How to Set Up a Scholarship

Creating a scholarship is an excellent way to accomplish a number of things. It allows you to support students, honor someone important to you, invest in your community, or possibly all of these things at once. To create a scholarship program, you will need to decide who it will serve, secure funding, establish application requirements, develop a rubric for selecting recipients, and determine how scholarship funds will be paid. This guide will assist you with those decisions, starting with your first idea and taking you all the way to and through announcing your scholarship recipients.

Starting a scholarship at a glance

• Define who the scholarship will support and set a budget for awards, administration, and promotion.
• Assign responsibilities and publish clear eligibility requirements, deadlines, and selection criteria.
• Test and promote the application, select recipients, and distribute the awards.

How do I start a scholarship?

Set a goal and a realistic plan for awarding the scholarship. Before announcing your scholarship, you will need to perform each of these steps:

1. Write a mission statement explaining who the scholarship will help and why.
2. Confirm funding and decide how many awards you will offer.
3. Hire a third-party organization or build an in-house team to administer the program.
4. Establish firm and clear eligibility requirements and a selection process.
5. Create the application, scholarship rules, and public information page.
6. Establish a timeline; dates for applications, review, recipient notification, and payment.
7. Thoroughly test the process and ensure viability and notify eligible students.
8. Review scholarship applications, select recipients, and distribute the funds.

Who will your scholarship support?

Your scholarship’s purpose should guide its eligibility requirements. A memorial scholarship might recognize a person’s interests or community involvement. A professional association might support students preparing for careers in its field or potentially an adjacent field. A local organization might focus on students from nearby schools or within a particular county, region or state.

Choose requirements that serve that purpose and that applicants can easily understand. For each requirement, decide how students will demonstrate that they qualify.

Eligibility criteria to consider

• Current grade level or college enrollment status
• City, county, state, or school attended
• Intended major, career field, or training program
• Academic performance or other demonstrated achievements
• Financial need
• Community service, leadership, or extracurricular involvement
• Participation in a particular organization or program
• Plans to attend an eligible college, university, or career school

It is critical to keep the requirements focused. A particularly important and often overlooked part of the process is figuring out how many applications you would like to receive and how many you can actually manage.

If your eligibility requirements are not strict enough, you may get overwhelmed with more applicants than you can realistically consider. On the other hand, if they are too strict, you will have trouble getting as many applications as you might like. Start with broad strokes and carefully narrow your prospects. Each additional restriction reduces the number of eligible students. Have your administrator or qualified adviser review eligibility rules for compliance before publishing them.

How much does it cost to start a scholarship?

It is important to take all aspects of offering, managing, judging and promoting your scholarship. Your overall budget includes not only the money awarded to students, but also the cost of running the program. There are a number of facets to running the program, as you will discover as you delve deeper into the process. Start with funding you can reliably provide, then decide whether to offer a single, large award, a couple of middling scholarships or several smaller ones. 

For example, a $10,000 award budget could fund one $10,000 scholarship, two $5,000 scholarships, or five $2,000 scholarships. You could even offer twenty $1,000, if you like. Aany application software, third-party administrative services, and promotion would need to fit within a separate budget or reduce the amount you are able to distribute to the winners of your scholarship.

Expenses to include in your budget

• Scholarship payments
• Application hosting or software
• Administrative support
• Application review
• Legal and accounting assistance
• Website development and maintenance
• Promotion
• Payment processing and recordkeeping

If an award is renewable, you need to calculate the full commitment. A $2,000 scholarship renewable for four years means you will need to have up to $8,000 for one recipient. Adding new recipients each year increases that ongoing commitment.

Who should administer the scholarship?

Who is going to be responsible for answering emails and maintaining the application? You will also have to decide who will coordinate reviewers, notify recipients, and arrange payments once the selection process has concluded. All of these things need to be thought out and established before applications open.

If you decide to go with a third-party scholarship administrator, you will need to contact potential partners and ask about their services, fees, minimum funding requirements, and how much involvement you can have in the program. If you are completely new to the process, you should interview more than one option to fill your scholarship administration needs.

Do I need to create a foundation?

Creating a new foundation is one way to go about it but you may want to consider other options as well. An existing organization may offer management services and/or tools that meet your needs and fit within your budget. Compare the services and tools as well as the costs of that option with running the program yourself. Keep in mind the time and human resources it will take to keep it in-house.

The appropriate structure depends on your circumstances. Private foundations making certain educational grants to individuals are subject to specific IRS requirements, including advance approval of grantmaking procedures. Review the IRS guidance on grants to individuals with a qualified legal or tax adviser before launching a program through a private foundation.

What should the scholarship application include?

