2026 Scholarship Season
Scholarships for employees, volunteers, and community members
The Salem Health Foundation and Salem Health West Valley Foundation fund this scholarship program, which supports members in our community that are pursuing a degree in the health care field.
The foundations’ scholarship program began in 1968. Since then, we have awarded over $4 million in scholarships.
2026 Scholarship Season
Scholarship support for individuals pursuing degrees in health care remains one of the most effective ways our community can strengthen the continuity of local, high-quality care.
The Salem Health Foundation works to distribute limited scholarship funds in a fair and meaningful way to support as many students as possible–particularly those nearing the completion of their programs.
For Salem Health Employees: Scholarship awards through the Foundation are separate from Salem Health’s Education Assistance Program, which provides tuition reimbursement. Their benefit is designed to strengthen workforce competency and promote both career advancement and personal development. For complete program details and eligibility requirements, visit the SH Policies page through the Hub and review the Education Assistance Administrative House-Wide Policy.
For Applicants Pursuing MD, DO, and MS in Physician Assistant Studies degrees:
The Salem Health Foundation is excited to partner with the Oregon Medical Education Foundation (OMEF) to offer a more streamlined scholarship experience – designed to support your educational journey and connect you with exceptional mentorship opportunities. Gain financial support and access to meaningful professional guidance that can shape your future in medicine! Please apply directly with OMEF through their 2026 Leadership Scholarship – open now through January 30, 2026.
New Account Set Up Required for SH Foundations Grant Portal
The Salem Health Foundations uses Blackbaud Grantmaking for our grant portal. Blackbaud has updated its Applicant and Grantee Portal (essentially, our SH Foundations Grant Portal) to streamline the application process for both funders and applicants, and to enhance overall accessibility and user experience.
The new portal is applicant-centric, allowing applicants to view and edit their applications across funders that use Blackbaud Grantmaking through the Blackbaud ID central identity management system. Users can access the applicant portal with the same set of login credentials they use for other Blackbaud products. The portal has an updated, intuitive interface for easier navigation and faster workflows.
What does this mean for you, our scholarship applicants?
You will need to create a new account to access the new SH Foundations Grant Portal. If you currently use Blackbaud software products or receive funding from other funders using Blackbaud Grantmaking, you’ll be able to log in with an existing Blackbaud ID. Even if you have applied in past years and received a scholarship from the SH Foundations, you will need to set up a new user ID and password.
All email correspondence from the new portal will come from [email protected]. Please add this email to your safe senders list or check your junk/spam folders to ensure you don’t miss an email related to your SH Foundations scholarship application.
Click on the green Applicant Portal button below, Select “Create Account” and follow the steps to set up your new Blackbaud Grantmaking account.
Here is a link for a step-by-step help sheet with screenshots to create your new account.
If you have questions about setting up your new account, please contact our general email address [email protected], and we’ll work to get back to you within 2-3 business days.
Thank you for your patience during this transition to the new applicant grant portal.
New SH Foundations Grant Portal
The SH Foundations Grant Portal is a landing area where you can access and edit unsubmitted, in-progress scholarship applications you have created for this scholarship cycle. Help Sheet to set up new YourCause by Blackbaud Grantmaking Account.
Application Links to Apply for a Salem Health Foundations Scholarship
There are two applications available for the 2026 scholarship season: 1) one for high school seniors who will starting their first-year in their undergraduate program in fall 2026, and 2) one for continuing students pursuing their undergraduate or postgraduate degrees. Select the one that pertains to your situation to start your application. REMINDER: Applicants pursuing MD, DO, and MS in Physician Assistant Studies degrees should apply directly to the Oregon Medical Education Foundation by January 30th.
- 2026 Scholarship Application for High School Students
- 2026 Scholarship Application for Continuing Students & Working Professionals
(Please note, applications will not be live until Monday, February 16, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time.)
Important Information
Important Notices
Please read the eligibility rules carefully before submitting your application.
- The SH Foundations will accept scholarship applications from February 16 – March 31, 2026 through the new SH Foundations Grant Portal only.
- Scholarships provided will be for the 2026-2027 academic year.
- Applications for those pursuing degrees in front-line health care fields in clinical settings will be prioritized.
- Awards are subject to the number of qualified applicants and typically will not exceed $2,500 per applicant.
- Funding is limited to a maximum of two years, per degree.
2026 Scholarship Timeline
- Monday, February 16: The SH Foundations Grant Portal opens for students to start their application process at 9 a.m.
