Scholarships

Free community college at CVCC. This is up to a last-dollar scholarship in current dollars per student. The scholarship can be applied to Associates Degree programs or technical and industry certification programs and is paid by semester directly to CVCC on the student’s behalf over up-to two years.

OR A Scholarship of up to $2,000 per year (up to $8000 last-dollar per student over 4 years) to pursue their education at one of our accredited local four-year colleges and universities.  

Long-term access to the incredible support and resources of the Beacon of Hope Future Centers at Heritage and E. C. Glass.  And the support of the newly-formed Beacon of Hope Office of College Success and CVCC Future Center as our students move successfully through their post-secondary experiences.

You must be a graduating senior from an LCS High School in the Classes 2019-2024. This is a 5-year Promise, but we hope, with this community’s support, to extend Lynchburg’s Promise for future LCS graduating classes.

You must have attended LCS at least from grades 9-12. Lynchburg’s Promise is designed not only to help our individual students access college and technical school, but to create an added incentive for families to choose LCS for their students’ secondary education.

You must complete the FAFSA and access all other scholarships and financial opportunities that are on the table.  Lynchburg’s Promise is a last-dollar scholarship.  This mean that families are required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which helps students access Pell grants and other state/institution aid.  We believe that it doesn’t make sense to leave any accessible dollars for students on the table. We know that the incredible LCS high school counseling staffs partnering with the Beacon of Hope Future Centers are extraordinary resources to help our LCS families access numerous streams of financial aid, grants, and support.  This, in concert with Lynchburg’s Promise, can help close the financial gap experienced by many of Lynchburg’s families.

You must choose to pursue your post-secondary education at one of our region’s accredited colleges, universities, or technical certification programs. These include: Central Virginia Community College, Centra College of Nursing, Liberty University, Longwood University, the University of Lynchburg, Randolph College, and Sweet Briar College. Technical Certification and Industry Trade Programs can be pursued at CVCC.

You must be academically eligible to return to your college/technical program each semester. Beacon of Hope, alongside each of our College and University partners, will work with LCS Promise graduates to access student supports and resources on campus that can help you be successful on your post-secondary journey. Scholarships are paid from Beacon of Hope directly to your college, so as long as your grades and performance permit you to return, we will continue to help close your financial gap.

You must complete the application the spring of your senior year of high school in order to be eligible to receive the scholarship. Beacon of Hope encourages students to complete the application even if they’re undecided on their final college choice so funding can be appropriately allocated.

Lynchburg’s Promise is UNIVERSAL. It is not needs-based, which means it is not dependent on an LCS family’s income. It is not merit-based, which means it is not reserved for only our highest achieving students. It is for EVERY SINGLE GRADUATE of Lynchburg City Schools (Classes 2019-2024) who chooses to pursue education locally… who chooses to Stay Close, but Go Far.

We expect our Promise scholars invest in themselves by doing their best at E. C. Glass or at Heritage. We expect them to prepare to be as successful as they can be all the way through high school graduation and onto college, university, training, or technical programs. This means graduating on time and showing up for class ready to be engaged. It means thinking about their futures NOW, preparing applications and financial aid documents, it means completing scholarships, caring about transcripts. It means thinking and planning for tomorrow today.

We expect our Promise scholars to use the resources available to them. LCS students have an incredible wealth of post-secondary resources available to them that exist nowhere else. Lynchburg Beacon of Hope High School Future Centers– in partnership with the extraordinary school counseling staffs, administrators, and faculty at LCS—are making such significant strides in access to education and training after high school that the City of Richmond replicated them in five of its most underserved high schools.

We expect our Promise scholars to continue to invest in themselves as they pursue college or technical school. We expect them to access and regularly use the tools and resources available to them to help them succeed at their post-secondary programs—in the same way they diligently used their High School Future Centers, their incredible School Counselors, and their teachers, coaches, mentors, and peers back in high school. We all encounter road bumps along the way—it’s the resilience, grit, determination, and willingness to accept help that we expect of our Promise recipients as they surmount those barriers.

We expect our Promise scholars to pay it forward. This is a really big deal. This community believes in our young people, our investment for the future, in such a profound way that they have pledged millions of dollars to help them succeed. The likes of a Promise like this one have never before been seen in Virginia. We expect our Promise scholars to believe in themselves and do everything in their power to successfully complete their program of choice after high school. We expect them to pay it forward to the 4+ classes of Promise scholars coming behind them—all the way through 2024 and hopefully beyond. We expect them to invest in this community that has invested in them—to complete college, to consider a career in this community, to give back to the community that believed in them.