Initially, you will need to gather information that helps you confirm eligibility and evaluate applicants. Make sure the application process is reasonable given the number and dollar amount of awards. For example, you should avoid a process that requires applicants to spend several hours applying for a single, $500 scholarship that is open to a pool of tens of thousands of students. Additionally, you should be sure to explain why supporting documents, such as transcripts, essay, letter of recommendation, or FAFSA are required. Below are some of the basic requirements one would use to determine applicant eligibility.

• Applicant name, email address, and other necessary contact details
• Current school, grade level or year in college, and intended field of study, if applicable
• Questions that confirm eligibility, such as residency, GPA, or enrollment status
• An essay, short response, or project that directly addresses the selection criteria
• Supporting documents, such as a transcript or recommendation letter, only when needed
• Confirmation that the applicant has reviewed the scholarship rules and privacy information

It's a good idea to wait until you have selected finalists to request the required documents you need to verify eligibility. The reduces the amount of time and energy those who aren't awarded the scholarship will have to spend on the process and saves your team from collecting and storing the data in the bargain.

Make the application easy to complete

• Let students review all requirements and required materials before beginning the application process
• Specify word limits, accepted file formats, and maximum file sizes
• Use a mobile-friendly form that works well on phones and computers
• Clearly identify errors and explain how to correct them
• Send a confirmation email so applicants know their submission was received
• Provide a contact email for application questions or accessibility support

What rules should you publish?

Don't skimp on information when it comes to the scholarship rules and description. Students should be able to determine whether they qualify and they should also be made to understand the application process before sharing their personal information. Publish the rules on a dedicated scholarship page and link to it from the application. Include a brief introduction to the sponsoring organization, the scholarship’s purpose, and any relevant history. To help students understand the level of competition, state how many awards are available and, if known, the number of applications received in previous years.

• Identify the scholarship and the organization responsible for administering it.
• Specify the dollar amount of each award and the number of recipients.
• Clearly define who is eligible to apply, including all requirements recipients must meet.
• List the application opening date and submission deadline, including the time zone.
• Explain what applicants must submit and how to submit it.
• Describe the judging criteria, review process, and how recipients will be selected.
• State when and how recipients will be notified and how long they have to accept before an alternate applicant will be selected.
• Explain which expenses the award may cover, who receives the payment, and when funds will be distributed.
• Describe any renewal requirements and how long recipients will receive funding.
• Explain how applicant information will be used, shared, and retained.
• Disclose any requests or requirements to use a recipient’s name, photo, or story publicly.
• Provide contact information for questions about the scholarship or application.

How should you schedule the scholarship?

Start with the date recipients need their funds and plan backward; estimating the amount of time you will need for each stage of the process, being careful to allow enough time for review and selection. Allow time to promote the opportunity, complete applications, review submissions, confirm eligibility, and coordinate payment with the receiving institution.

If this is your first year offering a scholarship, you would be well advised to build in extra review time. The number of applications and the effort required to evaluate them may be difficult to predict. Padding the review period a bit ensures you will be able to give all applicants fair and equal consideration before ultimately selecting a winner or winners.

• Before applications open, confirm funding, publish the rules, test the application, and assign reviewers
• Allow applicants sufficient time to learn about the scholarship, gather materials, and submit their applications
• During the application period, respond to questions and address technical problems promptly
• After the deadline, screen applications for eligibility and allow reviewers time to evaluate submissions using the published criteria
• Before announcing recipients, notify those selected, confirm their acceptance, and collect any documents needed to verify eligibility
• Schedule payments to arrive when recipients need them, allowing time for processing by the receiving institution
• Confirm that funds were received and keep records of each award and payment

How do you promote a scholarship?

No matter how well-funded your scholarship is, it is probably going to need promotion to reach the requisite number of qualified applicants. Start by identifying where eligible students are likely to hear about the opportunity and which schools, organizations, and communities can help you reach them. A scholarship for nursing students, for example, will benefit from outreach to nursing programs and professional associations, while a local award may receive more relevant applications through area high schools and community organizations. Beyond these, you may also submit your scholarship to be offered at Scholarships.com to expand its reach and connect with students whose profiles match your eligibility requirements.

Direct all outreach to a dedicated scholarship page with current eligibility requirements, award details, deadlines, and a working application link. Begin promoting when applications open and continue throughout the application period. Keep the page updated year-round, clearly indicating whether applications are open and publishing the next application dates when available. Include all information you would want or expect to find on a scholarship page if you were the prospective applicant.

After selecting recipients, celebrate their achievements by sharing their names and, with their permission, photos, winning essays, and college or graduate school plans. Highlight how the scholarship will help support their education so future applicants can see its impact. This will inspire others and help get the word out for the next application cycle.

