The Dayton-Montgomery County Scholarship Program (DMCSP) was founded in 1981 to serve the needs of achieving students who required financial assistance in order to attend the college of their choice. DMCSP has expanded from its initial service to students in the Dayton City Schools to include 29 participating school districts in Montgomery County.

The DMCSP was, and remains, a not-for-profit, tax exempt corporation under 501(c)(3) organization of the Internal Revenue Code. In July of 2006, the DMCSP affiliated with The Dayton Foundation to achieve certain economies and to better integrate DMCSP with other regional scholarship programs.

Renewable scholarships are awarded each May to provide college access and success to deserving students in the region.  Since its inception, DMCSP has awarded over $23.9 million to more than 21,500 graduating seniors.