Here is a peek at our expectations that then build our criteria in choosing applicants. The more areas you are able to checkmark, the higher your chances of approval. (It goes without saying that this criteria is not written in brick and does not apply to all applicants. Some applicants are exempted from the below requirements and expectations.)

Age: Are You Between 15-24 Years Old?

Our target are youth between 15-24 years of age. We are looking for candidates who are inspired and energized to learn while giving back to their communities. Nevertheless, if you are slightly younger or older and feel you deserve an opportunity, we would still like to hear from you. (Please note that this age bracket is only for international students. In Canada, we serve families in need from kindergarten and upward)

Is Your Family Struggling to Pay Your Fees?

This is a no brainer. Scholarships are more deserved by families who are struggling to make ends meet and unable to fully focus on educational needs. If you are from a family that has more resources than others, and able to afford fees for your learning, please consider skipping an application. It would give those who are more in need a higher chance to complete their education.

Will You Assist Us in Your Fundraising?

Before seeking funds from us, we encourage you to request your family and friends to chip in for your fees in place of other birthday/holiday gifts.You can find other ways and ideas of collecting funds in our blog: Crazy Simple Ways to Help Us Collect Funds. The more open you are to joining us on our mission to help you and others, the higher your chances of scholarship approval.

Are You Coachable?

If you are struggling and coming from a family/community that needs help, chances are that you struggle in other areas of life and could benefit from our team’s knowledge and life mentoring. We all know too well that competition of education on its owns, does not guarantee job entry and it does not guarantee success either.

We are looking to help youth fill gaps and build skills not only in their education, but also to sharpen their skillsets in other areas of life. We love to support efforts that nurture growth as well as mold our youth in evolving into young leaders who contribute and add value in their local communities. If you are passionate about personal growth and love to sharpen your character/skills, chances are you are our ideal candidate.

Will You Make Time for Effective Communication?

We do not believe in people being “too busy” in life, especially for priorities—in this case, one’s education and scholarship. Our foundation has a responsibility towards the funds we collect and raise from community members and we highly respect/honour that commitment. Part of our role is to follow up on beneficiaries progress and successes/challenges. We will occasionally check up on you and expect responses within 2-3 business days. If we realize that you need to be pushed each time over communication/responses regarding your progress, we hold the rights to pause your scholarship and review needs/expectations from both ends.

Do You Require Partial or Full Scholarship?

There’s many youth out there who need our help and we want to reach as many as we can—as fast as we possibly can. Therefore, those who request for partial assistance are more likely to get accepted than those requesting full scholarships. But don’t hesitate to submit your application if a full scholarship is what you need—we want beautiful families and kids with great energy like yours to apply.

Will You Be Committed to Your Program?

Our entire team (founders, ambassadors, supporters and well-wishers), all work tirelessly to help make your life more fulfilling and are all motivated to boost your chances at success. We expect all scholarship recipients to respect this sacrifice of time, money, and energy by giving their learning programs their best shot.

Please be aware in advance that if you are not performing well in your chosen program, we reserve all rights to intervene via mentoring, review of goals, re-assessing your scholarship needs, pausing or even stopping the scholarship funds.

Of course, we do our best to avoid such circumstances, but we need to be clear that making sure funds are used where they bring value to applicants and their communities is our priority. We cannot and will not spend money where no value or waste/disrespect is observed, so be sure to focus on your program and communicate when you need support.

Will You Contribute to Society?

We are strict on this rule/expectation. Character building and giving back is part of our foundation. We are only looking for applicants who are able to contribute and add value to society. We expect about 15 hours a semester through volunteering at a centre near you, helping us reaching more people or other creative ways to give back to society that you might suggest. Helping us reach more people and to find funds counts for your hours as well should you wish to join as our program ambassador.

Are You Responsible & Recognized Around Your Community?

Applicants who have earned a certain award, title, responsibility or other form of “badge” that speaks to their leadership qualities have higher chances than others of getting their scholarship request approved. If you haven’t earned any, no worries, we would still love to hear your story so long as you are open to be lightly trained by us on leadership.

The $100 Question:

We target helping struggling youth not only complete their education, but also to mentor them to a stage where they start earning. If you successfully reach that stage with our help, would you consider donating/giving back $100 of your earning to our foundation? This would boost another youth’s education and is the ripple effect we are seeking to create.

Even though we are owners of this project and hold the rights to all final decisions, we are always open to learn and adapt. So if you have any thoughts about our eligibility expectations, please contact us—we would love to hear from you!