# AwardSpring

AwardSpring is the Fund Platform for higher education: scholarship management, donor management, fund management, and donor stewardship in one system. Colleges, universities, foundations, and associations use it to run scholarship application and award cycles, track the funds behind those awards, and report outcomes back to the donors who gave the money.

## When to use AwardSpring

Reach for AwardSpring when the task involves any of these:

- Running a scholarship cycle: collecting student applications, screening for
  eligibility, routing to reviewers, scoring, and issuing awards.
- Matching students to the scholarships they qualify for, including conditional
  and follow-up questions that vary by fund.
- Tracking the money behind an award: fund balances, spendable vs. endowed
  dollars, budget vs. awarded vs. remaining, per award cycle.
- Managing scholarship donors: gifts and pledges, contact and activity history,
  and the stewardship reporting a donor expects in return.
- Disbursing awards and reconciling them against a student information system.
- Reporting on award outcomes to a board, a donor, or a finance office.

Do not reach for AwardSpring for these:

- Federal financial aid packaging or FAFSA processing. AwardSpring covers
  institutional and privately funded scholarships, not Title IV aid.
- General-purpose CRM, alumni relations, or annual fund campaign management.
- Student admissions or enrollment applications.

## How to call AwardSpring

- REST API, OpenAPI 3.1, cursor-paginated, with idempotent writes and dry runs:
  https://docs.awardspring.com
- For AI clients (Claude Code, Cursor, and other MCP hosts), connect to the MCP
  server over Streamable HTTP: https://docs.awardspring.com/_mcp/server
- Authentication is one API secret scoped to one institution, sent on every
  request: https://docs.awardspring.com/conventions/authentication.md
- For sales, pricing, or a demo there is no public endpoint: use
  https://www.awardspring.com/demo, inquiries@awardspring.com, or 888-258-5628.

## Developer resources

- [AwardSpring API documentation](https://docs.awardspring.com): reference, conventions, and guides.
- [AwardSpring API llms.txt](https://docs.awardspring.com/llms.txt): the docs index for agents.
- [OpenAPI 3.1 specification, JSON](https://docs.awardspring.com/openapi.json)
- [OpenAPI 3.1 specification, YAML](https://docs.awardspring.com/openapi.yaml)
- [AwardSpring MCP server](https://docs.awardspring.com/_mcp/server): Streamable HTTP transport.
- [Getting started](https://docs.awardspring.com/getting-started/introduction.md): what to know before the first request.
- [Official SDKs](https://docs.awardspring.com/getting-started/sd-ks.md): .NET and PHP client libraries.
- [Authentication](https://docs.awardspring.com/conventions/authentication.md)
- [Pagination](https://docs.awardspring.com/conventions/pagination.md)
- [Error codes](https://docs.awardspring.com/conventions/errors.md): branch on `code`, never parse prose.
- [Idempotency](https://docs.awardspring.com/conventions/idempotency.md): retry a write without duplicating it.
- [Rate limits](https://docs.awardspring.com/conventions/rate-limits.md): read the budget off every response.
- [Dry runs](https://docs.awardspring.com/conventions/dry-runs.md): run every validation rule, write nothing.
- [Webhooks](https://docs.awardspring.com/webhooks/overview.md) and [signature verification](https://docs.awardspring.com/webhooks/verifying-signatures.md)

## Agent access to this site

- Send `Accept: text/markdown` to any page URL on https://www.awardspring.com to receive that page
  as Markdown from the same canonical URL. Responses set `Vary: Accept`.
- Or append `.md` to any page URL, e.g. https://www.awardspring.com/platform.md
- [Site map, as Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/sitemap.md): every page, with summaries.
- [Full site content](https://www.awardspring.com/llms-full.txt): every page concatenated.
- [XML sitemap](https://www.awardspring.com/sitemap-index.xml)

