Surprisingly, it doesn’t require tens of thousands of dollars to enable a qualified student to go to college. In fact, our average annual scholarship award is $3,000. These scholarships–combined with school-provided financial aid, government financial aid programs, and personal payment–enable students to pursue their studies.
Our Scholarship Program requires that applicants have attended high school in Santa Barbara County and plan to be full-time students at an approved vocational school, community college, four-year college, or graduate or medical school. Students complete an application that includes an essay, academic transcripts, extracurricular activities list, an academic recommendation letter, an employer or other supervisor recommendation letter, and parent and student financial information. Applications are evaluated by our professional program staff and each qualified new applicant receives a personal interview by a community volunteer.
- The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara does not charge an administrative fee to scholarship fund donors. The entire amount of your scholarship gift goes directly to deserving students.
- You may work with the Scholarship Foundation to establish selection criteria for your fund to give preference to a particular segment of students or field of study.
- For both Annual and Endowed Scholarship Funds, you decide on the name for the fund. Perhaps you might want to honor or remember a loved one, or recognize your family.
- As a Scholarship Fund donor, you’ll receive written profiles describing the students you are supporting each year, as well as thank you letters from the scholarship recipients, keeping you closely tied to the impact of your gift.
Annual Scholarship Funds
The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara manages scholarship funds for individuals, families, business, foundations, and civic groups. Starting at $3,000, you may establish a named scholarship to support deserving local students attending two-year colleges, four-year colleges, graduate/medical schools, or vocational schools. You retain the flexibility to renew your gift each year.
Endowed Scholarship Funds
Gifts of $60,000 or more may be designated to establish an endowed scholarship fund. The Scholarship Foundation will invest the principal and use the earnings to provide scholarships for worthy undergraduate or graduate students in perpetuity. The Scholarship Foundation’s assets are invested as a whole, with return on investments credited pro-rata to each individual scholarship fund. You may add to the fund at any time.
For more information, contact Nicole Jones, Associate Director of Development, at (805) 687-6065 or [email protected].
Make a gift now using our secure online giving form:
One-hundred percent of scholarship gifts go directly to deserving students. The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara does not charge an administrative fee to scholarship fund donors.