Garden of Dreams has launched the 2025 Garden of Dreams Inspire Scholarship Application! The application is open to students who plan to enroll in college or trade school for the 2025-2026 school year.

The Inspire Scholarship awards $15,000 per year, renewable for up to 4 years/$60,000. This year, the total number of awards distributed will be 20.

Applicants who are most likely to be selected are ambitious individuals who would benefit most from the scholarship based on their Garden of Dreams participation, personal or family circumstances, academic performance, educational and career goals, and more.

The application can be found online at https://aim.applyists.net/Garden/. To apply, applicants must create a user account via this link, and then proceed to applying by clicking “Add New Application.”  The program key to access the application is Garden.  Once applicants enter the program key and hit “Apply”, they will be taken to the application.

The application deadline is Sunday, January 19th at 11:59 PM ET. 

Full guidelines and eligibility requirements are listed below:
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS – 2025 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be a high school senior or entering your first year of undergraduate studies at the time of application submission.
•  Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two-year or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school for the 2025-2026 academic year.
• Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent) at time of application or can provide official documentation supporting a learning need.
• Be affiliated with one of Garden of Dreams Foundation’s 30 partner charities (of which the UFA is one).

SELECTION CRITERIA

The program will use finalist selection criteria including the consideration of demonstrated participation in Garden of Dreams events and activities, unusual personal or family circumstances, career and educational goals and objectives, academic performance, school and community activities, work experience, and a letter of recommendation.
Evaluation is weighted as follows:

• Garden of Dreams participation – 30%
• Unusual personal or family circumstances – 20%
• Statement of career and educational goals and objectives – 15%
• Academic performance – 15%
•  Demonstrated leadership -10%
• School/Community Activities and/or Work Experience – 5%
• Recommendation – 5%

AWARDS

The current distribution for new awards is $300,000 (20 awards of $15,000 each.) Awards may be renewable – up to $60,000 total per award ($15,000 initial year plus up to 3 years renewable) —  depending on an award recipient’s enrollment status and provided the student continues to adhere to the terms of the scholarship and fulfills the yearly renewal obligations as communicated by or on behalf of Garden of Dreams (for example: maintaining a certain minimum GPA and completing the annual renewal form.)

For students attending a two-year college or vocational-technical school, awards are renewable up to one year or until an associate degree or certificate is earned, whichever occurs first, on the basis of satisfactory academic performance (maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent) and completion of all annual renewal requirements.

For students attending a four-year college or university, awards are renewable up to three years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first, on the basis of satisfactory academic performance (maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent) and completion of all annual renewal requirements.

In the event that a student must defer their award due to military service, medical reasons, or another family-related event, their deferred renewal will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Awards are for undergraduate studies only.