Online applications for 2024 Scholarships are now open! 

Scholarship Application Deadlines
High School – March 14, 2024
Skilled Trades – March 14, 2024
College/Adult – May 30, 2024

We offer three sets of scholarships for graduating high school seniors, college or adult students (at least one year out of high school) and high school seniors or adults pursuing a Skilled Trades education (certificate or up to an Associates degree). Each grouping has an online application.

Click Here to Apply for the 2024 Scholarships

Please be aware that we are located in Shelby County, OHIO. There are many ‘Shelby Countys’ across the United States, so if you live in a state other than Ohio, it is unlikely you qualify for our awards.

Find out which scholarships might be available to you.

College Student/Adult Scholarships 2024

High School Scholarships 2024

Technical Skills Scholarships 2024

Outside Shelby County Scholarships 2024

2024 Scholarship Grid

Our Scholarship Grid provides basic information about scholarships available through the Community Foundation of Shelby County online applications. The grid is an Excel spreadsheet that may be sorted by high school, major, grade point average, residency, participation and other factors. Most scholarships have other eligibility factors not shown on the grid. To sort in Excel, select a single column and use the Sort & Filter tool in the Excel toolbar. You can also use the Custom Sort tool in the Sort & Filter section to sort by multiple columns.

Frequently Asked Questions

We combine several scholarships onto our three forms. If you are applying using one of the forms, the information you provide will determine your eligibility for one or several scholarships available through that form. For instance, some of the information you list on either General Scholarship Application (High school or Adult/Current College Student versions) will carry over to multiple scholarships. Some scholarships may require additional information, such as an essay or specific questions pertaining to a scholarship. Even though you are applying using one main scholarship form, you will need to click Submit on all of the scholarships you are applying for in order to be considered.

The 2024 Skills Scholarship Application is a separate application that both high school and adult students may use IF they are planning to enroll in a trade, technical, or adult education school or be pursuing an education that ends with an Associates. If your intended occupation requires a bachelors degree or higher, you cannot receive a Skills Scholarship. If you change your major to a non-trade/technical type of degree, you cannot receive a Skills Scholarship.

If you have questions, please contact us in the days and weeks BEFORE the deadline.  We will not accept a printed paper application form, but you may mail, email or deliver items you are unable to attach, such as letters of recommendation, your FAFSA SAI document or your transcript.

Yes! We will gladly scan your documents and attach them to your online application, if submitted before the deadline. All items must be attached and the online Submit button must be clicked by you before the deadline.

All of your scholarships should show up on your Applicant Dashboard. If you feel there is something missing, please contact Juli Smith at jsmith@commfoun.com or 937-497-7800 BEFORE the deadline.

No, the Skills Scholarship Application is a separate application that does not require all of the information on the General Scholarship Application.  In order to apply for the Skills Scholarships you must complete the separate application by clicking on the 2024 Skills Scholarship Application.

Yes, if you are pursuing an associates degree or a certificate at an accredited college or school you may be eligible for scholarships by completing both applications.  The Skills Scholarship is not for students pursuing a bachelors degree or higher.

When you complete the required questions, the system will match you to eligible scholarships.  Upon submitting the Community Foundation of Shelby County’s General Scholarship Application, you’ll be redirected to a Confirmation Page, which lists the scholarship opportunities you were eligible for and automatically applied for that didn’t require supplemental questions. You’ll also see a list of other scholarship opportunities you are eligible to apply for that require supplemental questions (essay, series of questions, etc.) and/or references. You have the option to complete the questions or decline each opportunity.

Yes, unfortunately scholarships you receive from groups outside your college may affect loans and grants awarded to you by your school or the federal government. Each college may look at your numbers differently, but in general the formula looks like this:
College Cost of Attendance (found on each college’s website)
MINUS Your Student Aid Index (SAI) calculated when you complete the FAFSA
     = Your Unmet Need

Your unmet need is where loans and grants are typically offered to you to assist with your college costs.  When you submit a scholarship check from an outside group (Community Foundation, other community groups, your parent’s employer’s scholarship program, etc.), the college may be obligated to reduce your financial aid package (need-based scholarships, subsidized and unsubsidized loans, work/study, and grants). According to College Board: “If all the aid you receive — outside scholarships, financial aid from your college, and government grants and loans — ends up being $300 or more above your calculated need, the federal government requires your college to reduce the amount of need-based financial aid it awards you.”  Each college handles the reduction differently. Please contact your college’s Financial Aid office to get their help in making this work as well as possible for you.

No. At this time, we will only accept the Student Aid Index (SAI) number from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (go to studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa) for our scholarships that have ‘financial need’ stated as a selection criterion.  There are a few scholarships that do not require you to submit financial information. By answering ‘No’ to the question regarding your intent to submit financial information, you will be given the opportunity to continue to apply for scholarships that do not have ‘financial need’ as a selection criterion. This will greatly reduce the number of possible scholarships available to you.

Students who answer ‘Yes’ will be given the opportunity to view scholarships that do and do not require your SAI information.

Often a scholarship selection committee must consider many factors when selecting a scholarship recipient. Your SAI number is only one piece of what is considered. We encourage you to complete the FAFSA, attach your SAI document and answer ‘Yes’ to the financial information questions on the Community Foundation scholarship application.

We do not require an ‘official’ transcript (one that is printed on special paper or with a raised seal in one corner).  You may include with your application a scan of an official transcript, an unofficial transcript, your college advising report or, if necessary, grade cards (least preferred).  We will not accept grade information you type yourself.

Your home is within a school district where you or your parents pay school district property or income taxes. Real estate tax invoices or pay stubs noting a School District Income Tax (SDIT) may provide that answer. If you or your parents vote, you are sometimes given the opportunity to vote for the school board members or levies for the district in which you live. If you still do not recall the district where you reside, you may need to call your county Board of Elections or Treasurer’s office to ask.  The answer you give on the scholarship application may enable you to be considered for scholarships that are for people who live in a particular school district or region. With Open Enrollment or attendance at a private or parochial school, the high school you attend may be different than the school district in which you live.

Tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for courses of instruction at an accredited educational institution.