organizations,” Manor said. “Our idea behind it is seeking to fill the gaps in financial need that other scholarships and other grant applications don’t cover.”