News & Events

130 Students attend Second Annual Cash for College Scholarship Awareness Night

The Second Annual Cash for College scholarship awareness night brought together 31 scholarship providers and more than 130 Yavapai County high school students and returning college students to learn about scholarship opportunities. The event, hosted by the Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County and sponsored by Yavapai College, is part of an ongoing effort to increase awareness about financial support for higher education available to local students. 

“There’s not much we can do to reduce the cost of higher education,” said Carol Chamberlain, Regional Director of ACF of Yavapai County. “But we can show students how to make higher education more accessible through financial aid. That’s why we introduced Cash for College last year, and continue to highlight local scholarships during our annual scholarship awareness night.”

The event was organized much like an activity fair. Students and families explored different scholarship opportunities, met with representatives of the organizations offering scholarships, and learned about application deadlines and requirements.

“What I loved about this year’s event was the diversity of opportunities it brought to students’ attention,” said Chamberlain. “Many people think you either have to have straight A’s or a compelling financial need, but students’ interests and community involvement can be just as valuable in making them eligible for scholarship opportunities.”

Organizations presenting at Cash for College included the Yavapai Symphony Association seeking to support students aspiring to obtain a degree in music, the Yavapai Cowbelles seeking to support students planning to pursue a degree in an agricultural field, as well as a number of scholarships open to students with a history of community involvement, pursuing vocational studies and many other unique opportunities.

The Arizona Community Foundation was also present, sharing information about scholarship opportunities available to Yavapai County students and the organization’s unique online application portal that automatically matches students with more than 150 scholarships for which they qualify. ACF is the largest private provider of scholarships in the state and the application portal will open on January 1, 2017.

Many of the scholarship opportunities presented at Cash for College have their application deadlines in the early spring. To receive a digital copy of the local scholarship directory provided at the event, contact Lisa Sahady at LSahady@azfoundation.org and include “Scholarship Directory” in the subject line.

Major literacy grant awarded to YCESA, Prescott Unified School District

The Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County, the Margaret T. Morris Foundation and the James Family Foundation have pooled their resources and awarded a $150,000 grant to Arizona Reads Now, a collaborative literacy initiative of Prescott Unified School District and Yavapai County Education Services Agency. 

The three local funders came together around a common concern for the academic achievement and future career success of the community’s youth, partnering to make a substantial investment in early childhood literacy. This is the first in a multi-year award that will provide two additional $150,000 grants over the next three years for a total investment of more than $450,000. Read more.