The San Diego Foundation Offers $3 Million in Scholarships

For Immediate Release

San Diego students can apply for 140+ college scholarships by March 10 deadline

February 1, 2022 – San Diego, CA – The San Diego Foundation announced today that it has opened its Common Scholarship Application with $3 million available in scholarships for local college students. Students can apply at SDFoundation.org/scholarships through March 10, 2022.

Through one online application, students can access more than 140 unique types of scholarships, including those for four-year universities, two-year colleges, graduate and vocational schools. Scholarships are available for graduating high school seniors, undergraduates, graduate, medical and professional school students, and adult re-entry students.

“To foster equity of opportunity in San Diego, we need to support historically under-resourced college students,” said Danielle Valenciano, Director of Community Scholarships for The San Diego Foundation. “Scholarship support helps students start and finish college, and research shows that for every $1,000 of grant or scholarship support, a student is 5 percent more likely to continue their education.”

The scholarships are made possible through the Community Scholarship Program and Community Scholars Initiative at The San Diego Foundation. Both programs give more San Diego students the tools and financial support to continue their education. As part of its program, the Community Scholars Initiative works with local college access organizations to help hundreds more low-income and first-generation students prepare for, pay for and persist through college.

In 2021, The San Diego Foundation announced the historic awarding of more than $3.4 million in college scholarships – the highest annual amount ever – to 1,025 local students for the 2021 – 2022 academic year.

Among the 2021 – 2022 scholarship recipients, 69 percent were first-generation college students, or the first in their immediate families to pursue a higher education, and 96 percent were considered low-to-middle-income students based on their Earned Family Contribution data.

The Community Scholarship Program is made possible through the generous donor support of 146 unique charitable funds at The San Diego Foundation and is the largest in the region outside of the university system. Since 1997, the program has awarded nearly $40 million to more than 10,000 college students from San Diego.

If you are interested in opening a scholarship fund to support students fueling our San Diego economy, please contact Danielle Valenciano, Director of Community Scholarships, at DanielleV@SDFoundation.org.