Marketing Scholarships to Non-traditional Students

Hi Courtney,

When I managed scholarships at a community foundation, scholarships for special populations like this were tough to market. These activities often fell to the bottom of my to do list, but here's what I did when I had time, and what I've seen from other foundations I've worked with in my time at Foundant:

-Reach out to your local colleges/universities. They may have an admissions rep or even an office specifically for nontraditional students. Other roles that would be good to build relationships with: financial aid officers, scholarship office staff (if they have one), foundation staff, and advisors or faculty (if you have scholarships with specific degree programs or career fields).

-Workforce development entities

-If you have scholarships for specific career fields, find contacts within that field. Examples include hospitals for healthcare scholarships, unions/trade organizations for trade/technical scholarships, etc.

I've also seen foundations adjust their nontraditional scholarship cycles to be year round, or at least later in the spring/summer, since many times decisions to go back to school happen outside of the traditional academic timeline and scholarship cycle. This likely means adjusting your timeline and possibly even your decision-making process to allow a more flexible and student-centered approach to awarding scholarships.

Dana Berggren

Functional Consultant, Grants & Scholarships