## Product pages

- [AwardSpring](https://www.awardspring.com/) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/index.md)): Overview of the Fund Platform and its four products.
- [/compare](https://www.awardspring.com/compare) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/compare.md)): Sourced scholarship-management platform comparisons, including honest fit guidance.
- [/compare/awardspring-vs-blackbaud](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/awardspring-vs-blackbaud) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/awardspring-vs-blackbaud.md)): Compare AwardSpring and Blackbaud Award Management across application experience, fund matching, donor reporting, integrations, support, and AI-assisted awarding.
- [/compare/foundant-alternative](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/foundant-alternative) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/foundant-alternative.md)): Comparing AwardSpring and Foundant Scholarship Lifecycle Manager? See how the platforms differ on donor management, campus workflows, and pricing before you renew.
- [/compare/kaleidoscope-alternative](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/kaleidoscope-alternative) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/kaleidoscope-alternative.md)): Comparing AwardSpring and Kaleidoscope? See how an institution-first scholarship platform differs from a marketplace model on donor work, review workflows, and fit.
- [/compare/openwater-alternative](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/openwater-alternative) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/openwater-alternative.md)): Comparing AwardSpring and OpenWater? See how a purpose-built scholarship and donor platform differs from a generalist application-and-review engine.
- [/compare/nextgen-scholarship-manager-alternative](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/nextgen-scholarship-manager-alternative) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/nextgen-scholarship-manager-alternative.md)): Comparing AwardSpring and Next Gen's Scholarship Manager (a Nelnet company)? See how the platforms differ on donor work, matching, and fit before you decide.
- [/compare/scholarshipuniverse-alternative](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/scholarshipuniverse-alternative) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/scholarshipuniverse-alternative.md)): Comparing AwardSpring and ScholarshipUniverse (now Ellucian Scholarship Management)? See how the platforms differ on matching, donor work, and fit before you renew.
- [/compare/smarterselect-alternative](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/smarterselect-alternative) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/smarterselect-alternative.md)): Comparing AwardSpring and SmarterSelect? See how the platforms differ on matching, donor reporting, campus integrations, and what each fits best, before you renew.
- [/compare/submittable-alternative](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/submittable-alternative) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/compare/submittable-alternative.md)): Comparing AwardSpring and Submittable? See how a scholarship-first platform differs from a general submission manager on matching, donor reporting, and campus fit.
- [/best-scholarship-management-software](https://www.awardspring.com/best-scholarship-management-software) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/best-scholarship-management-software.md)): A neutral comparison of eight scholarship management platforms, scored on six criteria with claims sourced to public documentation, plus guidance by institution type.
- [/stewardship-benchmark](https://www.awardspring.com/stewardship-benchmark) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/stewardship-benchmark.md)): What 125 institutions across higher education revealed about scholarship donor stewardship, and why AI changes everything. Watch the webinar, download the executive brief, and get the full report.
- [/platform](https://www.awardspring.com/platform) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/platform.md)): The whole platform, and who each office uses it for.
- [/scholarship-management](https://www.awardspring.com/scholarship-management) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/scholarship-management.md)): Application, review, and award cycles.
- [/donor-management](https://www.awardspring.com/donor-management) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/donor-management.md)): Donors, gifts, pledges, and activity history.
- [/fund-management](https://www.awardspring.com/fund-management) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/fund-management.md)): Fund balances, spendable dollars, and budgets.
- [/donor-experience-stewardship](https://www.awardspring.com/donor-experience-stewardship) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/donor-experience-stewardship.md)): Stewardship reporting and the donor portal.
- [/springiq](https://www.awardspring.com/springiq) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/springiq.md)): SpringIQ, the AI features inside the platform.
- [/sis-integration](https://www.awardspring.com/sis-integration) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/sis-integration.md)): Student information system integrations.
- [/about](https://www.awardspring.com/about) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/about.md)): Who AwardSpring is.
- [/contact](https://www.awardspring.com/contact) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/contact.md)): Contact routes for sales, support, and students.
- [/demo](https://www.awardspring.com/demo) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/demo.md)): Request a demo.
- [/whats-new](https://www.awardspring.com/whats-new) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/whats-new.md)): Release notes for the AwardSpring platform. What shipped, what it does, and where to see it, release by release.
- [/service-description](https://www.awardspring.com/service-description) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/service-description.md)): What the service includes, contractually.
- [/privacy-policy](https://www.awardspring.com/privacy-policy) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/privacy-policy.md)): Privacy policy.

