Each year, PORAC’s Peace Officers Relief and Education Foundation (POREF) is honored to make scholarship grants available to the dependents of our active and retired members, the spouse or dependents of an active member who died in the line of duty, and members who have medically retired from a regular PORAC association. This program provides financial assistance to applicants who are attending or will be registering for college, and is funded by donations from PORAC members, member associations, the general public and corporate sponsors.

While scholarships are not restricted based on the applicant’s field of endeavor, it is hoped that they will encourage young people to give serious consideration to law enforcement as a career, aiding in PORAC’s ongoing effort to improve the quality of the profession in California into the future.

The scholarship program is administered by a committee composed of volunteer members representing the four regions of PORAC. Appointed by the PORAC president, the Scholarship Committee is responsible for soliciting contributions to the Fund, enlisting applicants, awarding scholarship grants and monitoring the program. The current representatives are Chair Randy Beintema (Region II), Mike Pruger (Region I) and Justin Doering (Region III). (The Region IV seat is vacant at this time.)

The committee assesses scholarship applications based on multiple criteria — academic achievement, school activities, community service and an essay in which applicants are asked to write 500 words on the following topic: “How has growing up in a law enforcement family shaped your values, challenges and goals?” Applicants are advised that all essays will be reviewed using AI-assisted tools for grammar, plagiarism and originality. Essays found to contain plagiarism or determined to be primarily AI-generated will result in disqualification.

The Scholarship Committee strongly reminds applicants that they must meet all of the requirements and submit all requested materials — including a resume and transcripts, current photo, essay and the signature of a parent or legal guardian — to avoid being disqualified from consideration. Applications are now available for the 2026 scholarship awards and must be completed online at tinyurl.com/poref-scholarship by end of day on March 6.