Our scholarships are restricted to current residents of the eight counties of Western New York. Students must be permanent residents of Western New York, have been admitted to a nonprofit, accredited school in the United States for full-time study at the undergraduate level and have at least a 2.0 GPA. Students who attend college outside Western New York remain eligible if they maintain a permanent residence in Western New York. In addition, Pell eligible applicants attending school within the eight counties of Western New York will be given strong preference in the award decision process. A limited number of scholarships are available for graduate students in specialized fields (architecture, arts, engineering, medicine, nursing, piano, environment, and wildlife).
Since 1924, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo has been awarding scholarships to students from Western New York. In 2022, the Community Foundation remained as one of the region’s largest scholarship providers, awarding scholarships totaling $3 million to nearly 3,000 Western New York students. The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo is accredited by the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations for operational quality, client service and accountability in the community foundation sector, which confirms that we have met “the most rigorous standards in philanthropy.”