- Monday, March 31: Deadline for application submission through the SH Foundations Grant Portal at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time.
- April – May: Scholarship Committees review applications and submit their recommendations to the Boards in late May.
- Wednesday, June 3: Applicants are notified of the Boards’ decisions via email.
- Monday, July 13: Deadline for students who are awarded scholarships for the 2026-2027 academic year must reply with their Scholarship Response Form through the SH Foundations Scholarship Portal to accept the awards. Reminders of this will be included in the June notification to scholarship recipients.
- Early August: Scholarship checks are mailed directly to the schools for each scholarship recipient for the 2026-2027 academic year (August 2026 – June 2027).
Applicant Eligibility Rules
At the time of application, the applicant must either be accepted or have applied to an accredited college or university to pursue a degree in the health care field, and meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Be a current Salem Health employee (directors and above not eligible to apply)
- Have a current Salem Health employee as a parent, legal guardian, or spouse
- Be a current Salem Health Volunteer
- Be a permanent resident of Marion or Polk County
Program Eligibility Rules
- Eligibility is open to graduating high school seniors applying for their first year of undergraduate study.
- Subsequent applications are permitted only after completion of 50% of the credit hours required for their degree.
- Undergraduate and Post Graduate applicants must have completed at least 50% of the credit hours required for their degree to be eligible for this scholarship.
- Funding is limited to a maximum of two years, per degree.
- All awarded scholarship amounts will only be used for student’s tuition, fees, and books.
- Awarded amounts are paid directly and only to the accredited college or university where applicant is enrolled.
- All applicants must be enrolled at least part-time to qualify.
- Awarded amounts are subject to change, if there is a change in an applicant’s original application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some frequently asked questions about the scholarship application and disbursement process, but feel free to contact the Foundation staff at [email protected] if you don’t see your specific question addressed.
Awards are subject to the number of qualified applicants and typically will not exceed $2,500 per applicant.
No they are not renewable. Students must reapply for the next year. Please note that funding is limited to a maximum of two years, per degree.
Our grantmaking software requires applicants to create an account so they can save their progress as they go and receive communications and updates regarding their applications.
Required items include:
- A complete online application through the SH Foundations Scholarship Portal.
- Attached Narrative essay - topic specified in the application
- Attached Resume - current and limited to two pages
- Attached Academic transcript(s) - most recent unofficial transcript
All scholarship communications from our Salem Health Foundations Scholarship portal will come from <[email protected]>. Please make sure to add this email as a contact to prevent our messages from going to your junk or spam mail folders.
The term “grant” is used generally, but grants and scholarships are both types of gift aid.
You can click on the “Forgot Password?” link in the SH Foundations Scholarship Portal to reset the password. Or you can contact the Salem Health Foundation at [email protected] to request that your password is reset. We cannot see your password, but will send you a link to reset it.
The SH Foundations Scholarship Portal allows you to save your work as you go, and pick up where you left off. If you accidentally create multiple applications, make a note of which one is the correct or most completed one, and you can delete the duplicate applications so you don't get confused. Make sure you submit your completed application before the deadline of March 31st at midnight Pacific Time.
The options at the bottom of the form allow you to Save & Finish Later or the Review & Submit your application. Make sure that you have clicked the Review and Submit button to submit your application when you have completed it. After the application has been submitted, you’ll receive an automated confirmation email that your application has been received.
The Scholarship Review Committee considers all applications and makes their recommendation to the Boards in late May. After the Boards decided on the Committee’s recommendations, all applicants will be notified of the outcome via email. Refer to the Scholarship Timeline for date of notification.
Applicants who are awarded scholarships will be directed back to the SH Foundations Scholarships Portal to complete a Scholarship Response form to formally accept the scholarship and to verify information about the school that they are attending for the upcoming academic year. The form will require that the student provide some additional information that will enable us to make sure the scholarship funds are sent to the correct institution and applied to the correct student account. Refer to the Scholarship Timeline for when the Scholarship Response Form is due.
The check is mailed directly to your institution in early August if you have completed the Scholarship Response form in a timely manner. The entirety of your scholarship is sent to your institution in August, and it is up to your institution to apply it to your student account. Please check with them by the end of August if you have questions about how the funds are applied across the terms/semesters of your academic year.
YourCause is a software platform that is owned by Blackbaud. Blackbaud Grantmaking is the program that we use to administer our scholarships and grants. The terms may be used interchangeably.