Hawaii Community Foundation Scholarships
Scholarship Sponsored by Hawaii Community Foundation
Introduction
Each year the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation manages a large scholarship portfolio — more than 300 funds — which requires careful coordination. To help applicants plan, below is a concise timeline and step-by-step guide for the 2026–2027 scholarship cycle, including key dates, required materials, and application instructions.
Key Dates and Timeline
- FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) opens: October 1, 2025
- Scholarship application period: December 8, 2025 – February 26, 2026
- Application opens: December 8, 2025
- Application closes: February 26, 2026, 4:00 PM Hawaiʻi Standard Time
- Letters of recommendation due: March 13, 2026, 4:00 PM Hawaiʻi Standard Time
- Selection window: March–April 2026
- Applicant notifications: Late April–June 2026
- NOTE: Watch your email for notifications and next-step instructions. Awards are selected and announced on a rolling basis. If you are notified of an award, you will be asked to provide additional information so we can process payment to your institution.
- Award acceptance deadline: June 21, 2026 (unless a different date is specified in your Next Steps instructions)
- Payment mailout schedule:
- Fall awards: mid–late August 2026
- Spring awards: mid–late December 2026
What You’ll Need to Apply
Prepare these items before starting your application so you can upload them when prompted:
- Required documents:
- FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS). Apply for your FAFSA early — it can take several weeks to process — so you will have access to your FSS in time to include it with your scholarship application.
- Most recent unofficial transcript.
- Optional / scholarship-specific documents:
- Short essays or other materials that a particular scholarship requires or recommends. Check the FAQs and the individual scholarship requirements; even if an item is listed as optional in the portal, we strongly encourage you to submit all materials that apply.
How to Apply
1. Create or access your Scholarship Manager account
- Returning users: Sign in with your existing username and password. Do not create a duplicate account if you’ve forgotten your login or your account is locked. Instead, contact us for assistance at scholars@hawaiicommunityfoundation.org.
- New users: Register for a Scholarship Manager account. All application correspondence and award notifications will be sent to the email address you register with. If you are a University of Hawaiʻi student, please use a non-UH email address (for example, a personal Gmail account).
2. In the portal, find and open the 2026–2027 HCF Common Scholarship Application.
3. Upload the required and any applicable optional documents.
4. Submit your completed application by February 26, 2026, 4:00 PM Hawaiʻi Standard Time.
Submission and Notifications
- After you submit, you will receive an email confirmation. We recommend submitting well before the deadline to avoid last-minute website congestion, connectivity problems, or submission errors.
- Award decisions and notifications occur on a rolling basis from late April through June 2026. Follow all instructions in notification emails carefully; if you accept an award, additional steps will be required to arrange payment.
If you have questions or technical issues, email us at scholars@hawaiicommunityfoundation.org. Good luck with your application!