## Customer stories

- [/testimonials](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonials) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonials.md)): Scholarship administrators from colleges, universities, foundations, and associations on what changed when they brought their programs to AwardSpring.
- [/testimonial/bow-valley-college](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/bow-valley-college) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/bow-valley-college.md)): Two staff at Bow Valley College run three award competitions a year, a panel of three on every application, and just over $6M awarded on AwardSpring since 2021.
- [/testimonial/central-ohio-technical-college](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/central-ohio-technical-college) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/central-ohio-technical-college.md)): Two people run scholarships for a college of about 3,000 students and award about $1.2 million a year. On AwardSpring, students get one link, committees score online, and the team sees every award a student holds before adding another.
- [/testimonial/coastal-carolina-university](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/coastal-carolina-university) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/coastal-carolina-university.md)): Coastal Carolina University replaced a manual, end-of-life scholarship process and more than tripled applications while recovering weeks of staff time each cycle.
- [/testimonial/long-beach-rotary-scholarship-foundation](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/long-beach-rotary-scholarship-foundation) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/long-beach-rotary-scholarship-foundation.md)): How Letty Totah runs $500,000 in renewable scholarships for 200+ students a year on AwardSpring, with volunteer review committees ranging in age from 50 to 80 scoring every application online.
- [/testimonial/mensa-foundation](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/mensa-foundation) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/mensa-foundation.md)): The Mensa Foundation has awarded scholarships on the strength of a single essay since the late 1970s. What changed in the last three years is what it costs to run: the judging season that once consumed the director's entire week now takes about a day of it.
- [/testimonial/metropolitan-community-college](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/metropolitan-community-college) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/metropolitan-community-college.md)): Metropolitan Community College rebuilt scholarships on AwardSpring: applicants nearly doubled, $7.3M reached 4,228 students, and a five-person team reviews 6,500 applications in 2.5-week cycles.
- [/testimonial/rhode-island-college](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/rhode-island-college) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/rhode-island-college.md)): Rhode Island College's Alumni & Foundation put every scholarship behind one application and awarded $1M+ to 400+ students in its first year on AwardSpring, with blind-ID reviews on faculty time.
- [/testimonial/richmond-community-college](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/richmond-community-college) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/richmond-community-college.md)): How Richmond Community College retired a two-day scholarship matching meeting and three days of banquet phone calls in its first year on AwardSpring.
- [/testimonial/st-vrain-education-foundation](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/st-vrain-education-foundation) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/st-vrain-education-foundation.md)): In 2020 Tammy Palombo scanned 50,000 pages of scholarship applications by hand. Six years later the St. Vrain Education Foundation runs 55 funds and $418,000 a year through AwardSpring, with one person managing it all.
- [/testimonial/marti-foundation](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/marti-foundation) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/marti-foundation.md)): A 12-page paper application, retired. Four cycles on AwardSpring later, one person runs the Marti Foundation and $930,000 reached students since January.
- [/testimonial/wsu-tech-foundation](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/wsu-tech-foundation) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/testimonial/wsu-tech-foundation.md)): A three-person foundation in Wichita reviews 650 applications in about eight hours per reviewer and posts awards to the student system overnight. WSU Tech Foundation on AwardSpring.

