Want to Help Students for Years to Come? A Scholarship Fund Could Be the Answer

Paying for education can change the direction of a student's future, which leaves many donors with a bigger question. How can one gift continue creating opportunities year after year?

A scholarship fund through the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties gives individuals, families, and organizations a way to turn their charitable priorities into educational opportunities for students. Funds can support students from a particular school, students pursuing a certain career, or a much broader group, giving donors considerable flexibility in deciding what they want their generosity to accomplish.

Who can create a scholarship fund?

Individuals, families, businesses, and organizations can establish scholarship funds through the Community Foundation. Some are created in memory of someone, while others begin with a desire to help students pursue education or enter a particular profession.

Scholarship funds can also vary in duration. A group of alumni celebrating an anniversary, for example, might create a fund intended to provide an award during a single year. Other donors may establish an endowed scholarship designed to provide awards year after year.

"You can have a scholarship fund be a one-time process, or you can have scholarship funds go on in perpetuity if they are endowed," says Nick Grimmer, Chief Development Officer at the Community Foundation.

Community Foundation staff work with donors from the beginning to understand what they hope to accomplish and identify an approach capable of supporting those priorities.

How specific can scholarship criteria be?

Donors have considerable flexibility when establishing scholarship criteria and can tailor their fund to support areas they are most passionate about helping. A scholarship could be available to graduating seniors from one high school or students throughout Herkimer and Oneida counties. Donors can also focus on students pursuing particular areas of study, including nursing, engineering, STEM, or another field that is important to them.

Criteria can also evolve. Someone who initially creates a scholarship supporting students pursuing medical careers may later decide to focus on engineering or another educational priority. The Community Foundation works with donors to establish criteria capable of reflecting their charitable priorities while creating opportunities for students.

Why create a scholarship fund through the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties?

Creating the scholarship is only the beginning. Administering it requires ongoing communication, eligibility review, recipient selection, and award distribution.

The Community Foundation works with schools, guidance counselors, partner organizations and, in some cases, individual scholarship selection committees to help identify eligible applicants. Community Foundation staff also provide an additional check to confirm recipients meet the criteria established for each scholarship.

Once recipients are selected, scholarship payments are sent directly to the higher education institution or eligible educational program.

The Community Foundation also remains available as donors' interests and educational needs evolve. A donor can return to the team to discuss changes in scholarship criteria, while staff can share insight into educational opportunities and community needs across the region.

This ongoing relationship allows a scholarship to become something larger than a single award. It gives donors a way to continue opening doors for students while having a local philanthropic partner available to manage the work required to keep those opportunities going.

Article originally published in the Rome Sentinel on September 10, 2026.