There will be $7.5 million in scholarship funds available for the current fiscal year through Colorado’s initiative to generate philanthropic contributions toward higher education.

The Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative came into existence in 2014, designed to boost college attainment among students living in the state. The Colorado Department of Higher Education reports that the investment of $47 million of state money to date has generated $28 million additionally from local or private sources. More than 75,000 students have gotten financial aid through the program.

“I continue to advocate for COSI because it puts college within reach for the students who need it the most and remains a wise investment for our state,” said Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada. “Every dollar invested in COSI is matched by a private philanthropy, thus doubling our return.”

COSI distributes the money in a decentralized fashion to scholarship programs, where the combined matching dollars go toward students’ education expenses. A report following the 2017-2018 school year found that in total, nearly two-thirds of the scholarship recipients were students of color. Two-thirds were also female.

“Scholarship Initiative students are found to persist at rates 25 percentage points higher than their peers from similar socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds,” the program emphasized.

The application period for the current round of $7.5 million in funding is open, and $5 million is set aside specifically for counties based on the proportion of high school seniors from low-income families.