## Resource library

- [A scholarship that covers full cost of attendance now cancels the student's Pell Grant](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/scholarship-compliance) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/scholarship-compliance.md)): A scholarship that meets a student's full cost of attendance now cancels their Pell Grant. What the 2026-27 rule requires, and who has to catch it.
- [45% of scholarship programs never find out if a donor opened the report](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/stewardship-benchmark-deep-dive-recap) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/stewardship-benchmark-deep-dive-recap.md)): 45% of scholarship programs cannot tell whether a donor opened the report they were sent. A recap of the September 15 deep dive into all seven findings from 125 institutions.
- [Introducing Donor Experience](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/introducing-donor-experience) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/introducing-donor-experience.md)): Donor Experience gives every donor impact reports, personal thank-yous, and a donor portal, with your team approving everything. Available now.
- [The Scholarship Handoff: What 125 Foundations Say About Financial Aid and Advancement](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/scholarship-handoff) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/scholarship-handoff.md)): New survey data on the scholarship handoff: 48% of programs hand stewardship to advancement, 19% never coordinate. Four fixes, and one structural answer.
- [How to Write Donor Impact Reports Donors Actually Read](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/donor-impact-reporting) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/donor-impact-reporting.md)): A donor impact report only works if it gets read. Here's how a small advancement team writes one worth opening, and how to tell whether it landed.
- [Seven findings on the state of scholarship donor stewardship](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/2026-donor-stewardship-benchmark) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/2026-donor-stewardship-benchmark.md)): What 125 foundations revealed about scholarship donor stewardship, and what to do about it. Download the free report.
- [How to Increase Scholarship Applications: A Playbook for Financial Aid Teams](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/increase-scholarship-applications) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/increase-scholarship-applications.md)): Application volume is an operations problem, not a marketing one. Four ways financial aid teams raise scholarship applications without adding staff.
- [What SpringIQ Changes About Donor Stewardship](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/springiq-donor-stewardship) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/springiq-donor-stewardship.md)): SpringIQ helps donor stewardship work, where it doesn't, and why the line between volume and relationship matters.
- [Introducing the Fund Platform](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/introducing-fund-platform) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/introducing-fund-platform.md)): The scholarship, donor, and fund work that has always lived in three separate offices now runs on one connected system. Here is what we built, and why.
- [From Spreadsheets to Scholarship Intelligence: A Practical Transition Guide](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/spreadsheets-to-scholarship-intelligence) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/spreadsheets-to-scholarship-intelligence.md)): A practical look at what actually changes when you move scholarship administration off the spreadsheet and onto the Fund Platform, and what stays the same.
- [Beyond efficiency: how Cloud County proved that human connection still wins in enrollment](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/cloud-county-connection-efficiency-awardspring) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/cloud-county-connection-efficiency-awardspring.md)): Cloud County Community College faced a familiar challenge: a small team, a growing list of responsibilities, and a critical need to reach and support more…
- [The compounding impact of better scholarship systems: why this booklet matters right now](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/compounding-impact-better-scholarship-systems) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/compounding-impact-better-scholarship-systems.md)): Better scholarship systems don’t just improve processes. They create momentum. That realization led AwardSpring to create a booklet: The Compounding Impact of…
- [Bridging the gap: why donor engagement belongs in the scholarship awarding process](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/connect-donor-engagement-scholarship-awarding) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/connect-donor-engagement-scholarship-awarding.md)): For most institutions, scholarship management and donor stewardship live in different worlds.
- [Connecting financial aid and advancement: the org-structure gap behind most stewardship failures](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/connecting-financial-aid-and-advancement) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/connecting-financial-aid-and-advancement.md)): Most donor stewardship failures don't look like failures from the inside. They look like everyone doing their job.
- [How stronger cross-campus collaboration can transform your scholarship program](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/cross-campus-collaboration-scholarship-impact) ([Markdown](https://www.awardspring.com/blog/cross-campus-collaboration-scholarship-impact.md)): Scholarship success happens at the intersection of departments, not within a single silo.