Bootstraps Scholarships
Scholarship Sponsored by Bootstraps
About Bootstraps
Bootstraps makes scholarships and interest-free loans available to graduating high school seniors from the mountain communities. These awards are supported by local donors — individuals, families, businesses, and civic groups.
Eligibility
You may apply if all of the following apply:
- You will graduate from high school in the current school year (2025–2026).
- You are a legal resident of Colorado.
- Your primary residence is inside the attendance boundaries for Clear Creek, Conifer, Evergreen, or Platte Canyon High Schools.
- Students enrolled in homeschool, online, private, or alternative programs who live within those same attendance boundaries are eligible.
- You intend to enroll full-time in a postsecondary program in Fall 2026 (college, university, community college, or trade/vocational/certification program).
- Financial need is considered for all awards. For our purposes, you have financial need when the cost of attendance (COA) at your planned school exceeds your Student Aid Index (SAI) as reported on the FAFSA. Some Bootstraps awards only consider need, while others require it. If you plan to attend an out-of-state institution, we will use a COA of $42,738.94 (the average COA of all Colorado public universities and the four largest private colleges) to calculate need unless your chosen school’s published COA is lower. This approach lets you choose an out-of-state school while enabling fair and broader distribution of funds.
Application deadline
Applications must be submitted by Saturday, January 31, 2026, at midnight.