WE ARE ARE NOT ACCEPTING REQUESTS OR APPLICATIONS AT THIS TIME.
The COMPASS Scholarship Fund is part of the “T – Training and Skills Development and Acceptance” in our T.H.R.I.V.E. framework which engages the ACCOMPANY part of our mission.
Post-secondary education is out of the question for many of the youth in the families we work with. They are not eligible for subsidies provided by OSAP or the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program until their refugee claim is approved and they are granted protected person status.
Instead, they are deemed international students and must pay international student fees for their education. These fees are well beyond their means, reaching from $24,000 to $60,000 per year, depending on the school.
While College Fees tend to be much lower in general, they still remain a barrier for refugee claimants, as they average $14,000 per year for international students.
Our scholarship fund makes post-secondary education accessible for eligible students who have no other way of taking this next step!
Without the means to pay, post-secondary education is delayed until a refugee claim is decided. That can take anywhere from 2 to 8 years. With 90% of those we work with granted protection, delaying their education serves to only unnecessarily delay, and often deter, their full potential and contribution to their new home, especially in the labour market.
“The first step for successful labour market integration is to ensure everyone leaves school with the necessary skills to succeed, including a qualifying diploma” (OECD: Making Integration Work: Young People with Migrant Parents © 2021, p.45).
Our Scholarship Fund addresses a Social Determinant of Health (SDOH) and is designed to ensure that students who are academically eligible to further their education are not held back by fees well out of their reach.
We are collaborating with Wilfred Laurier University and the ISOW Newcomer Scholarship Program to provide a full scholarship to 1-2 eligible youth per year. The scholarship is renewable each year they remain eligible financially, academically, and with respect to their status as refugee claimants.
As funds allow, we will also use this fund to support youth attending other schools either part-time or full-time, with either full or partial scholarships.
Investing in youth today makes a difference for every tomorrow!
Youth who have been granted a study permit while waiting for the outcomes of their refugee claim, will be allowed to continue their studies until their permit expires, even if their claim is denied. That means your investment in their future is not lost, but instead could be the difference for them when they are returned to their country of origin.
Should donor generosity make it possible, we want to expand the Scholarship Fund to support refugee claimant adults who need help paying for micro- or re-credentialling so they can bring the best of their skills to the labour market, and better provide for their families.
Thank you so much!
You can donate,
· by cheque or
· by using your debit or credit card, choosing ‘Scholarship Fund’.
Every donation, of any amount, helps to ensure no youth is delayed or deterred in reaching their full potential and contributing to their new home.
Please follow the donate button to get started!
Please see our Designated/Restricted Donation policy for more information about how we manage special fund campaigns. In addition, each year the Board of Directors approves a general fund portion for each special fund to recognize the organizational support and staff time needed to administer the fund and to facilitate the program such fund supports. That portion is included in the fund goal for that year and does not exceed 15%.
