CU Boulder relies on non-profit community partners such as the Denver Scholarship Foundation (DSF) to open doors to a college education for students for whom college may have been only a dream, or possibly not even on their radar.
Last year alone, more than $388,000 in scholarship dollars were provided to DSF Scholars who attended CU Boulder. Each year, more than 1,500 high school students are able to attend college because of the foundation, which began 10 years ago thanks to Gov. John Hickenlooper, Timothy and Bernadette Marquez and several other community philanthropists.
DSF’s mission is to help students enter college, and to ensure they thrive while there. Partnering with Denver Public Schools and various higher education institutions across Colorado, DSF acts as the effective link that connects many high school students, including first-generation college students, with the resources and opportunities for a successful higher education experience.
CU Boulder celebrates DSF's 10th anniversary and the students who are able to come to Boulder because of these critical scholarship dollars.
The DSF three-step process
DSF created a three-step process for their students: high-school advising at the on-campus Future Centers; guaranteed financial support to graduates attending college or technical school in Colorado; and college partnerships, including leveraged financial, academic and social support for scholars throughout their college career.
Because many DSF students are first-generation college students—72 percent of the students they work with—DSF also encourages each participant to apply to their scholarship program. To date, all qualified students who have applied to the scholarship program have received funding. The scholarship recipients are given a choice of various institutions and universities across Colorado with which DSF partners. DSF has established strong relationships with their partner schools in order to ensure the DSF scholarship recipients receive ongoing support throughout their entire education.
DSF and CU Boulder partnership
Each relationship between DSF and a school is unique. DSF scholars who attend CU Boulder have a long history of success and the two entities collaborate closely to ensure students thrive. Within the past 10 years of DSF’s existence, 410 students have transitioned from the DSF program to CU Boulder, and 145 have graduated with their career-defining degree.