Israel Scholarship

Israel Scholarsip for Qualifying Programs in Israel
Our Israel and Overseas Affairs department is proud to offer grants to offset the cost of travelling to Israel on qualifying organized programs. Made possible 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.

Criteria

The scholarship program is designed to help applicants in financial need 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.
Financial aid is only provided for Federation approved programs. These programs must be included in the MASA listing or be approved by Federation staff before being forwarded to the committee. Approved trips are must be a minimum of two weeks in Israel.
Applications submitted within less than 25 months of a previous trip for which financial aid was received will not be considered.
Eligible applicants must be BC residents or applicants who grew up in BC but are attending high school, college or university outside BC.
Applicants who receive a scholarship must commit to some form of community service or volunteerism upon their return.
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.
The maximum grant is $2,500.
Applicants who are seeking funding for a university program, seminary or yeshiva must demonstrate that they have acquired 75% of the funding up front and will be returning to Canada at the end of the program.
There will be a minimum of two intake periods per calendar year for grant applications.
Extenuating circumstances. There will be applicants whose personal circumstances are such that staff with the agreement of the committee may approve a request outside of the established criteria.

Priority will be given to applicants who are making their first trip to Israel. The current maximum grant is $2,500. For successful candidates, a minimum of 25 months must elapse after your return before an application for a subsequent grant will be considered.

Applicants are expected to contribute to the cost of the program. Grants are not awarded on a retroactive basis. If approved, the grant will be paid directly to the program and not to an individual.

How to Apply
The committee’s decision is based upon each applicant’s financial need. Applicants must supply all of the required information.

Please download and complete the form, which includes the following sections.

Grant Application Deadline

Grant applications are considered quarterly. Please contact Shelley Rivkin at srivkin@jewishvancouver.com for application deadlines.

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.

Questions? Please contact Shelley Rivkin at srivkin@jewishvancouver.com.