You taught the trade. Nominate the student. We'll handle the tools.
Nominations not open yet? Email us to be notified when they open.
The Virginia Blue-Collar Tool Foundation gives professional-grade tools — not gift cards, not checks, actual tools — to graduating Virginia high school seniors who complete a qualifying CTE program and earn an industry-recognized credential. Your nomination is how a student gets one.
The Apprentice Tool Grant — what your student gets
- Up to roughly $1,950 in professional-grade tools, matched to the trade they trained in
- In-kind — we order, we ship. The student opens a box of tools, not an envelope with a check
- One grant per qualifying graduate
- No cost to the student, the family, or the school. Ever. For any reason
- Delivered before they need them — so day one of the apprenticeship or the job, they show up ready
This isn't a scholarship. It isn't tuition assistance. It's the contents of the toolbox a working tradesperson needs on a Monday morning.
Who qualifies
A student is eligible if all six are true:
- Graduating Virginia high school senior (current cycle)
- Completed a qualifying hard-trades CTE program — see the full qualifying courses list
- Earned an industry-recognized credential through that program
- Heading directly into the trade — an apprenticeship, a trade employer, or going to work for themselves
- Qualifies for free lunch under the federal school meals program — confirmed by you from your school's existing records (no family paperwork)
- Nominated by a school-based advocate — a CTE teacher, counselor, specialist, principal, or workforce coordinator who knows the student's work
A few honest notes:
- We focus on the hard trades. The qualifying courses list shows exactly which programs and credentials count.
- GPA isn't a factor. Did they do the work and earn the credential? That's the bar.
The nomination cycle
VBCTF awards run on an annual cycle. The number of grants available for the year and the specific cycle dates are announced each January.
The nomination form below is open. Submit when you're ready, and we'll be in touch about timing for the current cycle.
How to nominate
Three steps. The whole thing should take you under fifteen minutes.
1. Confirm your student qualifies.
Check the 44-course qualifying list and confirm the credential. If you're not sure whether a specific course or credential counts, email us — we'd rather answer one question than miss a deserving student.
2. Submit the nomination form.
You'll need:
- Your student's basic info and graduation date
- The CTE program they completed
- The credential they earned (and when)
- What they're doing after graduation (the program, employer, or apprenticeship they're entering)
- A short paragraph from you — in your own words, why this student
- The student's contact info so we can coordinate delivery
3. We take it from there.
We verify, we match tools to the trade, we order, we ship. You'll get a confirmation when the award is approved and another when the tools are out for delivery. If you want to be the one to hand them to the student, just tell us — we'll ship to you.
Why this matters
There's a gap most people outside of CTE never see.
A student walks across the stage in June with a real credential — a certification an employer actually recognizes — and starts an apprenticeship or a job two weeks later. The credential opens the door. But a professional-grade tool set costs more than a brand-new graduate has on hand. The first real paycheck is fourteen days away. The job starts Monday.
That gap — cap and gown to first paycheck — is where good graduates show up underequipped on day one. Not because of anything about their family or their finances. Because professional tools cost what professional tools cost, and nobody finances them for a kid who hasn't started yet.
That's the gap we close. Your student finished the program. They earned the credential. They picked a real career in a trade that matters. They should walk onto that job site with the tools to do the work.
No Golf. No Galas. No Excuses. Every dollar raised goes into tools. The board is unpaid. The volunteers are unpaid. The point is to give it all away.
FAQ
Is this a gift card, a check, or actual tools?
Actual tools. We order them. We ship them. The student receives a box of professional-grade equipment matched to their trade. We don't issue cash, gift cards, or reimbursements — the in-kind model is deliberate.
Can I nominate more than one student?
Yes. Nominate every student of yours who qualifies. Each nomination is reviewed on its own merit. Just don't make us make a rule.
What if my student's CTE course isn't on the qualifying list?
Email us before the cutoff and ask. The 44-course list is comprehensive for the clusters we serve, but credentialing pathways evolve and we'd rather review an edge case than turn away a good fit. If the program isn't in our scope, we'll tell you straight — no runaround.
Who picks the tools?
The student does. Once a nomination is approved, the student builds a shopping cart of the tools they need for the trade they're entering — the things their employer, journeyman, or program told them to show up with — and emails it to us. We buy it and ship it. They're about to start a career in this trade; they know what they need better than we do.
Does the student or family have to do paperwork or disclose finances?
No paperwork from the student or family. One of our criteria is that the student qualifies for free lunch under the federal school meals program — but that's confirmed by you, the nominator, from your school's existing records. The family doesn't fill out income forms, tax documents, or anything else. No application essay from the student either.
What if my student is going to community college instead of straight to a job?
The program is designed for graduating students entering the workforce full time. Apprenticeships that include required community college coursework count — the test is whether they're earning a paycheck on a job site, not whether their name is also on a CC roster.
We're a small program. Are we competing against the big regional CTE centers?
No. There's no quota by school, district, or region. We evaluate each nomination on whether the student meets the bar — credential earned, trade entered, school advocate vouching. A two-student program and a four-hundred-student academy are reviewed by the same standard.
Ready to nominate?
Cycle not open yet? Email us to be notified when nominations open.
Still have questions? Email us directly: hello@vbctf.org — a real person answers, usually same day.