Hunting for scholarship opportunities? Some of my favorites are coming up this month – local nonprofit clubs hosting speech competitions! These groups offer amazing experiences even if you aren’t yet a polished speaker.
We love these contests for four reasons:
(1) Deeply enriching:
The experience of preparing and perfecting a speech with outside encouragement develops communication skills our kids will need for the rest of their lives.
(2) Salt-of-the-earth people from the hosting clubs:
We felt better about the world we live in after rubbing shoulders with these generous, enthusiastic folks that are eager to help our kids.
(3) Great money:
Typically, clubs give out multiple prizes at each level (local, regional, state, national). Even if you don’t make it all the way to nationals, you may win, say, $100 for 2nd place at a local competition. Not bad for a few hours time preparing a speech. Oh, and if you DO make it to the national level, you usually get an all-expense paid trip for the nationwide competition – and those are lots of fun!
(4) Few entrants:
Our favorite phrase in scholarship hunting is “look local and limited.” Oratory competitions have very, very few participants compared to other scholarships. For one our daughter entered, she faced only 5 competitors at the local level and then just one at the state level. Fewer participants equals better chances to win and also more attention and feedback help from the local judges.
Our family has participated in each of the competitions below, and we recommend them all!
For even more ideas on scholarships and other resources for college, join us for the “Money for College” seminar at Advancing the Next Gen Christian Education Conference in Raleigh on 2/8/25.
LOVE the enthusiastic, encouraging, country-loving men who run this competition. Students write and present a 5-6 minute speech on anything related to the American Revolutionary War. Available nationwide and you don’t have to be male to enter. (NC residents information here.)
Top Prizes: local $250, state $750, national $8K
Ages: Grades 9-12
Deadline: Register by 1/31/25. Local competitions typically in March. National competition in Connecticut in mid-July. (If you are a North Carolinian: the Raleigh club is hosting a local competition 3/15/25, and 2 other NC areas have competitions before 3/22/25. The state competition is 4/5/25 in Greensboro.)
How to Enter: In NC, send this entry form to Lowell Hoffman, lmhglobal927@gmail.com. All other states, contact Jack Bredenfoerder at jack.b@fuse.net .
Other: The NC winner has placed in the top three nationally for three of the past six years. Watch the 2024 winning speech here. The SAR also offers an essay contest, poster contest, and brochure contest, some for younger students.
A 4-5 min. speech on “How Optimism Has Guided Me Through Trying Times” (topic changes each year).
Top Prizes: Local varies, state $2500, national $15,000
Ages: Under 19 as of 10/1/24 and not yet done with high school
Deadline: All local club contests will be completed by March
How to Enter: write programs@optimist.org to find your local chapter and get info on the date of their contest.
Other: They also offer essay contests – definitely worth entering!
The Coolidge Foundation hosts both speech and debate competitions. For speech ("declamation"), memorize and video record yourself presenting one of Calvin Coolidge’s speeches from a list they give. (Don’t worry; he was known for his brevity.)
Top Prize: $1,000
Ages: Grades 9-12
Deadline: 4/6/25
How to Enter: Download the speech packet from and follow directions.
Other: The top 10 students win a trip to Calvin Coolidge’s home in Connecticut for the national competition. The Coolidge Cup debaters will be there too, so it’s a fun competition to attend with all these other enthusiastic speakers.
This competition requires the preparation of five speeches, of which the student will present only two. The first prepared speech is 8-10 min long on some aspect of the Constitution, with an emphasis on the citizen’s duties and obligations to our government. For the second speech, the student prepares 3-5 minute speeches on each of four topics related to amendments to the US Constitution. The student finds out which of those four shorter speeches he will present at the last minute on the contest day itself. So you prepare five speeches but only end up presenting two.
Top Prizes: state $2000, national $25,000
Ages: junior high or high school students under age 20
Deadlines: vary by region. Initial local contests are in December or January.
How to Enter: write info@nclegion.org to ask for entry deadlines and info.
Write and audio-record a 3-5 min. speech on an assigned topic. The 2024-25 topic was “Is America Today Our Forefathers’ Vision?”
Top Prizes: Local $1,000, state $6,000, national $25,000 (for NC – other states’ prizes may vary.)
Ages: Grades 9-12
Deadline: 10/31 (keep a lookout for next fall’s topic!)
How to Succeed at Oratory Contests:
Know your audience. Is the host organization a group of veterans? Slamming America is not going to win points. Are they optimists? Be positive!
Dress to show respect. The hosts are typically older than you, so they will appreciate conservative, modest dress: coat and tie for guys, business dress or suit for ladies.
Follow directions. Can’t overemphasize this. Read the instructions over and over again. Many of these have quirky rules. Follow time limits.
Welcome feedback. Practice in front of friends and family.
Use basic speech skills: eye contact, speed, natural hand gestures. Remember older people don’t hear as well as you do, so make sure you speak loudly and distinctly if there’s no mic.
Keep a central thesis. You want to make one main point in a speech – make sure that comes through loud and clear.
Do you have a favorite oratory competition I missed? Let me know in the comments!
Comments