Many people don’t realize that community foundations can be found all over the United States. These organizations provide funds for nonprofits, but many of them also administer local and state-wide scholarships.
Many of these scholarships have deadlines around this time or around January, February, or March.
There is a strategy for searching for scholarships from community foundations.
First, search for the Community Foundation in your area.
https://cof.org/page/community-foundation-locator
Find a Community Foundation Close to You—By using the Community Foundation locator, you can find community foundations close to you. Some community foundations serve a large city or a section of your state.
See if the community foundation administers scholarships or other programs that might be helpful to you.
Another method is to do a simple Google search using specific terms like “scholarships given by community foundations in illinois.”
This is one of the organizations that shows up: Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.
https://www.cfnil.org/scholarships
Here is the scholarship page for that organization, Deadline Feb 1, 2026 for 120 scholarships, and later deadlines for two scholarships, April 1, 2026.
Search for community foundations and see if they offer scholarships.
Second, search for a community foundation close to the college or university you want to attend.
For Scholarship Tigers (current students at Tennessee State University and future TSU students), the community foundation closest to TSU is the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT).
Community Foundation Scholarships, D: Feb 1, 2026
By studying the CFMT scholarships, you can find several that apply to TSU students (selected criteria included), such as
1. https://www.cfmt.org/funds/emmett-h-turner-scholarship-fund/
Emmett H. Turner Scholarship, D: Feb 1, 2026
“Eligibility: Applicants must be attending Tennessee State University and majoring in the criminal justice program.”
2. https://www.cfmt.org/funds/teddy-wilburn-scholarship-fund/
Teddy Wilburn Scholarship, D: Feb 1, 2026
“Eligibility: This scholarship is designed to benefit students at Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University. To be eligible, a student must have at least a B grade average overall during the last two years of high school and have, for the majority of their career, attended high school within the 40 counties of Middle Tennessee.”
3. https://www.cfmt.org/funds/ladyaidscholarship/
LADYAID Scholarship, D: Feb 1, 2026
“Eligibility: In an effort to honor the members’ home states, the scholarship will be eligible for students with a family household income of $60,000 or less who are residing in Tennessee or Georgia and attending any HBCU across the country and/or students attending an HBCU within Tennessee or Georgia. The scholarship is renewable, but students must reapply each year.”
4. https://www.cfmt.org/funds/bishop-joseph-and-stephaine-walker-scholarship/
Bishop Joseph and Stephaine Walker Scholarship, D: Feb 1, 2026
“Eligibility: Applicants must be African-American and from the Middle Tennessee community. They must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher with a history of community service. Each year, no more than two to five scholarships can go to graduate students pursuing advanced degrees.”
5. https://www.cfmt.org/funds/jerry-newson-scholarship-fund/
Jerry Newson Scholarship, D: Feb 1, 2026
“Eligibility: Students attending a four-year accredited college or university, especially those who intend to major in the social sciences or other areas where they will give back to the community from which they came. The Fund is designed to help Davidson County residents realize their dreams of attending a four-year accredited college or university, especially those who intend to major in the social sciences or other areas where they will give back to the community from which they came.”
6. https://www.cfmt.org/funds/joshturnerscholar/
Josh Turner Scholarship Fund for the Arts, D: Feb 1, 2025
“Eligibility: Those eligible to apply must be high school seniors from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee wishing to enter the music business or undertake a career in the arts. It is intended to benefit students primarily from rural areas, and applicants must be focusing on a career that will introduce them to various opportunities in the music business or some discipline of the arts. Preference will be given to students from rural high schools in South Carolina.”
The above scholarships are just a sampling of the more than 160 scholarships that CFMT administers.
Finding Help with Your Writing or Finding Scholarships at TSU
The AARC Writing Center at TSU is between semesters, so the best way to reach out to us is by email and phone.
We assist students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Tennessee State University.
We can help you with scholarship essays, resumes, applications, or any other writing project.
Any of our writing consultants can assist you: Mr. Mike Turner, mjturner@tnstate.edu; Ms. Rhonda Kavan, rkavan@tnstate.edu; Ms. Lori Danley, ldanley@tnstate.edu; and Dr. Shiloh Carroll, scarrol4@tnstate.edu.
Appointments can be online or in person.
Find our phone numbers here: https://www.tnstate.edu/asc/writing.aspx
If one person doesn’t get back to you within a day or two or if you are having problems, feel free to email Mr. Mike Turner, mjturner@tnstate.edu.
Some of us will be available up until Tuesday, December 23, when the university closes until it opens again on January 2, 2026.
You can also set up a scholarship coaching session (either online or in person) with Mr. Mike Turner, where we look for scholarships and other money tailored to your major and your situation.
Since this post will also go out for those signed up to receive posts as they are published, find more scholarships at https://scholarshiptigers.com/
Sign Up for Blog Posts
I plan to write two more scholarship blog posts in December.
To receive these posts with active links (including any PDF handouts), go to the Scholarship Tigers blog, scroll down on the right side of the page until you find Email subscription.
Enter your email address, and click the button that says, “Sign me up!”
You should get an email with a link to confirm your subscription.
If you don’t see it in your inbox, look for it in your junk or spam folder.
Scholarship Tigers--Students Helping Each Other Find Money for College 