**As of August 30, 2023, scholarship applications for Out of School Time are no longer being accepted. Scholarships are made possible through the generosity of our donors. Currently, we have distributed all the funds available for OST scholarship to eligible families.
May 31, 2023
As a non-profit organization, the YMCA is proud to offer scholarships to many families across the city so that individuals and youths can take part in the programs we offer. With the support of generous donors and charitable contributions, we can extend scholarships to hundreds of families across the metro area.
As of April 2023, the YMCA has already granted scholarships to 379 households totaling nearly $500,000 in program and membership participation.
To plan ahead for the remainder of the year, we have made a few changes to our program.
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Program scholarships are paused. To assure our ability to meet scholarship obligations to those families and individuals who are already approved, on May 1, we paused all new scholarship applications for YMCA Programs.
Programs include summer camp (specialty and sports); swim lessons; youth sports; dance classes; Y Academy early child care.
If you have already received a letter with a scholarship award and a discount code, your award remains in place, and we urge you to activate your scholarship as soon as possible.
We will continue to grant YMCA Membership scholarships. -
Financial information will be required. We are re-instituting the requirement to provide proof of annual income as part of our scholarship process. To be eligible for a YMCA scholarship, our annual income threshold is $50,000 and below. A pay stub and/or tax return will be the required documentation to be submitted with an application.
In the future, if you are applying for a scholarship for Programs for camp, Out of School Time, Y Academy early childcare education, we ask that you first apply to the appropriate state, city or county Child Care Assistance program applicable to you before applying for a YMCA Scholarship. If you are denied by those programs, proof will be required as part of your YMCA Scholarship Application.
Here are links to those programs:
Colorado Child Care Assistance Program
Denver Child Care Assistance Program
Arapahoe County Child Care Assistance Program
Jefferson County Child Care Assistance Program -
Elimination of 100% scholarship awards. To extend our scholarship dollars further, as of August 15, 2023, the YCMA will no longer grant 100% scholarship awards.
Awards will be at the 25%, 50% or 75% levels based on recipients demonstrated need and the YMCA’s ability to fund the request. Scholarship recipients will be responsible for the balance of the membership or program cost and a payment method must be submitted when registering for a program or signing up for a membership. -
Length of scholarship award and deadlines. Some scholarship time periods may be adjusted to less than 12 months. For example, if an Out of School Time scholarship is awarded in October 2023, it will expire in 7 months (or the end of the school year).
Also, if you are awarded a scholarship, you are required to accept the scholarship and activate your scholarship toward the applicable program within 30 days. If you do not accept and activate your scholarship, it will expire, so that we may extend the opportunity to another family.
As a reminder, the YMCA Scholarship Application is all online. An account must be established to apply for a scholarship. Set up/sign into your YMCA account to apply for a scholarship.
The YMCA family is a community where we welcome all and lift each other up. We want to continue to be that third place for everyone who chooses our programs, so we will continue working to offer as many opportunities as possible through our scholarship program. We thank you for being part of our community.
Some answers to your Frequently Asked Questions can be found here.