Israel Scholarships

Scholarships for Qualifying Programs in Israel
Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is proud to offer grants to local teens and young adults to offset the cost of travelling to Israel on qualifying organized programs. Made possible through funds raised through the Jewish Community Foundation and Jewish Federation, grants aim to encourage participation in qualified programs in Israel and are available to applicants who demonstrate financial need.

For our 2020 Grant Cycle, we are piloting a joint application form with the Hebrew Free Loan Association (HFLA) for families of high school students. As such, when you apply to Jewish Federation for a scholarship, low and moderate income families will automatically be considered for an interest-free loan at the same time. An HFLA grant will allow you to break the cost of your Israel trip into 40 interest free payments and will make the cost of your trip more manageable.

Criteria for Scholarships

1. The scholarship program is designed to help applicants in financial need to participate in trips to Israel with priority given to first time trips. Previous family trips or early childhood experiences living in Israel do not disqualify youth from applying.
    
2. Financial aid is only provided for Jewish Federation approved programs. These programs must be included in the MASA listing or be approved by Jewish Federation staff before being forwarded to the committee. Approved trips must be a minimum of two weeks in Israel.
    
3. Applications submitted within less than 25 months of a previous trip for which financial aid was received will not be considered.  
    
4. Eligible applicants must be BC residents or applicants who grew up in BC but are attending high school, college or university outside BC.
    
5. Applicants who receive a scholarship must commit to some form of community service or volunteerism upon their return.
    
6. To be considered for a scholarship for a second trip, applicants should be able to demonstrate how this second trip builds upon or extends the benefits of the previous program.
    
7. The maximum amount of a scholarship is $2,500.
    
8. Applicants who are seeking funding for a university program, seminary or yeshiva must demonstrate that they have acquired 75% of the funding upfront and will be returning to Canada at the end of the program.
    
9. There will be a minimum of two intake periods per calendar year for scholarship applications.
    
10. Extenuating circumstances. There will be applicants whose personal circumstances are such that a request may be approved outside of the established criteria.

Applicants are expected to contribute to the cost of the program. Scholarships are not awarded on a retroactive basis. If approved, the funds will be paid directly to the program or to the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Vancouver (if applicable) and not to an individual.

Criteria for HFLA Loans

1. HFLA’s Israel Experience loan program exists to help low to moderate income families access an educational experience in Israel. As such, only families of modest financial means will be considered for a loan.
    
2. For our 2020 pilot program year, HFLA loans will be restricted to programs for high school aged students only.

How to Apply

We have two types of applications, one for those with children currently in High School and another for High School graduates. The requirements for each are different so please make sure to select the correct process.

All applications, regardless of the stream, are due by February 28, 2020.

Process for Parents of Current High School Students:

Step 1: Complete an online application form:
Please complete our joint Jewish Federation/HFLA online application form by clicking here. *

Step 2: You will receive an email indicating that your form has been received. This email will also provide you with further instructions about how to submit the following:

1. A personal statement from your child indicating why participating in this program is important to them.
2. Your 2019 Notice of Assessment

Step 3: HFLA will forward your application to Jewish Federation to be considered for an Israel scholarship.

Step 4: Await our decision.

*Please note that applicants who qualify for an HFLA loan may be asked to speak or meet with an HFLA representative.

Process 2: For High School Graduates:

Step 1: Complete an online application form
Please download and complete our application form by clicking here: Israel Scholarship 2020

Please note the following requirements within the form:

1.  Personal Statement
Reflect on your reasons for wanting to participate in your program of choice, and why you feel you qualify for financial assistance.  This information may include what you hope to gain from this experience, your goals for the future (academic, professional and/or personal), and anything else that may be relevant.

2.  Personal/Program Information
Please note that funds cannot be allocated without a Social Insurance Number. If you do not have one, please apply immediately on the Service Canada website.

3. Statement of Financial Need
Both the applicant and the applicant’s parents must complete and sign this statement unless a Parent’s Statement of Non-Support is completed.

In addition to the Statement of Financial Need, please include a copy of your parents’ most recent tax notice of assessment, unless a Parent’s Statement of Non-Support is completed, in which case your most recent tax notice of assessment is required. Without this, your application cannot be considered.

4. Parents Statement of Non-Support
This form only needs to be completed by applicants who are financially independent from their parents.
 

Step 2: Await our decision

Questions?

Please contact Sarah Berger at sberger@jewishvancouver.com.