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No (Grand)Child Left Behind
College Funding Options for Grandparents By Kelly Burgess
NextStudent, FinAid, FastWebNextStudent, FinAid and FastWeb are the three largest free, private search engines for scholarships and other forms of aid. NextStudent also offers free financial advice and can help grandparents compare funding options. UpromiseThink of Upromise as a rewards program that isn't tied just to any one service or credit card, but to virtually every purchase a family makes. This is a particularly good program for grandparents who are raising younger grandchildren and are looking further into the future for college. Upromise spokesperson Catherine O'Rourke says that anyone can register on behalf of a child grandparents, parents, neighbors, uncles, aunts. Statements are sent quarterly, and the funds are often put into a 529 Plan for future use. 
529 PlansLike Upromise, this is a great idea for those who are raising younger grandchildren. Named after Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, these are state-sponsored programs designed to help parents finance education expenses. However, a 529 Plan can be opened and contributed to by anyone, just as in the above scenario. The proceeds can be used only for education. The tax advantages of these plans are significant.
There are two other important points that are worth making. First, start the scholarship searches as soon as possible when the child is a junior in high school is best because most have deadlines and require a great deal of paperwork on the child's part, such as teacher recommendations. Second, it can't be reiterated strongly enough that information on college funding, filing paperwork and tracking applications is always free, all the time. If you come across a site or service that charges a fee, it's almost certainly a scam. Instead of paying for something you can do yourself, put that money toward books.