You can support student learning and success through donations to create scholarships or bursaries to provide direct financial assistance to students. We will work with you to create a customized Terms of Reference to outline eligibility requirements for your award.
For many students, the financial challenge is the greatest barrier to college success. Many students work part-time or full-time while completing their studies. An increasing number have responsibility for one or more dependents. About one-third of Niagara College students are the first person in their family to pursue post-secondary education.
There are many opportunities to establish a named award fund for students in one or more programs in any of the schools in the following list. Options include a bursary or scholarship available when a student enters the first year or is a returning student. Niagara College offers more than 100 certificate, diploma, advanced diploma and degree programs with start dates in September, January and May.
For more information on these programs, please visit www.niagaracollege.ca/programs.
$3,500 – will cover annual tuition for most programs.
Instead of making an annual donation, you may prefer to donate a specific amount that can be given out over multiple years. For example, a donation of $5,000 will provide a $500 bursary each year for 10 years, or a $1,000 scholarship each year for five years. You may wish to top up the fund over time to continue supporting students.
Another option is to establish an endowed award, in which the principal remains untouched, and the interest earned is used to fund annual bursaries and scholarships. You may choose to make other donations to increase the principal over time. Please see the chart below for some examples.
Criteria: Financial need and the academic program.
Criteria: Academic excellence is added to financial need (minimum 75% academic average). Donor chooses academic program, plus additional criteria such as evidence of leadership skills, community involvement or college extracurricular activities.
One in four college applicants comes from a family that lives below the poverty line.
One in three Niagara College students is the first member of their family to pursue post-secondary education.