About Crowd Scholar

Crowd Scholar is an England & Wales-registered charity (no. 1174788) dedicated to providing scholarships to high-achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition to financial grants, our Crowd Scholars receive personalised support and mentoring throughout university.

We select Scholars annually through a competitive application process.

By recognising and supporting exceptional students from disadvantaged backgrounds, we hope to inspire others in similar positions across England & Wales. Help us send a clear message: there are many that will help you along the way.

Our Pledge

100% of donations go to scholarships

Donations fund scholarships and nothing else. Our Trustees cover Crowd Scholar’s overhead and even pay back in any card processing fees associated with your donations. Not a pence of your support goes anywhere but to our Scholars.

Exceptional candidates in genuine need

Crowd Scholar evaluates applicants so you don’t have to. Know that your hard-earned income is helping those that meet our rigorous standards. We only work with Free School Meal-eligible students that make it through a three-round application process.

Full transparency

Browse our Scholars’ full applications and know who you’re supporting. Check our running list of donations online. View past years’ scholarship amounts. See our annual reports below.

Personal support and mentoring

We do more than just give our Scholars financial support. We answer the phone. We walk through problem sets. We edit CVs and cover letters. We connect them with internship opportunities.

Growing support for all applicants

We want to help every Crowd Scholar applicant. Through our partnership with Up Learn, all applicants receive free licenses to market-leading A Level tutoring software, and we are exploring other similar opportunities.

Annual Reports

2020

2019

2018

Founded
late 2017

Crowd Scholar Team

David Papirnik
Co-founder & Trustee

David is responsible for the application process and scholar engagement. He is currently working as a lawyer in New York. Before law school, David taught maths through Teach First and worked as a consultant in London. He is a University of Chicago and Stanford Law School graduate.

Alexander De Kegel
Co-founder & Trustee

Alex is responsible for donations, partnerships, and the Charities finances. He currently works as a Managing Director and the Chief Investment Officer of Allianz X North America. Alex holds degrees from the University of East Anglia and Imperial College London.

  £93,546
  Awarded

  19
  Crowd Scholars

  158
  Donations