Most guides to starting a scholarship fund stop at the money: which account to open, which foundation to set up, which forms to file. Those steps matter, but they are not where most scholarships struggle. The harder part comes later, when the fund exists and the right students still do not know about it.
This guide covers both halves. First the decisions you need to make before the fund exists, then the part most guides skip: choosing winners fairly and reaching the students the scholarship is meant for.
We write from experience. Since 2010, universities and organisations have used StudentCompetitions.com to award scholarships through competitions, from a full scholarship with living costs at KTH Royal Institute of Technology to partial scholarships at Nottingham Business School.
1. Decide what the scholarship is for
Start with one sentence: who should this scholarship help, and with what? The answer shapes every later decision.
- Who: high school students, bachelor students, master students or researchers. A field of study, a region or a group that is under-represented in your sector.
- What it covers: tuition only, tuition and living costs, a programme fee, a summer school or a research stay. A full scholarship changes a life. A partial scholarship can still decide whether a student can say yes.
- Why you are doing it: to widen access to education, to build a pipeline of future talent, to honour a person or to show what your organisation stands for. Be honest about the reason, because it decides what success looks like.
2. Choose how the fund is set up
There are several common structures, and the right one depends on your country, your budget and how involved you want to be:
- Through a university: many universities have a scholarship office that can manage a named scholarship for you. This is often the simplest route for a company or a private donor.
- Through an existing foundation or fund: community foundations and similar organisations can hold the money and handle payments.
- Your own foundation: the most control, and the most administration.
- From your organisation's own budget: common for companies that want to award a scholarship each year without a separate legal structure.
The rules for foundations, donations and scholarships differ between countries. Talk to a qualified adviser before you choose a structure.
3. Set the size and the timeline
Decide how much each award is worth, how many awards you give and how often. A one-off scholarship is easier to start. A yearly scholarship builds recognition, because students and teachers start to expect it.
Work backwards from the date the money is needed. If the scholarship pays tuition for an academic year, applications usually need to close months before term starts. Leave time for review, interviews and the paperwork on the student's side.
4. Choose winners with a fair process
A scholarship is only as credible as its selection. Many scholarships ask for grades and a letter. Others use a competition format, and that is where we have seen the most engaged applicants.
A competition-style scholarship gives every applicant the same task: an essay, a case, an idea or a short project. The jury scores every entry against the same criteria. Some of the universities that have run scholarship challenges through StudentCompetitions.com:
- KTH Masters Challenge 2015: a full scholarship and living costs paid for at KTH.
- The Blue Bag Competition 2015: a full scholarship and living costs at Lund University.
- Nottingham Business School Scholarship Challenge 2017: a partial scholarship for a master's degree.
- Estonian Business School Scholarship Challenge.
- CEIBS Summer Pre-MBA Boot Camp Challenge: a 100% scholarship for a week at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai.
The winners came from India, Indonesia, Malawi, Malaysia and other countries. Ruthie Malikha from Malawi, who won the Nottingham challenge, put it this way: "A partial scholarship will help me to be able to afford to pursue my dreams in attaining a masters of economics which I would otherwise not be able to afford."
A few practical rules for a fair process:
- Publish the criteria and their weights before applications open, so every applicant knows what counts.
- Judge entries without names where you can. It reduces bias and makes the result easier to defend.
- Use more than one judge and compare scores before you decide.
- Keep a shortlist and a reserve in case a winner cannot accept.
5. Reach the students the scholarship is meant for
This is where many scholarships fail quietly. The fund is ready, the criteria are fair, and the applications come from the same small circle that already knew where to look.
To reach further:
- Go where students already search. Students who look for competitions, scholarships and challenges use dedicated listings and filter by field, level and region. A scholarship that is only described on your own website is hard to find.
- Describe it in the student's words. Say clearly who can apply, what they win, what they need to submit and when the deadline is. Leave the background story for later in the text.
- Give it enough time. A deadline two weeks after launch reaches only the students who were already watching.
- Make the first step small. A short form or a one-page entry gets more applicants than a long application at the start. You can ask for more from the shortlist.
StudentCompetitions.com has helped approximately 650,000 students discover opportunities since 2010, with a community across more than 50 countries. Every listing is tagged with category, education level and region, so it appears where the right students look. You can browse scholarships that are awarded as prizes to see how other organisations present theirs.
6. Tell the story afterwards
When the winner is chosen, share it. A short story with the winner's own words shows future applicants that the scholarship is real, and it shows your organisation what the money achieved. Our winners page collects stories like this from more than a decade of competitions.
Manish Sonal from India, who won the KTH Masters Challenge, said: "I was always reluctant in applying to foreign Universities due to my financial constraints. Today I am pursuing my Master's in a subject which I love and feel more confident about my future."
A short checklist
- Write one sentence on who the scholarship helps and with what.
- Choose a structure with the help of an adviser.
- Set the award size, the number of awards and the timeline.
- Publish clear criteria and judge entries fairly.
- List the scholarship where students search, with enough time before the deadline.
- Share the winner's story.
List your scholarship
You can list a scholarship, award or scholarship competition on StudentCompetitions.com for free. Pro ($129) adds featured placement in the relevant category and a placement in our newsletter. Featured ($399) adds top placement for a limited period and more newsletter visibility. List your scholarship and reach students who are actively looking for their next opportunity.
If your organisation wants a lasting presence in front of students, with a profile and regular updates in the Student Magazine, read about Membership.