Foundation Girola ONLUS - Scholarships for orphans

Fondazione Girola scholarship for orphans

You will receive a one-off payment of 4,000 EUR for one school or academic year. This will be paid in two instalments: 50% at the award ceremony and the remainder by the end of the year. The Fondazione Girola, a Milan-based foundation that has been providing financial support to orphans since 1991, is awarding 170 of these scholarships in the 2025/26 round. You may reapply in subsequent years, and several children from the same family may each apply.

Who can apply

• Family situation: You have lost one or both of your parents.
• Where you live: They live in the Italian region of Lombardy.
• Study level: You are in upper secondary school or studying at a university (Bachelor’s, Master’s or single-cycle Master’s degree) and are on track with your studies, without having had to repeat a school year.
• Age: You haven't turned over 26 yet.
• Field of study: Any topic is fine.
• Grades: You have performed well in 2024/2025. Depending on your level of achievement, this means, for example, at least 7/10 as a school average, at least 80/100 on your school-leaving certificate for first-year students, or an examination average of at least 25/30, whereby two-thirds of the examinations must have been taken by the second year of study.
• Income: Your household’s ISEE 2026 is 30,000 EUR or less. The ISEE is the Italian measure of a family’s income and assets and is based here on the income 2024.
• No other scholarship: You are not receiving any other scholarship in the year 2025/2026.

How to apply

Download the application form from the Foundation’s website, complete it and send it, together with all the required documents, by registered post to the Foundation in Milan. The postmark must be dated no later than 28 February 2026. The Board will make its decision based on your application documents. There will be no interview, and the results will be communicated by email.

How realistic are your chances?

The eligibility criteria for this scholarship are quite strict. You must be an orphan living in Lombardy, perform well at school, have good marks, and come from a low-income household. As a result, the pool of eligible applicants is small, and with 170 scholarships on offer, the chances of a suitable applicant being successful are quite good. If you clearly meet the criteria regarding age, place of residence, grades and income, and submit your complete application by the deadline, your chances are good.