Invest in Youth

Investing in youth is a time-honored tradition, repaying a debt to our parents and grandparents, and providing for our children to thrive in the world we bequeath to them.

At the Ventura County Community Foundation we have many ways to invest in youth, as varied as the talents around us. Staking the next generation is an investment that will pay dividends beyond measure.

General Scholarship Funds
VCCF general scholarship funds provide student support in the arts and humanities, science and technology, and general education. These endowed funds provide resources for applicants with broad skills, or who have experience or interests in designated specialties.

VCCF Scholarship Funds include:

Scholarship Fund for Ventura County – Provides scholarships to students at every high school in Ventura County, focusing on outstanding student leaders.
Vocational Scholarship Fund – Provides support for students directly entering the workforce, or looking for additional training.
Nursing Scholarships – Supports those students pursuing nursing careers in local community colleges and four-year programs.
Medical Education Fund – Provides forgivable loans for nursing students who promise to practice in Ventura County. After two years, loans are forgiven.
Destino Scholarship Fund – A new initiative of Destino focusing on the needs of Latino students in Ventura County.
Ventura County Young Artists Scholarship Fund - a new initiative to create an endowment to provide annual scholarships to the best arts students in Ventura County. Scholarships will help them acquire skills, training, education and inspiration to make their life’s work a real possibility.
Download Brochure (pdf) >

Contributions can be made to expand the number of scholarships awarded in any given year or to the endowment, adding funds for future years.

Create Your Own Scholarship
VCCF offers you the opportunity to create your own scholarship with a name to honor your family, children, parents, loved ones, favorite teacher and/or a mentor – and to know this legacy will last for generations.

Each donor sets up eligibility criteria – these can include financial need, GPA, seniors in high school or current workforce, one-time awards or renewal for multiple years, preferred schools (local community colleges, institutions in or outside California, etc.) as well as appropriate expenses – tuition, books, room and board, transportation, computers, etc. These are summarized in the fund agreement and will guide all future scholarship decisions.

Individual scholarship funds at VCCF select their recipients through three options:

School managed program – Applicants are chosen by a school according to donor criteria.
External committees – Committees are established to review applications and make recommendations to VCCF, based on criteria set by the donor and approved by VCCF. Donor participates as a member of the committee.
VCCF managed programs – VCCF’s volunteer-led committee members review applications and recommend candidates for VCCF’s scholarship funds.

All recommendations are reviewed and approved by VCCF’s board of directors. Let us know what criteria you would like to sustain in a VCCF scholarship fund.

For further details, contact VCCF’s scholarship program officer at 805-988-0196, ext.119.