Eligible high school students are encouraged to apply for scholarships at the DeKalb County Community Foundation. Through donor generosity, over 75 scholarship awards exist. New this year, students can complete the Universal Scholarship Application on the Community Foundation website and have their application applied to any and all Foundation scholarships they are eligible for. Applications are currently available at dekalbccf.org/scholarships. Deadline for a majority of these awards is April 1, 2021.

In addition to the traditional Scholarship Funds at the Community Foundation, there are a few the Foundation directly oversees. Each of these vary in support and eligibility requirements. The listing below provides a brief description about these additional Funds. Interested and eligible candidates can apply at dekalbccf.org/scholarships.

• The CHS Elburn Scholarship is available for high school graduates and current undergraduate students at an accredited college or university. Applicants must be a family member of an eligible CHS Elburn customer or a family member of a CHS Elburn employee. Applications are currently open and due April 1.
• The Donald and Patricia Pritchard Scholarship benefits a high school senior who is a resident of DeKalb County with plans to attend the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana and intends to major in an agriculture related field.  This scholarship is also open to a DeKalb County High School graduate who is currently enrolled in the ACES Program at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. Applications are currently open and due April 1.
• The Dr. & Mrs. Harold P. Wells Scholarship provides support for educational expenses including college tuition, fire courses, educational short courses, conferences and summer camps. Eligible applicants are DeKalb Fire Department employees, family members of employees, and graduates of the Kishwaukee Education Consortium’s Fire Science Program. Applications are currently open and due April 1.
• The Ed and Kim Kapper Physical Therapy Scholarship provides support for a high school graduate of a DeKalb County school who is attending an accredited physical therapy program at an accredited college or university. Applications for this scholarship are available April 1 – June 1 each year.
• The Jeffrey A. Trail Memorial Scholarship provides an initial monetary award every year to a recent high school graduate from DeKalb County who is in the first year at one of the five U.S. service academies and who has been chosen from among that year’s applicants. The selected student will receive an additional stipend each year that he or she continues at the academy. Applications are currently open and due April 1
• The Palmer Family Music Education Scholarship supports DeKalb County high school graduates pursuing a career in music or music education. Applications are currently open and due April 1.
• The Renaissance Scholarship offers a $1,000 initial scholarship renewable for up to three years to an individual returning to school for his or her undergraduate degree after being a part of the work force. Applications for this scholarship are available April 1 – June 1 each year.
• The Spinoso Masters Scholarship provides a scholarship for up to $10,000 to a deserving student to cover tuition costs of post-undergraduate or master’s studies. Eligible applicants must have graduated from a DeKalb County high school but do not need to currently live in DeKalb County. Applications for this scholarship are available April 1 – June 1 each year.

For questions or additional information on scholarships, please contact Grants Director Tiffany McQueen Lewis at 815-748-5383 or tiffany@dekalbccf.org. Learn more about scholarships at the Community Foundation at dekalbccf.org/scholarships.

Pictured: 2019 scholarship awards night at DeKalb High School. Each year, over $100,000 in scholarships are awarded to local high school graduates from Community Foundation Funds.