SPSCC Foundation scholarships make tuition affordable and college accessible for students.
The SPSCC Foundation proudly awards more than 400 scholarships every academic year, helping students pursue their educational dreams. Scholarships help cover a student’s tuition and fees and are awarded through an open application process.
Annual Scholarships are a way to make an immediate difference in a student’s life. They are funded by annual donations and vary in amount based on the donation. Each scholarship is fully awarded each year based on donor contributions and provides critical support to students. Whether you want to renew your support annually, offer a one-time scholarship to honor a special occasion, memorialize a loved one, or supplement a scholarship endowment while it matures, annual scholarships give you the flexibility to make an impact right away.
Starting an Annual Scholarship
It takes a minimum contribution of $1,500 to establish a stand-alone scholarship. For smaller donations, you can contribute to our Student Success Scholarship fund, which pools donations to award larger scholarships for students.
Scholarships may be one-time offerings or renewed and awarded annually.
All Foundation scholarships are awarded via an open application process and a standard set of criteria. You may choose to designate your scholarship for a particular field or area of study.
Annual Scholarship Awarding Practices
Contributions to an annual scholarship incur a Processing Fee of 5% at the time the donation is received. All remaining funds will be fully spent as one or more scholarships (per your preferences) in the same fiscal year that we receive them.
Scholarship endowments are sustained by earnings from an invested (endowed) donation. Endowed gifts can be donated all at once or in multiple installments over a few years. Once the endowment is fully-funded and has had time to mature (typically 3-5 years), a portion of the earnings is utilized each academic year to award one or more scholarships.
Unspent earnings remain in the endowment to foster continued growth. The original donated amount, known as the corpus, remains intact and can continue to grow through additional contributions.
Starting a Scholarship Endowment
Scholarship endowments require a minimum contribution of $25,000, payable either in a lump sum or spread over a period of up to five years. After reaching full funding, it typically takes 3-5 years for the endowment to mature and generate enough earnings to fund a scholarship. Once the endowment is mature, a portion of the earnings is withdrawn each year to award as you have directed.
If you want to begin awarding a scholarship right away, you can choose to make an additional contribution to fund annual scholarships while your endowment matures. These additional funds are fully awarded each year and do not contribute to the corpus of your endowment.
Endowment Spending Policies
Once an endowment is mature, our Finance Committee (made up of Foundation Board members) can elect to withdraw up to 5% of the 3-year rolling average of the endowment’s market value for scholarship awarding.
Contributions to an endowment do not incur a fee at the time of the donation. However, endowments incur an annual fee of up to 5% of the 3-year rolling average of the endowment’s earnings.
Scholarships open doors for SPSCC students, easing financial barriers and making education possible. Whether you give annually or create an endowed scholarship, your contribution helps students and strengthens our community. Contact us at foundation@spscc.edu or call 360-596-5430 to learn how to establish a scholarship.
If you are interested in supporting SPSCC scholarships without creating a new scholarship, you can also consider giving to the general Student Success Scholarship Fund.
SPSCC has given me the opportunity to advance my education while also playing a vital role in the community.
Bryten G.
Associate in Pre Nursing
Our scholarship opportunities are made possible thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, community supporters, and local businesses. Your contributions help amplify student success, turning dreams into reality and creating a lasting impact in our region. We are deeply grateful for your commitment to empowering the next generation and making the sound of success resonate throughout our community. Together, we are building brighter futures.
