Israel Scholarships
Scholarships for Qualifying Programs in Israel
Our Israel and Overseas Affairs department 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 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 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.
- 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 amount of a scholarship 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 upfront 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 scholarship applications.
- 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 and not to an individual.
How to Apply
Approval of scholarships is based on the circumstances of the individual applicant. To be considered, applicants must supply all of the required information.
Scholarship Application Deadlines
There are two scholarship intakes: refer to the front cover of the application for the upcoming deadlines.
Please download and complete the form, which includes the following sections:
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 Sarah Berger at sberger@jewishvancouver.com.