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Overview

Thanks to the generosity of Tahoe Donner members, scholarships to high school graduates and grants to local nonprofit organizations are made through the Giving Fund Committee’s participation in the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation’s annual review process. Scholarship awards are made each spring and grants to nonprofits are made each fall. Member contributions to the TDGF help those in need, support our youth, protect special places, and make our community a better place for us all.

SCHOLARSHIPS
The TDGF provides two kinds of scholarships: Traditional and IMPACT. Both are needs based and are provided to graduating seniors from the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District.

Traditional Scholarships are funded through collective donations by hundreds of individual Tahoe Donner members, who generously give during the annual summer and winter fundraising campaigns and recurring donations. The very first scholarship award of $1,000 was given to one student in 2015. In recent years scholarship awards have ranged from $2,500 to $5,000 and have been awarded to several students each year. These scholarships are offered on a one-time basis with the possibility of a second year of support.

IMPACT Scholarships are funded by a single anonymous Tahoe Donnor member, who in 2019 began funding at $200,000 per year. In 2024, recognizing the increasing cost of educational and living expenses, this generous member increased annual funding to $240,000, awarding $12,000 per year for up to five years to four students. Similar to the Traditional scholarships, awards are needs based, and also prioritize students who are the first generation in their families to attend college.

Click here to view the funding distribution of scholarships made from 2015 through 2024.

The following Tahoe Donner News articles highlight students who have received scholarship awards since 2015:

GRANTS
Similar to Traditional scholarships, grants to local non-profit organizations are funded through collective donations by Tahoe Donner members. In accordance with the Tahoe Donner Giving Fund’s Charter, grant awards support the following areas:

  • Arts and culture
  • Education and youth development
  • Environment, conservation and animal welfare
  • Health and human services

Since 2015, nearly 40 non-profit organizations in the Tahoe Truckee area have received awards supported by the Giving Fund. In 2015, $11,000 of awards ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 were made to four non-profit organizations. In recent years (2023 & 2024), $60,000 per year has been awarded to several organizations with grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 each.

Click here to view a list of grant awards made from 2015 through 2024.

The following Tahoe Donner News articles highlight annual grantees since 2015:

 

Updated: 2-10-25