Hitting a Milestone

Dieser Artikel wurde ursprünglich von der Pacific Coast Business Times veröffentlicht.

The Ventura County Community Foundation Scholarship Program has awarded $2 million to students across the county for the 2026 season, exceeding the nonprofit’s past scholarship grantmaking record.

VCCF first opened its scholarship program in 1990, working hand in hand with passionate fundholders wanting to support the county’s students. Since then, the program has grown significantly, granting scholarships to thousands of local students over the years for their higher education aspirations. For the third year in a row, over 1,200 applications were submitted.

“As another incredible scholarship season closes and we enter a new school year, we are proud to celebrate the hard work and promise of the students this program exists to serve,” said Kirsti Vomund, VCCF scholarship director. “This year, we awarded 610 scholarships to 441 students, making this our biggest award year ever.”

The program works closely with the county’s high schools to ensure that as many students as possible are aware of the opportunities available to them, including under-represented groups such as first-generation college students, students returning to school after a gap, trade and technical students, and foster youth, among many others. Individual students can receive multiple awards ranging from $500 to $11,000.

“This milestone wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of our donors,” said Board Chair Leah Lacayo. “They are the reason we are able to lift up hundreds of our community’s students every year to help them reach their educational dreams and full potential.”

The program opens its annual scholarship season from October through January, where students can apply for hundreds of opportunities through a streamlined process and be auto-matched to individual scholarships based on major, city and other criteria.

The program’s award selection process is powered by a committee of 169 volunteer readers: a mix of former educators, dedicated community members, past award recipients and fundholders eager to play a direct role in helping students succeed. Each reader spends about 10 to 15 hours reviewing and scoring over 30 applications so that every student has at least three volunteers reading their stories and understanding their situations in the awarding process.

To learn more about the Ventura County Community Foundation Scholarship Program, visit vccf.org/stipendien.