Establishing a Scholarship is Easy...

Selection criteria, selection committee composition, application requirements and other details can be tailored to meet donor requirements and preferences. Donors include corporate partners, charitable foundations, professional associations, community service organizations and private citizens.

Privately funded scholarships are structured in four ways:

1. Annual Giving Awards - Generally donors establish annual giving funds in which they donate gifts to be placed in a scholarship fund of WNC. The sum may or may not change annually per donor wishes. Annually the Foundation office confirms donor participation and posts scholarship availability accordingly.
2. One-time Awards - Donors may establish scholarship awards which are awarded once or in designated increments until funds are exhausted. Memorial donations are often established as this type of scholarship.
3. Endowment Funds - Generally donors establish an endowment with a minimum of $10,500, allowing a scholarship of $500 to be awarded the first year. The WNC Foundation expends interest earned during a fiscal year as the scholarship amount, leaving the principal intact to allow the scholarship to exist in perpetuity. Donors may elect to create an endowment with annual donations over a period of a few years. Additional gifts to the fund may be made at any time.
4. Post-only Awards - Sometimes donors offer scholarships which are handled entirely outside of the scholarship program of the college. In such cases, WNC simply makes such scholarship information available. All other requirements and contact are directly between donor and applicant.