All scholarships involve a donating party (individual or business/corporation), and the administrators of a scholarship.

For example – an institutional scholarship. You have someone who has donated money to the school for scholarship purposes. The have an outline as to who they would like to receive the scholarship (i.e. giving $1000/semester to someone from their hometown who is majoring in economics and has at least a 3.7 GPA). The financial aid office at the school, as the administrator of the scholarship, determines who is qualified for that scholarship. Usually this is done by gathering a pool of students who fit the outline, and then award it to the neediest of the students.

Hope that helps a little. If you have specific questions, you should talk to a financial aid officer at your school. Good luck!