Many in our CMF community support pathways to higher education, especially through scholarship programs. These programs can vary by foundation type, donor intent, community need and more.

As we look ahead to a new school year, how can philanthropy ensure equity is embedded in the design and implementation of scholarship programs?

Last week CMF co-hosted a conversation through our Midwest Community Foundation Webinar Series, exploring how community foundations are strategically designing their scholarship programs with a focus on equity and attainment.

The session, facilitated by Colette Hadley, the National College Attainment Network’s (NCAN) director of consulting services and Liz Newman, senior community engagement associate for the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities, walked through the barriers students can face when applying for scholarships and how community foundations are reimagining their scholarship programs to reduce those barriers and encourage more students to apply.

According to Hadley, on average, private and employer funds—including scholarships—make up 13% of a student’s financial aid for college, meaning that these funds can make or break a student’s ability to attend college. Students whose families make $106,000 a year or more tend to earn 13% of all private scholarships, while students whose families make less than $30,000 a year only earn 9%.

Application requirements such as GPA, test scores and participation in activities or competitions can be a barrier for students to apply and/or be selected to receive scholarship dollars.

To shift scholarship programs towards equity for all students, Hadley and Newman suggest foundations take the following into consideration when designing and implementing scholarship programs:

• Understanding the college prep, degree completion and economic data. This includes student characteristics, demographics, readiness, regional workforce trends, available student support services, providers and scholarship programs. This data helps show which students can be most impacted through scholarship programs based on economic and demographic trends.

• Assessing the foundation’s current scholarship program. Foundations should analyze their scholarship application processes to identify key barriers preventing students from applying. Furthermore, foundations should assess their outreach, messaging, platforms, requirements, scholarship amounts and other factors to maximize impact for students and to minimize hurdles for applicants.

• Educating and informing current and prospective donors. Hadley and Newman encourage community foundations to work with donors to ensure the requirements they set up for scholarship funds are accessible to a wide range of students. This can help donors learn about community needs and how more accessible scholarship application processes can benefit more students who face barriers to college access and attainment, as well as those creating more impact in their communities.

• Effectively measuring and reporting the impact of the scholarship program. By analyzing graduation rates, the average financial aid packages local students get and scholarship attainment rates, foundations can show donors where funds are most needed and where their donations can have a greater impact.

“These types of programs will help you engage with donors by showing them the opportunity gaps in your communities and to maximize their return on investment by showing that the impact on low-income students is much greater,” Newman said. “If the foundation’s goal is to increase college attainment, then more resources need to go to low-income students who are college-ready but so often left out of the scholarship pools.”

One example from our CMF community is the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation’s (AAACF) scholarship program which “provides economically disadvantaged, youth of color, and first-generation college students with financial assistance and holistic support as they transition to college and navigate their way toward degree attainment.”

Established in 2016, the Community Scholarship Program (CSP) is a partnership between AAACF, local school districts and local colleges and universities to not only provide scholarship funds (a maximum of $20,000 dispersed over up to five years) but also emergency financial aid and funding if needed and a college success coach to ensure students have the means for academic success.

Since its founding, the program has given over $1.5 million in scholarships to 73 CSP scholars, most of whom identify as students of color, students from lower economic backgrounds and first-generation college students.

“[CSP] gives students a chance to have access to means of support that many of these students would not have access to, whether its financial, social or the cultural aspect that comes along with being a college student,” Kendra Agee, a CSP college success coach said. “Having that level of access for students who are first-generation, students of color, or from low socio-economic backgrounds is very imperative to their overall success.”

Want more?

Watch the webinar: Strategically Designing Community Foundation Scholarship Programs for a Focus on Equity and Attainment.

Learn more about AAACF’s Community Scholarship Program.