Reimagining Scholarships

"Are we creating meaningful impact for the students who need it most?" See how data changed our scholarship program.

Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF) has helped students pursue higher education through scholarships for nearly a century. In the past decade alone, the program has grown dramatically, increasing from roughly $4 million in annual awards to more than $8 million distributed to upwards of 1,200 students each year.

But this growth also raised an important question: Were these awards reaching all the students they were intended to serve?

Evaluating Meaningful Impact

"As the scale of our scholarship program increased, we wanted to better understand whether we were creating meaningful impact for the students who needed it most," says HCF Education Program Director Tara Shibuya. "Knowing that financial hardship is often the most cited reason why students don't complete college, we want to help the students that have the greatest financial barriers."

To measure the extent to which the program was fulfilling that goal, HCF took a closer look at its scholarship program to learn who was applying for and receiving awards. The data revealed gaps between desired access and actual outcomes. While donor-created criteria were established with good intentions, the review found that eligibility requirements could unintentionally limit access for students facing challenges.

For instance, beyond financial need, some scholarships might require a minimum GPA, participation in certain extracurricular activities, and graduation from a specific school. Individually, these criteria may not appear restrictive, but their combined effect may significantly limit students with greater needs for financial support. The assessment also highlighted how much the average college experience has changed. Students today balance coursework with jobs, parental responsibilities, and other obligations that can affect how they move through higher education.

Navigating Student Realities

"A lot of times, students from lower-income households are not going to meet that combination of criteria because maybe they had to work instead of participating in after-school activities," added Shibuya. "Or they had to be a caregiver to their younger siblings or aging grandparents while their parent worked at night. A majority of students in the UH [University of Hawai‘i] school system now attend part time – it’s becoming the norm."

In the past, students could lose financial aid if they reduced their course load. Others might receive support during their freshman year but face a funding gap later because a particular scholarship was not designed to extend beyond one year or because the academic demands of college make it difficult to maintain the extracurricular involvement required for continued eligibility.

Envisioning the Future

HCF used its findings to redesign scholarship policies, developed in partnership with the National College Attainment Network (NCAN). Among the changes, all new scholarship funds will support both part-time and full-time students. They will also be renewable, helping students plan for educational expenses beyond their first year.

HCF is also introducing a new fund structure that broadens eligibility criteria while continuing to honor donor intent. Donors will still be able to support postsecondary education, with their dollars reaching more students with demonstrated financial need. This shift represents an effort to use data to better understand current challenges and redesign systems accordingly, ensuring scholarships remain dynamic and relevant to the changing needs of today and tomorrow’s students.

"I really do see this as game-changing for our scholarship program," says Shibuya. "It’s helping our program become more nimble and adapt to the evolving realities of Hawai‘i’s college students, no matter what their college journey looks like."