Student Leader Scholarship Program

Thank you for your interest!

Vitalant’s Student Leader Scholarship Program has closed. More than 1300 students around the country hosted a scholarship virtual blood drive and successfully collected over 3,000 blood donations. We appreciate all the student leaders who stepped up to volunteer and help patients this summer!

Scholarship virtual blood drive results are being reviewed. Email notifications with scholarship information will be sent to students in September. With questions, please review program guidelines and the frequently asked questions below. If you have additional questions, please contact your Vitalant representative or send an email to MakeAnImpact@vitalant.org.

Thank you for being part of Vitalant’s lifesaving mission. Because of members of the community like you, life doesn’t stop.

When will I get my virtual blood drive link?

You’ll receive your scholarship blood drive link in an email with instructions and resource links within minutes of submitting the form to start your blood drive. It’s a good practice to check spam and junk folders for an email from getinvolved@vitalant.northeast.org if an email does not populate your inbox.

What should I do if I don’t receive my scholarship blood drive link and instruction kit email?

If you don’t receive your confirmation email, and you’ve checked your spam and junk folders, you should submit another request form. The first form could have been submitted with an error in the email address. Be sure to use an email you check frequently and make sure it is entered correctly.

How does the virtual blood drive link work?

You’ve signed up to host a virtual blood drive! The virtual blood drive link allows you to recruit donors to any Vitalant donation center and blood drive in the U.S.

To recruit donors, you must copy and paste the full virtual blood drive link to enable accurate tracking, unless you create a QR code (see below). Students should promote their drives and share their scholarship blood drive links through social media, email, phone calls, tabling, and personal asks. The donor’s email address is used to track their donation to the student’s drive, and the email address must be the same from pledge to donation. A 2-minute instructional video is available on Vimeo and YouTube. Watch it and share the link with donors so they know exactly what to do when they join your drive!

A QR code may be used to convert the blood drive link using the instructions in this document. If these exact instructions aren’t followed, you could corrupt your blood drive link and disable the link’s tracking functionality. A BitLy is strongly discouraged and should not be used to shorten the virtual blood drive link.

Do unsuccessful blood donations count toward my scholarship total?

Per the program guidelines, students receive credit for successful (completed) blood donations. Attempts, deferrals, incomplete and unsuccessful donations do not count toward the scholarship credits.

Can a donor give more than once for my scholarship blood drive?

Yes! Depending on the procedure, a donor may be eligible to give more than once during the scholarship program period. Educating donors about different types of donations, like Power Red and platelet donations, are great ways to support patients and accumulate credits toward a scholarship. Repeat donors must submit a new pledge before each donation to track accurately. You can find educational materials about the different types of donations best suited to a donor’s blood type in the Student Toolkit.

Can I donate on behalf of my own scholarship blood drive?

Yes! Students who are eligible are encouraged to donate to their own blood drive. Students need to follow the same process as other donors participating in their blood drive: they need to pledge using their personal blood drive link and use the same email address from pledge to donation.

When will I find out if I earned a scholarship?

Students are encouraged to stay in contact with their account manager for regular progress reports. Account managers are also a great resource for recruitment ideas! After the program ends Aug. 31, blood drive results will be audited. Students will be notified of their scholarship award via email in September.

Where can I find my blood drive results and get progress reports?

Once you start earning credits, you will receive bi-weekly email updates of total credits accrued. Your local representative can also provide updates on your drive throughout the program or you can call 877-25-VITAL.

Important Scholarship Details

Each student leader needs to meet the 25-credit minimum to qualify for a one-time $500 scholarship, and each student leader can earn up to $1,000 toward their college tuition.

Remember, once you’ve reached the first scholarship tier you can continue to recruit blood donors to unlock a higher scholarship award.

* Student leaders can earn extra credit toward their scholarship by recruiting first time donors! One “extra credit” will be added to the donation type’s scholarship credits when it’s given by a NEW blood donor. A new or first time blood donor is a donor who is registered and completes their first blood donation with Vitalant. The “extra credit” is only applied to a new donor’s first blood donation. Review the Program Guidelines for additional information.

Credits Earned	Scholarship Award
25 to 49 credits	$500
50 to 74 credits	$750
75+ credits	$1,000

Donation Type	Scholarship Credits*
Platelets	3
Power Red & Plasma	2
Whole blood	1