• Submit the scholarship to established scholarship search platforms, including Scholarships.com, so students can discover it while searching for financial assistance
• Reach out to school counselors and college financial aid offices to share the opportunity through student emails, scholarship lists, and newsletters
• Contact academic departments, student groups, professional associations, and community organizations whose members match your eligibility requirements
• Promote the scholarship through your organization’s website, email newsletters, and social media, and encourage employees, members, and partners to share it
• Make sharing easy by providing a short announcement with the award amount, key eligibility requirements, deadline, and direct link to the scholarship page
• Schedule reminders throughout the application period, giving students enough time to prepare their materials before the deadline
• Track which outreach channels generate the most eligible applications so you can focus future promotion on the sources that work best

List your scholarship on Scholarships.com

Review our Scholarship Provider Guidelines before submitting your opportunity. Your scholarship page should clearly explain the award and give students a direct way to apply. Submission is subject to review and does not guarantee a listing.

When your scholarship is ready, submit your scholarship for consideration.

How do you select scholarship recipients?

Develop a scoring rubric before reviewing applications. Tell reviewers what each criterion means and how much weight it receives. For subjective responses, such as essays, provide examples of what distinguishes a strong response.

• Verify eligibility before scoring applications
• Give reviewers the same instructions and scoring criteria
• Establish how conflicts of interest will be handled
• Use multiple reviewers when practical
• Decide how ties will be resolved
• Keep a record of scores and selection decisions for future reference and review
• Confirm finalists meet the published requirements before awarding the scholarship

How do you notify and pay recipients?

Notify selected students using the method and timeline published in your scholarship rules. It's important to set the expectations from the beginning and then meet them so the student has the assurances and confidence in the process they need. Allow a reasonable amount of time to respond, follow up if necessary, and have a process for offering the award to an alternate if a student declines or does not respond. The lack of response is something that may happen more frequently than you expect, so it's important to have strict rules around this part of the process.

Explain when funds will be distributed, whether payment will go directly to the recipient or their school, and any restrictions on how the award may be used. If paying a college or university, confirm the recipient’s enrollment and obtain the institution’s scholarship payment instructions. Include the student’s identifying information and intended academic term as required so the payment can be credited correctly. Keep payment records and confirm that the funds were received.

Once recipients have accepted and their eligibility has been verified, announce the results on your scholarship page. Get a signed affidavit stating that you have the recipient's permission before sharing names, photos, essays, personal stories, or college plans, and make any publicity requirements clear in the application rules.

Scholarship launch checklist

Before opening applications, make sure your team can deliver the scholarship as advertised, from the first application through the final payment.

• Confirm that funding covers every advertised award and the costs of administering and promoting the scholarship
• Finalize eligibility requirements, required application materials, and the criteria reviewers will use to select recipients
• Publish the application opening date, deadline and time zone, expected notification date, and payment schedule
• Create a scholarship page that clearly explains the opportunity and links directly to the application
• Complete a test application on both a phone and a computer, checking links, uploads, error messages, and submission confirmations
• Assign reviewers, establish a scoring rubric, and set deadlines for completing reviews and selecting recipients
• Prepare promotional materials and schedule outreach to schools, relevant organizations, and scholarship search platforms such as Scholarships.com
• Assign someone to monitor applicant questions and resolve application problems throughout the submission period
• Publish scholarship rules and privacy information, including how applicant information will be used and any recipient publicity requirements
• Establish procedures for verifying eligibility, obtaining acceptance, and contacting alternates when necessary
• Confirm how payments will be issued, what information receiving institutions require, and who will verify that funds arrive
• Assign responsibility for announcing recipients and updating the scholarship page when applications close and the next cycle is scheduled

Frequently asked questions about starting a scholarship

Can I start a scholarship in someone’s memory?

Yes. A memorial scholarship can reflect the person’s interests, work, education, or community involvement. Decide who will administer the fund and how it will be supported in future years.

Does a scholarship have to be offered every year?

You can design a one-time award or a recurring program. Clearly state which you are offering, and avoid promising future awards before funding is committed. Be sure to communicate with all those who are assisting you in promotion so they know whether to activate, inactivate, update or remove your scholarship.

Should I require an essay?

Require an essay only if it really helps evaluate something important to your scholarship’s purpose. A focused, short response may provide enough information while making the application more manageable for students and reviewers alike. I don't recommend asking for 500-1,000 words on a random topic just to see how the prospects will respond or as a "hurdle" for them to clear.

Can I make the scholarship renewable?

Yes, if your program is designed and funded for renewal. Publish the maximum duration, renewal amount, eligibility conditions, and any annual verification requirements. Just make sure funding is in place or will be prior to the launch each year. Don't open the application process without sufficient funds.

What should I do after the first award cycle?

Review application volume, completion rates, reviewer workload, applicant questions, and payment timing. Use that information to improve the next cycle, and update the scholarship page before reopening applications.

Ready to share your scholarship?

Once your funding, rules, and application are ready, review the Scholarship Provider Guidelines and submit your scholarship to Scholarships.com for consideration.