Preface

Assalaamu alaykum! Welcome to A Continuous Charity Foundation's 2024 application for Interest-Free and Refinance loans!

Do you qualify for any of our funds or special programs?

Please select all that apply:

• Women's Empowerment: Serves divorcees, widows, single mothers, and victims of domestic violence
• Educational Justice: Currently serves indigenous African Americans (i.e. ancestry in the US that goes back multiple generations; not immigrant African Americans). To learn more, visit: https://acceducate.org/programs/educational-justice/
• Islamic Studies: Serves students enrolled in Islamic Studies programs in the U.S.
• Zakat Program: Learn more about zakat eligibility by clicking the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgH_b1HpAug
• Refugee Support

Demographics

What is your U.S. status?

*Students who do not qualify for a loan are F-1, F-2, or M-1 nonimmigrant student visa, or on a J-1 or J-2 nonimmigrant Exchange Visitor Visa.* *

Ethnic Background (can select up to 3)

A Continuous Charity values the diversity of our Ummah and the diversity of American Muslims. We would love to learn more about your background. This question does not impact the loan decision making.

Personal Finances

The information requested regarding household size and tax information will be used to determine a) financial need and b) ability to repay an interest-free loan over a period of time. All candidates are required to fill out this section. Please note that the information provided is considered confidential and ACC will not share this information with any external parties without the applicant's consent.

PLEASE READ THE QUESTION HELP THAT APPEARS BY AN ANSWER BOX. THERE IS SPECIFIC FORMATTING/INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW WE WOULD LIKE ANSWERS TO BE PROVIDED.

ACC aims to support as many applicants as possible with interest-free loans for higher education. With this in mind, we encourage all applicants to minimize the loan amount requested from ACC by exhausting alternatives to fund their higher education. By all applicants doing their part to minimize loan amounts requested from ACC, more funds will be available for ACC to efficiently steer towards helping more students and fulfill greatest needs insha'Allah.

While we recognize that applicants may not have some or all of these options available to them,prior to submitting an application, ACC strongly encourages applicants try their best to independently secure funds via any and all possible avenues such as:

• Personal income and savings
• Family contribution
• Scholarships and grants
• Interest-free loans from family, friends, or community members
• Gap semesters or part-time enrollment to increase personal income from a paying job or internship
• Local community fundraising
• Online crowdfunding

In addition to minimizing your requested loan amount, proposing a fast repayment plan increases the likelihood of your being awarded an ACC loan. Why? Fast repayment of loans fuels ACC's sustainable model of recycling funds. That allows ACC to provide more interest-free loans to help more applicants, sooner, while simultaneously losing less dollar value to inflation, including rising costs of tuition and housing.

Consider the following for your repayment plan proposal:

• Monthly payment you can afford with your current or anticipated income
• Consider your obligations for repayments of other debts or expenses you'd be responsible for while repaying the ACC loan
• Earliest possible dates to start and complete repayment
• Maximum loan term is four years(48 months)
• A loan term is the amount of time from the date ACC disburses awarded funds (i.e. pays tuition) until the date the loan is completely repaid to ACC.
• ACC prefers loans are repaid in full within four yearsof disbursement. While less common, loan terms beyond four years may be considered for high-need applicants and those qualifying for ACC's Educational Justice Fund.
• Repayment assistance commitment from your parents, spouse, or co-signer
• Phased plan that starts low
• If you cannot afford an ideal monthly payment now but can anticipate higher income after graduation or postponed repayment assistance from others, your phased plan can start with a lower monthly payment for a certain number of months then increase it at a later date.

Additional Information and Optional Video on Your Personal Financial Information

To help the reviewers gain a better overall understanding, consider recording a video of yourself presenting/explaining your answers to all questions in this "Section 3: Personal Financial Information." Please keep the video under 2 minutes and creatively show us who you are and why you deserve this loan. You can record it on your phone, and upload it to either Google Drive, Dropbox, or share a unique YouTube link in the box below. Please ensure the link you share is viewable to your application's reviewers and not private to only you.

Applicants' videos submitted in this Personal Financial Information section will be reviewed by ACC application evaluators and will not be used for marketing, advertising, and fundraising without obtaining applicants' prior consent.

Letter of Recommendation #1

Your letters of recommendation can be from an employer, a religious leader, community leader, or educator, and they are required to complete your application. The letter must be submitted by the recommender and it is your responsibility to make sure the letter is submitted by the application deadline of April 15, 2023. The recommendation letter request will be submitted automatically to the recommender's email address once you hit save. The recommendation letter must be submitted on the form the recommender receives. You will be able to see whether or not your recommender has submitted their letter. Please note: The letter cannot be written by a peer or anyone related to you by blood or marriage. We highly recommend that you choose a recommender who can speak to your leadership qualities, skills, and character. Here is an article that provides tips on selecting a recommender: https://blog.prepscholar.com/letter-of-recommendation-for-scholarship After you fill in the contact information below and hit save, the letter of recommendation request will be emailed to the recommender's email address. ACC reserves the right to contact the recommender.

Letter of Recommendation #2

Your letters of recommendation can be from an employer, a religious leader, community leader, or educator, and they are required to complete your application. The letter must be submitted by the recommender and it is your responsibility to make sure the letter is submitted by the application deadline of April 15, 2023. The recommendation letter request will be submitted automatically to the recommender's email address once you hit save. The recommendation letter must be submitted on the form the recommender receives. You will be able to see whether or not your recommender has submitted their letter. Please note: The letter cannot be written by a peer or anyone related to you by blood or marriage. We highly recommend that you choose a recommender who can speak to your leadership qualities, skills, and character. Here is an article that provides tips on selecting a recommender: https://blog.prepscholar.com/letter-of-recommendation-for-scholarship After you fill in the contact information below and hit save, the letter of recommendation request will be emailed to the recommender's email address. ACC reserves the right to contact the recommender.

Terms & Conditions

I certify that the information provided in this application is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.I understand that if I receive a loan, I must maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by the loan award (maintain a preferred GPA of 3.0 or better). I also understand that in the case of providing any false information in my application, essays, or interview (if requested), I will be disqualified and will be responsible for returning the full award amount to ACC. I give my consent to forward information regarding my academic records to ACC's Selection Committee. By accepting these terms and conditions I am granting ACC permission to use my name, photos, and videos (if submitted, excluding the personal financial information video) in publications, literature, website, and other media without reimbursement or royalties of any kind.

Upload a professional photo

By submitting your photo here, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the following: ACC holds the right to use applicants' submitted media (i.e. photos and videos) for marketing, advertising, and fundraising purposes without any royalties or payments given to the applicants. Although ACC holds the right to use the media, it does not necessarily mean that the media will be used.