The South Okanagan First Nations Education Fund was established in 2013 by anonymous donors from the area. Shortly after the announcement of this new fund another anonymous donor came forward and donated an additional $10,000 to the bursary fund.  The Fund has awarded $960 to local First Nations students pursuing an education.

The Thea Haubrich Legacy Fund was created after the tragic death of Thea Haubrich in 2013. Haubrich was a leading practitioner and promoter of encaustic art.  The endowment fund was established with the goal of providing ongoing financial support to artists, with a focus on encaustic art, wanting to further their education. The Thea Haubrich Legacy Fund awarded $450 to local students in 2014.

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The Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen will award $20,000 more in bursaries than the previous year to students throughout the RDOS.

Two of the bursary funds will make awards to arts students, one bursary fund is for First Nations students and the largest bursary fund is open to any student for any area of study.

Applications are now being accepted for all four bursary funds with the application deadline being March 20, 2015.

“We’re really excited about the bursary program this year,” said Aaron McRann, executive director of the community foundation. “With the amount of money we have available to students we are anticipating even more applications than in previous years.”

“We offer these bursaries because the donors want to support students of all ages who may be attending any number of different educational institutions not just the schools located in our immediate area,” added McRann.  “As long as you’re a resident with a permanent address within the boundaries of the RDOS you are eligible to apply.”

For more information, specific funding criteria, and application forms, please visit the Community Foundation’s website at www.cfso.net. The deadline for applications is March 20,  2015.