Regional Center for Scholarships

July 2025 - Published in: 2024 Annual Report - Of the 297 funds that have been established, 106 of them are scholarships. These scholarship funds have been established by individuals, families, businesses and other organizations who want to help students achieve their educational and career goals. Each scholarship has unique eligibility criteria defined by the donors who established the funds; criteria can include items such as interests and career goals, academic achievement, financial need, and town residence. Scholarships are available to graduating high school seniors, current college students, and adult learners who are or will be attending career certification programs, technical or vocational schools, or two or four-year colleges or universities. There are also scholarships available for students attending elementary and secondary private schools in local communities.

Applications become available annually on January 15th and are due by mid-March. Between those times, the grantmaking team at the Foundation work to ensure that all students are aware of the opportunities and that applications are submitted. It begins with an annual Coffee and Conversation meeting with school counselors from all high schools in the towns served as well as local technical high schools. School counselors are critical, and information about the current-year scholarship program is disseminated so they can encourage applications while guiding their students through the process. However, sometimes the Foundation need to get down to the level of the students. Local high schools regularly invite MSCF staff into their schools for college and career fairs, scholarship workshops, speaking opportunities in front of specific classes, or a presentation to the entire graduating class. The Foundation works one-on-one with students during these times, answering questions about the application, working through a student’s specific situation and ensuring that they do meet the criteria. In 2024, MSCF staff went into the high schools a dozen times for this purpose.

Other outreach and advertising techniques are deployed as well, especially ones that reach current college students and adult learners. At the same time, the Foundation has become a center for those seeking advice on finding and applying for scholarships in general, fielding dozens of questions and calls during the scholarship cycle.

All work surrounding the scholarship program is done to not only help students achieve their educational and career goals while easing their financial burden, but to also ensure that donor intent is being met by working to find the students that best meet the criteria of each scholarship.