When I was in high school, I think I applied for a couple of scholarships. I usually looked for the easiest one to apply to and hit send. I didn't put in the effort I should have, and it cost me -- literally. At my high school graduation, I remember seeing some of my peers receive dozens of local scholarships that I didn't even know existed. I wasn't mad, but I was feeling down on myself for not making more of an effort. It seemed so obvious in retrospect.
When we built localscholarships.org, we relied on finding truly local foundations that give out real scholarships. We grew our database by analyzing thousands of non-profit organizations and sorting them by state. By law, non-profit organizations are required to file IRS Form 990. This form, among other things, shows how much money these organizations award -- including grants and scholarships. That means, if a foundation filed a 990 and reported awarding scholarship funds, then it's real. That's our baseline for every local scholarship on our site.
Finding Local Scholarships
We focus on local scholarships because your chances of winning are much higher than those for national scholarships. You're competing locally instead of nationally. This doesn't mean you shouldn't apply to national scholarships -- you should. However, you should also invest time and effort into scholarships in your backyard. Most of the time, you might not even know about these scholarships because they aren't publicly advertised like the national ones. Usually, they are listed in a foundation's annual report, at a school counselor meeting, or quietly posted on a local non-profit website. It's our job to find them so you don't have to.
Finding local scholarships in your community is easy. Start on our homepage, click "Local" in the top header, and select your state.
Trades & Vocational Programs
As we've evolved, we've also included opportunities for trade school grants and scholarships. A college degree is only one path of many alternatives in our changing world. Trade schools offer competitive opportunities. Whether you are interested in electrical, HVAC, welding, plumbing, construction, or something else -- chances are we've got options for you to explore without taking on debt.
Accuracy & Verification
Deadlines, amounts, and eligibility requirements can change every year. Sometimes we might have "varies" in place for these details on our listings. To help with this, we have included direct links to official sources for every listing. Make sure to always verify at the official site before applying. If you find outdated information, the best path is always to check the source directly.
Adding New Scholarships
We check every week for new scholarships and add them to our site. If you know of a scholarship we missed or one you think we should include, drop us a line at hello@localscholarships.org.
Our Promise
We remain an open directory. Every listing is free to browse. No account is required to use the site. In the future, we may create accounts (at no charge) for users to bookmark scholarships, grants, and trades, track progress, and set reminders for deadlines.