Strategic Scholarship Giving for Student Success Insights and Approaches from 10 Years of Grantmaking

In California, a vibrant future depends on our ability to dramatically increase the number of students who get to and through college. We cannot accomplish this without better supporting low-income students and those underrepresented in higher education—who are the vast majority of students in our state.

Many of these students lack the knowledge about how to apply to and successfully navigate through college, and the funds to pay the bills. Handled  strategically, scholarships can make college success and a better life possible for more students, and in the process, benefit more communities and our state as a whole.

Over the past 10 years, College Futures Foundation—formerly called College Access Foundation of California—has provided $100 million in scholarships to more than 20,000 low-income students across the state. (See the final page of this report for details on the demographic makeup of our current scholars.) Since 2008, we have collected data to follow their trajectories and outcomes. We have learned a great deal from our students, our partners and grantees, and other research taking place in the field. These lessons have guided a new chapter of our work—one focused on ensuring all California students have the opportunity to attend and succeed in college. Our goal is to increase the rate of bachelor’s degree completion among California student populations that are low-income and have had historically low college success rates. Our strategy supports successful transitions from high school through college, regional partnerships to increase college attainment, and improved policy and practice.

We remain convinced that scholarships are an important and powerful tool that can be leveraged for better student outcomes. Our continued investments show how scholarships can be used in a number of ways, for example, to engage diverse stakeholders in business and community around the aim of
higher attainment, to raise awareness about public financial aid, and to address opportunity gaps among specific population groups, such as young men of color.

Through our Community Philanthropy for Student Success Initiative, College Futures Foundation is partnering with eight community foundations serving regions that together account for 60% of California’s low-income students. These foundations are working to create sustainable funding for need-based scholarships to help more young people succeed. We are encouraged by their leadership and early signs of progress. We expect to continue to serve students and those interested in fueling their success in a variety of ways, including through ongoing data collection, analysis, and sharing on this topic.

In this report, we offer the insights and recommendations emerging from our extensive involvement with scholarships—with hopes that they advance the work of fellow foundations, philanthropists, college access and success groups, and others who care deeply about achieving better outcomes for our students and our state.