What it takes to keep a scholarship past year three

When we tell donors that a scholarship is a multi-year commitment, the response is usually a nod. The implication is understood: tuition, transport, books, fees, paid through to graduation. That’s the easy part.

What makes a scholarship work past year three isn’t another tranche of funding. It’s a phone call when a student stops showing up. A teacher who notices. An alumna who texts back. A coordinator who knows the family by name and shows up when something has gone quiet.

We’ve watched fully-funded scholars walk away in year three because no one was watching closely enough. We’ve watched under-funded ones graduate because someone was. The lesson Umoja keeps learning is the same one our partners told us from the start: scholarships matter, but presence matters more.

Year three is where the relationship gets tested. The fees are already paid; the early excitement has worn off; life has gotten complicated. If the only thing connecting a scholar to the program at that point is a wire transfer, the program isn’t doing what it claims to.