CONTACT:
Rebecca Salner
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
650.450.5525 or rsalner@siliconvalleycf.org

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS HELP MORE STUDENTS ENTER COLLEGE

MOUNTAIN VIEW - Hundreds of local students who would not otherwise have been able to afford college are now heading to school after receiving scholarships from Silicon Valley Community Foundation and its donors.

In the midst of the current recession, the number of scholarship applications submitted to the community foundation increased 23 percent this year and more students than ever reported that their parents had been laid off or that money was tight at home.

Over the past three years, the community foundation and its donors have awarded $1.9 million in scholarships through 44 separate scholarship funds. Those funds award between $1,000 and $18,000 to high school, community college and university students. Scholarships are awarded to students at all levels, from the most promising to those just beginning to show academic promise.

“For many of the students and their families, this money makes college a reality,” said Lisa Alvarez, the community foundation’s scholarship officer.

So far this year, the community foundation and its donors have awarded more than $600,000 and 248 scholarships. Additional scholarships will be awarded during the remainder of the year.

Juan Sandoval, an East Palo Alto student who was told during his junior year in high school that he did not fit the profile of a UCLA student, received an award from the Eustace-Kwan Family Foundation Scholarship. Sandoval, the first in his family to graduate from high school, is starting his first year at UCLA this fall.

Lindsay Sierra, a San Mateo resident who is attending San Jose State University this fall, recalls that she was thrilled when she received her college acceptance letter but also disappointed because she didn’t see how her mother could afford tuition payments. Sierra received the Curry Award for Girls and Young Women and a Eustace-Kwan Family Foundation scholarship award. Now, she writes, “the door has been opened.”

The community foundation received 734 scholarship applications this year.

“The recession has prompted cutbacks in many scholarships,” said Emmett D. Carson, CEO and president of the community foundation. “We are proud to say that our donors made it possible to maintain – and in some cases, even increase --- the number of scholarships awarded this year.”

Since 2007, hundreds of local students, most from low-income families, have received financial support through the community foundation’s scholarship program to pursue higher education. Under the community foundation’s donor involved scholarship program, donors or organizations they partner with oversee the selection and award process while the community foundation ensures compliance with IRS regulations and handles award processing. Under the community foundation managed scholarship fund, the community foundation administers the application, selection and award process with the help of staff and community volunteers.

For more information about the scholarship program, please visit the community foundation’s website at www.siliconvalleycf.org or email donate@siliconvalleycf.org

About Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation is a catalyst and leader for innovative solutions to our region’s most challenging problems. Serving all of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, the community foundation has $1.5 billion in assets under management and 1,500 philanthropic funds. The community foundation provides grants through donor advised and corporate funds in addition to its own Community Endowment Fund. In addition, the community foundation serves as a regional center for philanthropy, providing donors simple and effective ways to give locally and around the world. Silicon Valley Community Foundation launched in January 2007 following the landmark merger of Community Foundation Silicon Valley and Peninsula Community Foundation and is now one of the largest community foundations in the nation. Find out more at www.siliconvalleycf.org.