For Administrators
Last updated: Jan. 15, 2026
Your Role
As a scholarship administrator, you are critical to enriching the lives of North Carolinians through access to higher education. An effective scholarship administrator will:
- Understand NCCF policies and procedures.
- Uphold the specific criteria of the scholarship you administer.
- Promote the scholarship opportunity and ensure equal access to information for all who are eligible.
- Support NCCF’s IRS-required responsibilities by following rules and regulations.
- Operate a fair and equitable process for making scholarship awards.
Our Commitment
To ensure the success of volunteer scholarship administrators and the programs you serve, NCCF will:
- Support you in administering an exemplary scholarship program.
- Provide clear and accurate information about our funds and programs.
- Respond to your inquiries and correspondence promptly.
- Understand emerging educational trends and financial aid requirements.
- Maintain ongoing partnerships with scholarship administrators, fundholders, students, and educational institutions.
Resources
NCCF is committed to supporting you. Below are important resources to guide you in administering your scholarship.
We highly recommend you print out and use this checklist to help keep you on track throughout the scholarship season.
All students will apply online through the NCCF Scholarships Portal, and most will apply for scholarships through our Universal Scholarships Application that makes it easy for students to apply for multiple NCCF scholarships. Learn more about the information students are asked in their application.
The universal application is an online application form that allows students to apply for multiple NCCF scholarships using a single application. The universal application is used by over 130 NCCF scholarships and provides students with an easier and more efficient scholarship application experience.
All scholarship administrators are sent an email at the beginning of the year indicating the amount available for spending based on the current distribution rate. Learn more about our distribution practices.
Passed by Congress in 2006, the Pension Protection Act established required guidelines regarding scholarship awards from community foundations. All NCCF scholarships must abide by certain procedures. Learn more about the Pension Protection Act and the procedures that need to be followed.
Scholarship award displacement occurs when receipt of one form of financial aid, such as a private scholarship, results in a reduction in other forms of financial aid. There are several reasons why scholarship displacement occurs, and it can cause problems for students, such as preventing them from getting the full benefit of the scholarships they win.
The National Scholarship Providers Association provides more information on why scholarship displacement occurs and tips on how you can help reduce scholarship displacement for your scholarship recipients.
Can a committee award a scholarship to a student attending a for-profit institution? Can a committee consider a hard copy application received? These and more questions are answered in our FAQs for scholarship administrators.
Follow these instructions for using NCCF’s online system to review applications. Review the slides.
Promotional Toolkit
In our toolkit, you will find templates for flyers, press releases, emails, texts and social media posts to help you promote your scholarship application and awards. Check out the toolkit.
Required Documentation and Key Dates
The following two documents are required – please return these to NCCF by the noted due dates at scholarships@nccommunityfoundation.org.
Scholarship Committee Form – Use this form to list individuals filling the required slots on the selection committee for your scholarship. You will receive the form from NCCF via email in mid-January and you must complete and submit it to NCCF by Feb. 6, 2026. This document is required so NCCF can approve committee appointments as required by the IRS. If you do not receive a Scholarship Committee Form in December, please contact scholarships@nccommunityfoundation.org.
Scholarship Recommendation and Minutes Form – This form is used to note the scholarship committee’s award recommendations and document minutes from the selection meeting. This form is due by May 29, 2026. The sooner we receive this information the sooner we can send an award check to the student’s college or university. A few reminders:
- Be sure to complete both pages.
- Committee minutes are required for scholarships to be processed.
- Please complete all the required information. It is critical that rationale for selection and documentation of the presence or absence of conflicts of interest are included.
Scholarship Awards
We encourage Scholarship Administrators to notify all applicants of the committee’s decision soon after materials are submitted to NCCF. Review templates of award and decline emails that you can customize and use.
Once a scholarship is approved for award, NCCF sends an email to the recipient, confirming their award and providing instructions for how to accept their award.
Students are required to complete a Scholar Information Form and submit it via their account on the NCCF Scholarships Portal before scholarship checks are issued. Students who do not submit their online form by Aug. 14, 2026, may have to forfeit their scholarship.
Upon submission of the Scholar Information Form, NCCF issues scholarship checks directly to colleges and universities. Awards will be paid in one check, but the college or university will split the amount equally between the fall and spring semesters. Review a sample of the Scholar Information Form.
2026 Scholarship Administrator Webinar
View a recording of the 2026 Scholarship Administrator Webinar and download the training slides.
