Your scholarship support enables our students to dedicate their time to their studies and succeed academically. You also decrease the amount of money our students may otherwise need to borrow while increasing their earning power by 30% when they complete their degrees. Knowing their community is behind them, and believes in them, is transformative as they get their new careers off the ground.
Scholarships are awarded annually to students. Recipients may be entering from high school, continuing their studies at one of our colleges, or transferring to a four-year institution. Awards range from $500 – $2,000 or higher. Scholarship committees at each of the colleges review the scholarship applications and select the award recipients based on the established criteria for each scholarship. Payments are made through the financial aid office upon verification of enrollment at one of the SMCCCD colleges or a transfer institution.
To make a gift to support our general scholarship program, our District-wide Promise Program Fund that provides critical wraparound services to remove barriers to success, or a scholarship at a particular college, please feel free to donate online. Should you want to support a particular scholarship or field-of study, visit academicworks to review the full list of available scholarships and donate online by naming the scholarship in the “Other” line.
You may also donate cash, checks, stocks, bonds, real property, or a planned gift (bequest) to establish a named permanent scholarship fund of your own design. The minimum is $20,000 and our Ways to Give page will provide you more information on the gifting process. Our team will work with you on the details of the scholarship, so we encourage you to contact us either by calling or emailing us.
We look forward to working with you to make a difference in the lives of our students now and in the future.