Denver Foundation Community Scholarship

The Denver Foundation Community Scholarship was established to support first-generation, economically disadvantaged college students pursuing post-secondary education. The Denver Foundation is committed to racial equity and believes strongly in the power of education to change students’ futures. That’s why we created The Denver Foundation Community Scholarship.

Eligibility

• Be a first-generation college student
• Planning to enroll in OR be currently enrolled at a Colorado-accredited, public, post-secondary institution
• Demonstrates economic hardship through completion of the FAFSA, CAFSA, or additional financial need-specific questions
• Demonstrates community involvement through work or volunteering
• Cumulative unweighted GPA of 2.25+

Selection criteria

Applications will be reviewed based on:

• Academic performance
• Resilience and persistence
• Community service, leadership, and work experience
• Financial need

Award details

• Scholarship Range: $5,000
• Typical Number of Awards: 5 to 10
• This scholarship is a one-time award. However, past recipients and applicants are encouraged to reapply each year in a competitive process. Previous recipients are not guaranteed an award upon re-application. An individual may only receive an award from this fund up to a total of five times
• Award amounts may be used toward the recipient’s tuition, fees, books, room and board, and any additional cost of attendance expenses
• All scholarships will be paid directly to a recipient’s post-secondary institution. Award disbursement is contingent upon the outside scholarship policies of a recipient’s post-secondary institution
• Award must be used for the upcoming academic year

How to apply

1. Read through the eligibility criteria above to confirm you meet the requirements for this scholarship

2. Log into TDF Scholarship Manager and apply for the Universal Scholarship

3. Prepare and submit the following items:

• List of all extracurricular activities, community volunteering opportunities, and paid/unpaid work experiences you have had
• Transcript
• Response to the following prompt(s):
  • Where and how do you show leadership in your day-to-day life/activities? (5,000 characters or approximately 800 words)
  • What would you like to study after high school OR are currently studying at a college-level? What inspired your interest in this area? What do you hope to achieve with a degree in this field? (5,000 characters or approximately 800 words)

At a Glance

Status: Open

Opening Date: December 15, 2025

Closing Date: February 27, 2026

Typical Scholarship Range: $5,000

Application

The Denver Foundation will be utilizing a universal application process for many of our competitive scholarship opportunities. The universal application helps to match you with all available scholarship opportunities through a series of questions in the first half of the process.

After completing the first half of the process, you will be asked to complete supplemental questions for all scholarship opportunities you were matched with. Learn more about how universal applications work by watching this short, 5-minute video.

Our online portal allows applicants to save and edit their work as well as apply for multiple scholarship opportunities. Click the Apply button below to register on The Denver Foundation’s Scholarship Manager to complete your online application. For support using our online system please email help@denverfoundation.org.