Scholarships

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Scholarships are essential for many students to realize their dream of going to college. Providing scholarships, which has a long history in philanthropy, is important to help young people obtain further education, build careers and access better opportunities — in particular for first-generation, low-income and historically marginalized college students. It also spurs economic growth, strengthens democracy, and promotes community wellbeing. Scholarship funding is popular among individual donors who want to support their alma maters and remove financial barriers that can prevent students from earning degrees. While federal government efforts to support access to college are available, such aid is not at a level that meets the needs of all students or that supports the real and rising cost of higher education. This guide offers advice about how funders can contribute to school scholarships, highlights leading philanthropic strategies and offers guidance for donors new to this space to get started with giving.  

Strategies for Impact

An outsized portion of charitable dollars earmarked for scholarships flows to elite private institutions and large public universities. Minority-serving institutions and community colleges, which predominantly serve low-income and first-generation students, have received considerably less scholarship funding support. That said, in recent years, there has been some change, with a growing recognition of the need to support scholarships at institutions attended by historically underserved students. Below, we discuss areas where donors might focus their funding and spotlight organizations that represent the kind of nonprofits that donors might consider supporting.  

  • Prioritize racial equity. Since BIPOC students—especially those who are first-generation college students and/or come from under-resourced families—have been historically overlooked in this area, many organizations specifically target their efforts to these demographic groups. TheDream.US partners with colleges across the country to help undocumented students who came to the U.S. as children complete their college education by offering school scholarships and mentorship. Individual donors might also consider making gifts to a minority-serving institution such as a historically Black college or university, a Hispanic-serving institution, or a tribal college.  

  • Center economic mobility. Financially disadvantaged college students need additional support to earn degrees. The national nonprofit QuestBridge, based in Palo Alto, California, offers talented under-resourced students opportunities in the form of scholarships, programs and networks. For high school seniors, QuestBridge’s National College Match helps low-income students gain admission to the nation’s most selective schools, and also helps them access financial aid. For juniors, the College Prep Scholarship is an opportunity to get a head start on college applications. 

  • Consider community colleges. Community colleges can be an affordable alternative for students seeking to minimize the cost of getting an education. Still, there are costs, and many students at two-year colleges — who often work while attending college — find it challenging to cover tuition as well as housing, books, supplies and child care. Scholarships can help students overcome financial obstacles to completing their education. Scholarship America is a Minnesota-based national philanthropic organization that assists foundations, corporations and individuals with awarding scholarships to students. The organization also operates Dollars for Scholars, a coalition of local scholarship organizations in communities across the United States. Achieving the Dream offers individual donors an opportunity to support school scholarship funds at community colleges across the country, including in rural communities.

Insights and Advice 

In considering which impact strategies to support, donors should take into account their personal interests and outlook to find the best fit. They should also keep an eye out for emerging opportunities to give with maximum impact to improve school scholarship giving. Here, we offer a few insights and suggestions:

  • Find a focus. What aspect of school scholarships are you passionate about, or where do you have knowledge or a personal connection? Alumni giving is a popular starting point. Are you the first in your family to graduate from college? Maybe the answers to these questions will help you focus on particular scholarship programs to support. And don’t just think about your alma mater: Community colleges, tribal schools and other colleges that focus on BIPOC students, low-income students and first-generation students frequently have fewer affluent alumni in a position to support scholarship giving.

  • Don’t go it alone. Intermediaries and philanthropy-serving organizations can do a huge amount of the leg work of identifying opportunities in the field, and getting involved with one of these groups is a great way for donors to save time and give more effectively. Groups to know about include the National Scholarship Providers Association and Grantmakers for Education’s Postsecondary Access and Attainment Impact Group. Intermediaries for Scale is a program of the Gates Foundation focusing on intermediaries, including Achieving the Dream and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, that are working to transform higher education institutions and reduce college success disparities. 

For Donors Getting Started

Donors who are new to this space should take the time to learn about the landscape. A good place to start is by reading IP’s recent coverage on giving for school scholarships. To learn about giving for college completion, check out IP’s separate guide on the subject. (Scholarships help students in need get to college; giving for college completion helps students navigate the college experience and get to graduation.) Organizations including the Institute for College Access & Success, National College Access Network, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and American Council on Education also provide a lot of helpful information on this topic. 

To find charities working on school scholarships that are well respected, Charity Navigator is a reputable place to search for worthy organizations around the country. 

The best way to get started giving for scholarships is to make some initial gifts, get to know the work of the groups you’re supporting, and connect early with a funding intermediary that can help you learn more about this area and increase your giving in a thoughtful way.

Have suggestions for improving this brief? Please email us at editor@insidephilanthropy.com.