More than 100 Ohio Valley students will get help paying for college this year thanks to more than $276,000 in awarded scholarships administered by the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley.

The CFOV announced Wednesday that 137 area students will be able to take advantage of $276,604 in scholarship money from more than 60 scholarships administered by the CFOV. Foundation Executive Director Susie Nelson said the CFOV only wishes it could distribute more.

“The cost of tuition and everything that goes along with attending college keeps going up,” she said. “The more money we can send out to kids to help kids in the Ohio Valley, the better.”

Each scholarship administered by the CFOV is awarded through a competitive application process and available to graduating high school seniors and current college students from within the foundation’s eight-county service area. Dozens of donors have come together to establish the scholarships.

Nelson said the best way for students and parents to learn more about the scholarships and the application process is to stay in contact with their guidance counselors at their respective schools and to visit the CFOV website at CFOV.org under “Scholarships.” The next scholarship cycle opens in January.

Nelson said a universal application system streamlines the process for students and their families.

They can go to the website, answer a few questions and the system will tell them which scholarships under the CFOV banner fit best.

“We invested in that software a few years ago and it has been game-changing for us,” she said. “It’s really nice, so you don’t have to weed through all of them to see if you’re a fit for more than 100 different scholarships.”

Ease of application is another pressure lifted off the shoulders of students and families, but the big lift comes from knowing a student’s financial burden is reduced. Scholarship awards range from a few hundred dollars to as much as $12,000.

Nelson said she often hears from those families about how crucial those funds are.

“They’re extremely grateful,” she said. “I just wish we had more to give.”

For more information about scholarship opportunities, please call 304-242-3144, email Jess Puglisi-Sanders at jess@cfov.org, or visit https://cfov.org/students/.