Essay Scholarship
$2,500+ Available to One Winner
Write an essay that discusses the following:
- Good without God.
Available to recent graduates of California public high schools.
Also check out about our other scholarships.
About the 2026 Nickelson Family Essay Scholarship
The Nickelson Family has entrusted California Freethought Day to facilitate a scholarship, in their name, for recent graduates of California public high schools.
They will award a minimum of $2,500 to a graduate who writes an essay, between 300-700 words, discussing the following:
Good without God.
To qualify, applicants must write their essay and submit it online (see below). Entries that utilized generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) will not be accepted.
Entries must be submitted by July 15, 11:59 p.m. PT, of the current year to qualify.
Who are we Looking For?
To be eligible, an applicant must:
- have an interest in free speech, science, and the separation of church and state; and
- in the current calendar year, have graduated from a California public high school; and
- plan to pursue (or currently pursue) postsecondary education at a community college, four-year college, trade school, or vocational school.
If this sounds like you, you should apply!
How to Apply
After writing your essay, you may click here to apply for our scholarship. You will need to paste your essay into our entry form.
Judging
Shortly after the deadline, members of the Nickelson Family will review the submissions. They will select the scholarship winners based on the originality, creativity, and quality of the submitted work. The Nickelson Family values truth, edginess, humor, and writing that can challenge established norms.
Winning
We’ll notify the winner in early August via email. Winners will have 7 calendar days to respond to claim their prize.
The winner, and their family, will be invited (but not required) to attend California Freethought Day in October, held in Sacramento. We may also ask the winner to record a video reciting and reflecting upon their winning work for our use in social media and at events.
Additional Rules and Conditions
In addition to the text above, the following rules and conditions apply.
Current Board members, Committee members, agents of California Freethought Day, members of the Nickelson Family, and their immediate family members (defined as spouse, parents, siblings, and children) are not eligible to win.
Limit one (1) submission per person, per scholarship type (art, poem, etc.), per year.
All submissions must consist of entirely original material. Entries will be subject to prescreening for AI-generated content. Any submission flagged as even partially AI-generated will be automatically disqualified and removed from consideration prior to judging.
Responses that are obscene, pornographic, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable will be disqualified.
Physical submissions will not be returned.
California Freethought Day assumes no responsibility for lost, late, misdirected, or unintelligible entries.
Should the winner decide to attend any California Freethought Day event, the winner will be responsible for travel and lodging expenses and must abide by our Code of Conduct.
The winner will receive a check to be used toward their postsecondary education expenses. We will not issue a 1099-MISC. The winner may be required to report this income. Winners are encouraged to consult a qualified tax professional or review the IRS guidance on scholarships and grants. Recipients are solely responsible for determining and complying with any federal, state, local, or international tax obligations associated with the scholarship.
The judges’ decision is final.
By submitting an application and submission, applicant (or, if a minor, their parent or legal guardian) agrees that California Freethought Day may, without any limitation or further compensation or notice, use their name, voice and/or likeness in any and all media, worldwide, for the purpose of advertising and promoting the website, California Freethought Day, the scholarship program, or any other promotion, contest, or sweepstakes of California Freethought Day.
The name of the scholarship prize recipient and their winning submission may be posted on any or all of California Freethought Day’s websites and social media channels.
By submitting an application and submission, applicant (or, if a minor, their parent or legal guardian) grants to California Freethought Day a worldwide perpetual non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, distribute and exploit the material submitted, including the worldwide copyright and any extensions, renewals, revivals, reversions and restorations thereof, for any educational, promotional, or other purpose. Applicant further agrees that California Freethought Day and its designees may edit and modify the submission and all elements of it in any and all media now known or not currently known, throughout the world in perpetuity without compensation, permission, or notification to applicant or any third party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, applicant shall be entitled to terminate the license granted to California Freethought Day hereunder upon written notice to California Freethought Day after a period of five years from the date applicant submits the application and submission.
Each person who enters this scholarship program represents and warrants to California Freethought Day as follows: (i) the application and submission, including any written content, are the applicant’s own original, previously unpublished, and previously unproduced work; (ii) the application and submission, including any written content, neither infringes upon nor violates the intellectual property rights or other rights of any other person or entity; (iii) the application and submission, including any written content, does not and will not violate any applicable laws, and meets the official rules set forth herein. Each applicant hereby agrees to indemnify and hold California Freethought Day harmless from and against any and all third party claims, actions, or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses relating to or arising out of any breach or alleged breach of any of the warranties, representations or agreements of applicant hereunder.
California Freethought Day shall have no obligation (express or implied) to use any winning submission, or to otherwise exploit a winning submission or continue the development, production, distribution, or exploitation thereof, and California Freethought Day may at any time abandon the use of the winning submission for any reason, with or without legal justification or excuse, and the scholarship prize recipients shall not be entitled to any damages or other relief by reason thereof.
By submitting, you fully and unconditionally accept and agree to these official rules and the decisions of California Freethought Day, which are final and binding.
For More Information, Contact, and Questions
Questions regarding the scholarship can be directed to scholarships@FreethoughtDay.org.
Recognition
We would like to recognize Scholarship Impact for their assistance with this scholarship and the Nickelson Family for their generosity.