Since 1983, the Community Foundation has awarded over $10.8 million in scholarships from 135 funds established by generous individuals, families, businesses and nonprofits to help area students pursue an education and establish rewarding careers.

Some scholarships are open to all students in our 42-town service area as well as Westerly, Rhode Island; others are open to only some towns, a particular town, or a specific school. Some are open to current or returning college students of any age, but most are for graduating high school seniors and most are need-based. Scholarships range from a one-time award of $500 to a multi-year award of up to $5,000 a year. In 2023, $1,009,838 was awarded to 287 students.

2023 Scholarship Recipient List

How Our Scholarships Program Works

Applications for the 2024-2025 academic year are now OPEN with a submission deadline of May 1, 2024.

Students apply for most scholarships through the General Application on the Scholarships Portal. After you have submitted the General Application, you may be asked to answer one or more questions to be eligible for certain scholarships. You must answer any additional question(s) in order to apply for these scholarships.

Submission of this General Application does not guarantee an award. The vast majority of recipients receive one award, and very few receive two awards.

Foundation staff and volunteer committees review and assess each application based on the criteria of each of our 130+ scholarships. The Foundation prioritizes lower income, "first in their families to go to college" students.

We encourage you to review the scholarships available to residents of your town to get an idea of what you may be eligible for. Click on your town at the bottom of this page for your town-specific list, or click on scholarships available to view a list of all of our scholarships.

Note about Graduate Students: Very few CFECT scholarships are open to graduate students. Each scholarship has its own geographic and academic eligibility criteria. We strongly recommend that prospective applicants review the list of scholarship opportunities carefully before beginning an application.

All applicants are informed whether they have been selected to receive a scholarship by the end of June. Some scholarships are multi-year awards, but most are one-year, one-time awards. Single-year recipients are welcome to reapply for a scholarship each year. Scholarship awards are sent directly to the recipient’s educational institution, not to the recipient.

Each of the following scholarships has its own application:

Most Scholarships are Based on Geography

Click on your town to view all of the scholarships open to you:

Ashford, Bozrah, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Chaplin, Colchester, Columbia, Coventry, East Lyme, Eastford, Franklin, Griswold, Groton, Hampton, Killingly, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Lyme, Mansfield, Montville, New London, North Stonington, Norwich, Old Lyme, Plainfield, Pomfret, Preston, Putnam, Salem, Scotland, Sprague, Stafford, Sterling, Stonington, Thompson, Union, Voluntown, Waterford, Westerly (RI), Willington, Windham, and Woodstock.

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