Scholarships at CU Denver
At CU Denver, we are committed to ensuring that in return for their time, talent and effort, our students are afforded a clear and rewarding path to graduation. That’s why elevating student success remains at the heart of everything we do. Increasing scholarship support is one of the most effective and direct measures we can take to achieve this, because in so many cases it’s not a lack of ambition that prevents students from graduating, it’s simply a lack of resources.
By supporting scholarships at CU Denver, you provide those resources. You create opportunities and avenues for success. We hope you'll consider making a gift today. Every gift, like every student, makes a difference.
How Scholarships Make a Difference
Recruiting and Retaining the Best and Brightest
Our ability to attract and retain high-performing students impacts not just our university, but our city and the State of Colorado as a whole. So, when you donate to a scholarship fund, you support our finest students who go on to shape our communities and our world.
Encouraging and Celebrating Diversity
Contributing to CU Denver means believing as we do that diverse perspectives enhance the educational experience. From first-generation and international college students to different socioeconomic backgrounds and fields of study, CU Denver is a community built on diversity.
Helping Students Cross the Finish Line
Often, the only barrier to completing a degree is a financial one. Your gift allows our students to stay on track for what really matters: their education and the impact they will make.
Providing Experiential Learning Opportunities
Contributing to scholarships at CU Denver provides students with valuable opportunities to expand their educational experience. Scholarships open doors to internships, research opportunities, and study abroad programs through which our students learn by doing and graduate better prepared to succeed.
Types of Scholarships
Endowed scholarships support students in perpetuity by creating a lasting legacy that honors an individual or individuals for whom the scholarship is named. A donor may establish an endowed scholarship with a minimum gift of $25,000. The University of Colorado Foundation invests and manages these funds, and, based on performance, 4 percent to 4.5 percent of the endowment’s fair market value becomes available annually to provide scholarship awards to students (e.g., a gift of $25,000 can provide an annual scholarship of $1,000). The larger the endowment, the greater the annual award available to students.
Donors often work with us to establish an endowed scholarship with a pledge payable over time (up to five years). While contributing at least $5,000 annually to build the principal of the endowed fund, donors can also provide additional annual gifts to award scholarships while the endowment builds. These gifts generally equal the anticipated annual disbursement of the fund once it is fully endowed. When the principal reaches the desired level of funding ($25,000 minimum), the endowment is considered fully funded and provides awards in perpetuity.
Donors often work with us to establish an endowed scholarship with a pledge payable over time (up to five years). While contributing at least $5,000 annually to build the principal of the endowed fund, donors can also provide additional annual gifts to award scholarships while the endowment builds. These gifts generally equal the anticipated annual disbursement of the fund once it is fully endowed. When the principal reaches the desired level of funding ($25,000 minimum), the endowment is considered fully funded and provides awards in perpetuity.
Students benefit from an annual scholarship within a fiscal year a donor funds the award. The minimum amount required to establish a named annual scholarship is $10,000, which can provide more than 80 percent of the annual tuition and fees for two full-time students. Unlike endowed scholarships, annual scholarships do not exist in perpetuity but remain active as long a donor continues to contribute to the fund.
