Supporting Our Youth, Strengthening Our Roots
The Growing Forward with Crystal Flash award program is a Crystal Flash initiative dedicated to the hardworking youth who represent the future of agriculture. We recognize that the costs of participating in youth programs add up, and we are committed to providing direct financial support to our customers' families.
Our goal is to maintain an efficient, transparent, and effective program that gives back to the communities that have supported Crystal Flash for generations. By awarding students involved in agriculture, we aim to fuel the growth of young leaders as they develop the skills needed to feed our future.
$12,000 Award Program
The Growing Forward with Crystal Flash award program will provide six (6) applicants with a $2,000 award to be used to support their education and participation in agriculture initiatives.
Award Eligibility
Customer Connection
Applicants must be a dependent or grandchild of an active Crystal Flash customer.
Between Ages 8 and 21
Applicants must be between the ages of 8 and 21 as of January 1, 2026.
Active Participation
Applicants must be active participants in an established agriculture organization, operation, or education program*.
Public Recognition
If chosen as an award winner, the applicant agrees to be publicly recognized by Crystal Flash with a photo and bio.
Application Deadline
All applications must be submitted using the form below on or before May 31, 2026.
*Eligible active participation examples include, but are not limited to, FFA Chapter, 4-H, MI Points Circuit, Associate or B.S. in Agriculture degree program.
Eligibility Exclusions
To ensure the highest standards of impartiality, dependents of current or former Crystal Flash employees are not eligible to apply for or receive funds through the Growing Forward with Crystal Flash award program. This program is exclusively reserved for the dependents of our active customer base.
Selection & Review Process
All valid applications received by the submission deadline of May 31, 2026, will undergo a strictly anonymous review process. To guarantee a fair and unbiased selection, all applications will be redacted to remove identifying information before being evaluated by a panel of Crystal Flash employee owner volunteers.
Award recipients are determined through a process of independent voting within three specific age brackets (8-13, 14-17, 18-21). From each of the three brackets, two applicants will be selected to receive an award, resulting in a total of six recipients for the 2026 season. Recipients will be notified in late July.
Fund Distribution
Each selected recipient will receive a $2,000 award. All funds will be distributed in U.S. dollars via physical check. Checks will be made payable directly to the applicant or the applicant’s legal guardian, as determined by the information provided during the application process.
Before You Begin
The applications for all age brackets require the following information:
- Crystal Flash customer account number, name, email, and phone number
- Applicant name and birthdate, ag participation explanation, and a short applicant bio
- Responses to the two essay questions associated with their age bracket
Originality & AI Policy
All submitted application materials must be the original work of the applicant. Crystal Flash is committed to supporting the authentic voices and experiences of our youth; therefore, the use of any AI writing tool, AI chatbot, or Large Language Model (LLM) is strictly prohibited.
Applications must not be generated—directly or indirectly, in whole or in part—by generative AI services. This includes, but is not limited to: ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, ChatSonic, HuggingChat, or YouChat.
Any application found to have utilized these or similar tools for content generation will be disqualified from consideration.