Impact — Scholarship Program
The Impact Scholarship Program
Three scholarships, one program — the money to start, the roadmap to build, and $50,000 for one entrepreneur every year.
Rising Leaders applications close September 1, 2026
Not a prize. A program.
A prize happens once. A program runs all year. Impact awards scholarships at three different points in a founder's story — the cash that gets someone moving, the full year of guidance that gets the business built, and one $50,000 award that changes a life outright.
One program, three ways in.
These aren't competing prizes. They're a beginning, a middle and a summit — because a founder needs something different on day one than they need in year one.
Rising Leaders Scholarship
One entrepreneur, funded to start their business — startup costs and legal fees, plus a year of mentorship and community. Open to everyone across the US, 18 and over. No membership required.
See the Rising Leaders ScholarshipRoadmap Scholarship
A full year inside Impact: a cohort seat, six coaching sessions, a dedicated mentor, the whole resource library and help with the paperwork. For the founder who needs the map.
What the Roadmap includesFirst Step Scholarship
The cash that funds the very first step, awarded quarterly. We'll announce a cycle when the money for it is committed — and not a day before.
Read about First StepScholarships are open to everyone
The Rising Leaders Scholarship is open to entrepreneurs anywhere in the United States, 18 and over. You do not need to be an Impact member to apply, and membership never buys preferential access to scholarship money. Impact is a 501(c)(3) — that line matters to us, and we hold it.
$50,000 for one entrepreneur.
The flagship award. One entrepreneur, once a year, funded to start their business properly — and named live on stage at the Impact Launch Gala.
What it covers
Startup costs and legal fees, plus our mentorship program, the Impact community and every tool needed to launch right.
Who can apply
Entrepreneurs anywhere in the US, 18 or older, with a named business. Finalists pitch in person in San Diego.
This year's cycle
Applications close September 1, 2026. Finalists are chosen by September 5 and pitch September 8–18. The winner is named at the Launch Gala on Saturday, September 26.
You bring the calling. We bring the roadmap.
This one doesn't hand anyone a check. It hands them everything it takes to actually build the thing — a full year of it, .
What the recipient receives
- A full year of Impact membership — round tables, TED Talks, workshops, happy hours, Impact Days, the member forum and monthly calls
- A seat in a group cohort — building alongside other founders at the same stage
- Six 1:1 coaching sessions — the plan, the numbers, the paperwork
- A dedicated mentor for the year — a founder who has already built one, monthly
- The complete resource library — business plans, financial models, pitch decks and strategy frameworks, ready to use
- A business spotlight — their business, in front of the room
- Business formation help — an attorney consultation plus support filing the LLC, the EIN and the San Diego business license
- A seat at the Impact Launch Gala — in the room with the people who funded them
Why we put a number on it
Every line above has a real market price in San Diego — a cohort seat, an hour of coaching, a year of a recognized founder's time. We add them up honestly and then state less than the total. Anyone who checks the arithmetic will find more support than we claimed. That's the only side of that line worth standing on.
Email info@we-impact.com or call (619) 541-2454 and we'll tell you what's involved.
The money that funds the first step.
To know the thing you're supposed to build and have no idea what the first step is — that is where most people stop. The First Step Scholarship is the award that funds that step: $5,000 to $10,000 in cash, quarterly.
Rising Leaders names where someone is going. First Step names where they are. They're a pair, not two competing prizes — a beginning and a summit.
Not open yet — and we'll say so until it is
We won't promise a cycle we can't fund. The First Step Scholarship opens once the money for the first award is in the bank, and every cycle will be announced about a month before applications open. Until then this is what we're building, not what we're taking applications for.
If you want to hear about it first, email info@we-impact.com and we'll tell you the moment a cycle is set.
Every one of these was paid for by someone.
Nobody here is funded by an endowment. Every scholarship in this program exists because a person decided a stranger's calling was worth paying for. Here is exactly what a gift buys.
Fund a cohort seat
A cohort runs whether eight founders are in it or nine. Funding the ninth seat costs us almost nothing and changes that person's year completely.
Sponsor a SeatFund a Roadmap Scholarship
A full year of membership, coaching, a mentor and the paperwork help — a full year inside Impact
Talk to Us About ItGive toward the $50,000
Any amount goes straight into the Rising Leaders Scholarship. A gift of any size is part of the number that gets called out on stage.
Give to the Scholarship FundTax-deductible giving
Impact is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so your gift to the Scholarship Program may be tax-deductible as a charitable contribution. You'll receive an official receipt for your records. Consult your tax advisor about your eligibility.