Scholarships through the Community Foundation support students of all ages who reside within the Dan River Region – Danville, VA; Pittsylvania and Halifax counties, VA; and Caswell County, NC. In 2025, we awarded more than $370,000 to 152 students through the scholarship program.
Only one scholarship application is required to be considered for the majority of The Foundation’s scholarships. Our 2025 scholarship program deadline has passed. Please contact our office at 434-793-0884 if you have any questions.
Students may apply for a scholarship by submitting an online application. Our application consists of two parts. The first part asks for standard information: the student’s name, address, school or college, work, volunteer hours, etc. The second part is related to specific scholarships. The online application system automatically matches students to scholarships they qualify for and will identify scholarships that require additional questions or an essay.
Once the two parts of the application are complete, and any additional questions have been answered, the application may be submitted. Students may update applications at any time until the day of the deadline. After that, no changes may be made, nor will applications be accepted. There are no exceptions.
Students who are graduating seniors, or former graduates, from a high school in the Dan River Region may apply.
We have two types of scholarships at The Foundation — those students apply for directly and others based on recommendations from a guidance counselor. Incomplete applications, or those received after the deadline, will not be reviewed.
The Foundation’s staff and the Distribution Committee (which is comprised of board members) review and score each application. Recipients are selected based on academic merit, financial need, community involvement, a personal essay and references. In addition, criteria put in place by the donor are also considered.
In most cases, students must apply every year for a scholarship. There are a few scholarships that are renewable from year to year, but students must still apply every year.
No. Award checks are mailed directly to the institution. If for any reason your status as a full-time student changes, the unused portion of the scholarship is returned to The Foundation by the institution.
Scholarships may only be used for educational purposes.
Recipients are notified by the middle of May. Notifications are sent to the email address on file (the one a student enters on the application). We encourage students to use an email address that is checked often, because notifications are sent via email throughout the entire process.