San Diego Foundation Supports College Students With Record $4.9M in Scholarships

The San Diego Foundation announced Monday that it has awarded a record $4.9 million in 1,555 scholarships to expand higher education access for 1,272 local students. Scholarship recipients were recognized at a celebration on Sunday.

Applications this year were submitted by more than 3,000 local high school, community college, graduate and adult re-entry students.

Among the 2024-25 scholarship recipients, 74% are first-generation college students and 95% of students are considered low-middle income, according to their Student Aid Index data.

The foundation also shared that 41% identified as Latino/an and 16% as U.S.-born Black and/or African-American according to the Foundation.

These demographics are considered a huge accomplishment for the foundation in line with San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp‘s goal of investing in Black and Latino students. According to their most recent data, only 19% of Hispanic workers and 4% of Black workers make up the innovation economy. By supporting these students in accessing higher education, the hope is to answer the regional demand for skilled workers.

The Community Scholarship Program is made possible through the donor support of 154 charitable funds at the foundation and is the largest in the region outside of the university system. Since 1997, the program has awarded more than $53 million to more than 14,000 college students from San Diego.

For those interested in opening a scholarship fund to support students fueling the San Diego economy, please contact Danielle Valenciano, director of the SDF Community Scholarship Program, at DanielleV@SDFoundation.org.