Applications Open For Alcohol Responsibility Matters Scholarship

The Montana Cannabis and Alcohol Regulation Division is offering its third annual opportunity for graduating high school seniors to apply for Alcohol Responsibility Matters scholarships.

Seniors who will attend a Montana college, apprentice program, or certificate institute are encouraged to apply for the scholarship, which includes coming up with a design and writing a brief paragraph dedicated to answering the question: “What does ‘Alcohol Responsibility Matters’ mean to you and your community?”

The division will award five seniors a one-time, $2,000 scholarship.

The scholarship funds come from the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, which distributes alcohol education awards to state member organizations, including CARD, a division of the Department of Revenue.

Selected winners will have their original artwork designs used to promote responsible alcohol consumption across Montana. According to CARD, the artwork will have a consistent theme centered on Montana and the tagline “Alcohol Responsibility Matters,” and the existing logo, along with the student’s original artwork idea.

CARD hopes to provide community-centered messages reminding individuals 21 and over of the importance of being responsible when consuming alcohol and to support year-round alcohol awareness.

The scholarship is targeted toward high school seniors, knowing that while most are under the age of 21, moving forward in life to college, or post-secondary institutions without parent or guardians guidance, there may be increased pressure to drink.

According to the scholarship page, the requirements of the submissions include the artwork design and a 250-word paragraph explaining the design, which could be used for posters, t-shirts, stickers, decals and other marketing materials.

Students may draw something, create something in PowerPoint, Illustrator, Canva, InDesign, etc., and then (if chosen) CARD will take the design/idea and work to create artwork.

Generative AI, such as ChatGPT or other similar applications for essays or artwork, will not be accepted.

The application deadline is Jan. 25, and details about the application process can be found online at the scholarship website.

In 2025, the Department of Revenue announced it had selected five scholarship winners out of 55 submissions. The winning students were from Shepard, Libby, Bozeman, Cut Bank and Thompson Falls.