“Diploma of Dreams” is a competition addressed to local non-governmental organizations and informal groups (in short: NGOs) from all over Poland that have not yet participated in the Bridge Scholarship Program (PSP), but run scholarship programs for their local communities and would like to join the coalition of organizations participating in the Program.
In addition to organizations that have been collaborating with the Educational Entrepreneurship Foundation for years, the program also includes winners of previous editions of the “Diploma of Dreams” competition. Thanks to this initiative, active local communities receive financial and advisory support, and another group of young, talented people from low-income families have the opportunity to continue their studies.
The competition is organized every spring, thanks to a joint initiative of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and the Educational Enterprise Foundation .
As part of the “Dream Diploma” and further cooperation, the PSP implementer offers:
Placing candidates from local non-governmental organizations in the scholarship system, which provides the opportunity not only for support in the first year, but also in the later years of studies, applying for language scholarships and foreign internships, and participating in workshops, conferences and competitions.
Providing scholarship recipients with all necessary information on the possibility of obtaining scholarships from other sources, student loans and other financial assistance.
Funding of 70% of the cost of a scholarship for the first year of studies . The number of scholarships awarded under the Pathway to candidates recommended by local NGOs will depend on the funds collected by the Program implementer;
Participation in training on the implementation of scholarship programs for non-governmental organizations and informal groups, especially those participating in the program for the first time.
Organizational and substantive support during program implementation.
Full support for the scholarship payment process.
The program is implemented in three stages:
Stage I – “Diploma of Dreams” competition for non-governmental organizations and informal groups operating locally to participate in the Program.
This stage is implemented by the Educational Enterprise Foundation (FEP). A Competition Jury is appointed, consisting of representatives from the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and the Educational Enterprise Foundation. It selects organizations and informal groups (NGOs) to participate in the program. Organizations that successfully complete the competition procedures are invited to participate in the program. Special workshops are organized for them to prepare for the Bridge Scholarship Program.
Stage II – recruitment and qualification of candidates for the Program by non-governmental organizations and informal groups.
This stage is carried out within a local organization or informal group. The organization informs about opportunities to apply for a bridge scholarship in its community and collects applications from candidates in order to issue recommendations.
Recommendations for candidates should be granted at a meeting of the local Scholarship Committee at a time that allows candidates to log in and complete the online application required for the program’s recruitment process. This order is important, as only those who have already received a recommendation from a local NGO are eligible to complete and submit the online application .
After submitting the application in the system, printing it, and collecting the attachments, the candidate submits the documents to the office of the local organization recommending them. The Local Scholarship Committee appoints a Local Scholarship Committee , which, based on the criteria specified in the regulations, conducts the final evaluation of the applications and selects candidates for scholarship award. Local NGOs submit the candidates’ complete documentation (applications with all attachments) along with the Scholarship Committee’s report to the FEP.
A local NGO or informal group may submit as many candidates as they can raise enough funds to cover 30% of the annual scholarship cost . The program organizers reserve the right to set an upper limit on the number of candidates accepted .
Stage III – implementation of the scholarship program (stage implemented at the Educational Entrepreneurship Foundation).
The submitted documents are checked in terms of form (whether the documents are complete) and content (whether the data contained in the documents is consistent with the data provided in the application and the conditions specified in the Regulations).
Next, the Scholarship Committee, appointed by the Educational Enterprise Foundation, reviews the submitted applications separately for each local organization and makes the final decision to award scholarships. This is equivalent to awarding 70% of the scholarship value (from program funds, i.e., a grant from the Polish-American Freedom Foundation) for these scholarships.
The FEP informs scholarship recipients and all organizations participating in the program of the Scholarship Committee’s decision. Agreements are signed between the FEP and the local organizations . Documents confirming the award of the bridge scholarship are presented to scholarship recipients by the organizations during local ceremonies. Informal groups and local NGOs collaborate with their bridge scholarship recipients and remain in constant contact with them.
Bridge scholarships are transferred to the scholarship recipients’ individual accounts by the Educational Enterprise Foundation (EFP). The Educational Enterprise Foundation maintains and is responsible for all documentation related to the implementation of the scholarship program, including documentation for tax authorities.
There are two types of costs in the Program : scholarship costs and Program management costs.
To finance the scholarships, a scholarship fund is established, consisting of resources from a local non-governmental organization or informal group and the Polish-American Freedom Foundation. The fund is held at the Educational Enterprise Foundation. The local organization transfers an amount to the Educational Enterprise Foundation (EFP) based on the number of scholarship recipients qualified for the Program from a given local organization, either on a one-time basis (at the beginning of the program) or, after consultation with the FEP, according to an individually agreed-upon schedule. The costs of administering the Program at the local organization level are covered by the organization from its own funds.
The costs of managing the Program at FEP are covered entirely by a grant from the Polish-American Freedom Foundation.
DOWNLOAD: Application form for the “Diploma of Dreams 2025” competition
Applications should be sent along with other documents attached to the application by 23 May 2025, by e-mail to: fep@fundacjafep.pl
March 31, 2025
Announcement of the 24th edition of the Bridge Scholarships Program.
April 8, 2025
Announcement of the 20th edition of the Diploma of Dreams competition for local organizations and informal groups.
May 23, 2025
Submission of entries by local NGOs to the Diploma of Dreams competition.
First half of June 2025
Results of the Diploma of Dreams competition and selection of organizations that will be included in the 24th edition of the Bridge Scholarships Program.
June 2025
Local organizations begin recruiting candidates for the 24th edition of the Bridge Scholarships Program.
July 8, 2025
Opening of online application forms for candidates for the Bridge Scholarship Program.
August 18, 2025 (4:00 PM)
Closing of online applications for candidates for the Bridge Scholarship Program.
August 28, 2025
The deadline for candidates to submit documents (application printed from the system with relevant attachments) for participation in the Program, at the headquarters of the local organization from which they received the recommendation.
by September 1, 2025
Verification of the correctness of the documents submitted by candidates to the OL and their forwarding to FEP together with the minutes of the meeting of the local scholarship committee.
until October 14, 2025
Announcement of the list of scholarship holders by FEP.
October 2025
Signing of agreements with local organizations.
December 2025
Annual meeting of scholarship holders, inaugurating the 23rd edition of the Bridge Scholarships Program; presentation of documents confirming the award of scholarships.
October 2025 – July 2026
Payment of scholarships.
August 2026
Local organizations submit reports on the implementation of the 24th edition of the Bridge Scholarships Program.
The competition results will be announced in early June 2025.
Anna Wiśniewska,
Program Specialist.
Email: fep@fundacjafep.pl
Tel. Mobile: 789 204 896
Correspondence address:
Educational Entrepreneurship Foundation,
ul. Sterlinga 27/29,
90-212 Łódź
Lista lokalnych organizacji pozarządowych uczestniczących w XXII edycji Programu Stypendiów Pomostowych (2023/24) dostępna jest TUTAJ
Lokalne organizacje pozarządowe, które uczestniczą w Programie Stypendiów Pomostowych, rekomendują kandydatów do stypendiów na I rok studiów oraz współfinansują stypendia swoich stypendystów.
