Top-achieving students without financial need can choose from virtually any university; scholarships are often the factor that tips the scales toward UCF. National Merit Scholars, the top 1% in the nation by SAT score, receive scholarship support for their academic achievement — part of the reason there are 315 of them enrolled at UCF this year.

At the same time, need-based scholarships help remove financial obstacles, making it possible for high-performing students who might not otherwise be able to afford a UCF education to achieve their goal of earning a degree.

You can help:

Give to support scholarships through the UCF Fund. Direct gifts can be made to help fund scholarships for first-generation students or scholarships within specific colleges.

Create or contribute to an endowed scholarship fund. Endowed scholarships are those that are funded annually by the earnings of a gift that is preserved and invested by the Foundation. Generally, a gift of $25,000 is required to establish an endowed scholarship, although it may be made in installments. Once an endowed scholarship fund is established, gifts of any size may be contributed to the fund.

Along the way, we've branched into 12 distinct colleges united by a love of all things black and gold but in many other ways very different from one another. Like our Knights, each college has an individual personality.

One size doesn’t always fit all, so if you’d like to target your support to a particular college — maybe the college of your degree — we make it easy.

Online, you can either donate to the general support fund for the college of your choice, allowing college leaders to decide how best to put your gift to work, or you can visit a college-specific donation page for more fine-grained options. 

If you'd like to make a different kind of gift — planned or endowed, for example — the development officer in your area of interest would be happy to discuss the opportunities with you.

There are abundant opportunities for students to immerse themselves in many service projects on- and off-campus, including community outreach through Volunteer UCF, a group that works with more than 200 community organizations in Central Florida, or at the Knights Helping Knights Pantry, a place that serves UCF students by providing food and toiletries for those in need.

...provide leadership opportunities for the next generation of movers and shakers in Central Florida.

Opportunities for UCF students are everywhere — working alongside researchers as assistants, partnered with professors as tutors, in the art gallery helping to curate exhibits. And when you support student programs and co-curricular programs at UCF, you provide leadership opportunities for the next generation of movers and shakers in Central Florida. You help expand the art and cultural offerings on- and off-campus. You give students valuable volunteer experience that benefits the community.

Over the last 50 years, UCF facilities have been built and expanded to meet the needs of a growing student population. Gifts from donors have aided that growth, including the construction of the College of Medicine and Spectrum (formerly Bright House) Stadium, two facilities that have brought the university into the national spotlight. One, for its cutting-edge approach to healthcare delivery; the other, for being the on-campus home of the 2014 Fiesta Bowl and 2018 Peach Bowl champions.

Supporting campus facilities is more than funding construction. It is building a foundation for UCF’s future. And UCF has big plans for that future. To read about campus needs, please visit our facilities page or contact the development officer in your area of interest to learn more.

UCF faculty members contribute in multiple ways to a healthier and more vibrant society – by helping UCF expand its program offerings and adapt to the new fields of study and career paths that are emerging every day. 

This isn’t just about numbers. The growth in UCF’s national reputation is about the quality of the education that happens here, the research that’s done in our labs, and the partnerships that are formed when collaboration turns into a shared vision for excellence. Hiring additional faculty members who share that vision and can make things happen are the key to UCF’s continued success.

Supporting faculty through a gift to The UCF Fund designated for a specific program or college, or establishing an endowed fund are just two of the ways you can help. Please contact a development officer about additional opportunities.

The most popular way to support the Knights is through gifts to the Golden Knights Club — gifts that help our talented young people receive a quality education and competitive experience. Visit the GKC site to learn about the range of membership benefits.

Alternatively, creating a named, endowed scholarship for student-athletes is an especially mean­ingful way to honor a loved one while supporting young Knights in their quest for excellence.

Gifts may also be directed to support a particular team, such as football or softball.

Other UCF programs, projects and departments that benefit from private support are as wide-ranging as the on-campus Veterans Commemorative Site; the Landscape and Natural Resources Department, which works to make the UCF campus a regional garden of native Florida plants; the Creative School for Children; WUCF-TV and WUCF-FM; our nine-location Regional Campuses program; and the vibrant UCF Alumni, with its approximately 40 regional chapters across the country, working to enhance the lives of UCF alumni by connecting those whose years as a student were only a small part of their ongoing UCF experience.