Thousands of South African students with the potential to succeed in Higher Education are held back each year, often by financial constraints alone.
As pressure on public funding mechanisms continues to grow, a strong and strategic group of private bursary funders has never been more essential.
Yet for many funders, navigating the Higher Education bursary landscape can be complex. Questions around funding models, programme design, student support, partnerships, risk and impact can make it difficult to know where to begin — or how to strengthen an existing programme.
IPASA has compiled a new suite of practical resources to help.
Drawing on sector knowledge, practical considerations and lessons learned from experienced funders, the resources are designed to support existing, new and emerging bursary providers to make informed decisions and strengthen their contribution to Higher Education in South Africa.
The suite includes:
a) Higher Education Bursary Funding Toolkit
For funders new to supporting bursaries, this resource offers insight into the landscape, helps define focus areas, and guides the selection of a funding model and potential partners. For existing bursary funders, it supports reviewing programme effectiveness, strengthening support models, improving monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) practices, and managing risk.
b) Higher Education Bursary Knowledge Brief
This brief supports philanthropy, private funders, trusts, scholarship programmes, corporate social investment initiatives, and other ecosystem stakeholders in better understanding South Africa’s postgraduate and research funding landscape.
c) Complementary Quick-Start Resources
Designed to complement the Toolkit and serve as an entry point for funders new to bursary funding, this set includes a practical quick-start roadmap plus five editable templates to support implementation including MOU, Student Funding Agreement, Selection Rubric, Budget Model and KPI Dashboard templates.
The resources were launched virtually on the 20th of August 2026 and were made possible through the generous support of The Carl & Emily Fuchs Foundation, The Doris Crossley Foundation, and the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust.
Explore the resources and start your journey: https://ipa-sa.org.za/our-initiatives/higher-education/