Local community foundation scholarships by state
Community foundations are some of the least-crowded places to find scholarships: local donors fund awards for students from one city, county or region. Pick your state to see its 707 foundations from IRS data, largest first.
Coverage: 707 foundations across 51 states and DC. We checked the scholarship page of the largest foundation in every state; 40 have a confirmed scholarship page linked. Smaller foundations are listed with a link to their IRS filings so you can confirm they’re real, but we haven’t checked their websites.
- Alabama 10
- Alaska 2
- Arizona 2
- Arkansas 2
- California 49
- Colorado 18
- Connecticut 10
- Delaware 2
- District of Columbia 2
- Florida 22
- Georgia 14
- Hawaii 1
- Idaho 1
- Illinois 28
- Indiana 66
- Iowa 25
- Kansas 23
- Kentucky 6
- Louisiana 5
- Maine 1
- Maryland 10
- Massachusetts 12
- Michigan 54
- Minnesota 11
- Mississippi 7
- Missouri 7
- Montana 12
- Nebraska 23
- Nevada 2
- New Hampshire 1
- New Jersey 3
- New Mexico 8
- New York 23
- North Carolina 18
- North Dakota 5
- Ohio 50
- Oklahoma 5
- Oregon 10
- Pennsylvania 29
- Rhode Island 1
- South Carolina 8
- South Dakota 4
- Tennessee 4
- Texas 25
- Utah 3
- Vermont 1
- Virginia 17
- Washington 21
- West Virginia 10
- Wisconsin 31
- Wyoming 3
How to use a community foundation
- Find the foundation for the county or city where you live or go to school. Some serve a whole state.
- Many use one application for all their funds and match you to the ones you qualify for.
- Ask your school counselor too: some local funds are open only through your high school.
- Never pay to apply. Read our scam guide.
Source & coverage. Foundation list: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File ↗ (file dated Oct 13, 2026). We include active 501(c)(3) public charities the IRS codes as community foundations (NTEE T31) with at least $1 million in assets, and drop names that are clearly faith-based funds, schools, colleges, hospitals or health funds, service clubs or national donor-advised-fund sponsors. That filter can miss a foundation or include one that works a little differently, and local affiliates that file under a larger foundation don’t appear separately, so a small count doesn’t mean your area has no community foundation. Assets are the IRS figure from each group’s latest filing. Scholarship pages were checked Oct 17, 2026 for the largest foundation in each state only. Not affiliated with the IRS or any foundation listed. For the full national directory, see the Council on Foundations locator ↗.
Frequently asked questions
What is a community foundation?
A public charity that pools gifts from many local donors and gives grants and scholarships in a defined area, such as a city, county or state.
Why apply for community foundation scholarships?
They’re local, so far fewer students compete than for national awards, and many foundations let one application count for many funds.
Where does this list come from?
The IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File: active public charities the IRS codes as community foundations (NTEE T31) with at least $1 million in assets. We checked the largest foundation’s scholarship page in each state.