Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. It allows those from less fortunate backgrounds to build a life, stand out amongst the rest and rise above. Recognising this need, the Canadian International School, Bangalore (CIS) awards scholarships to as many as 10 students each year in grade 9 and 11. These students come with an aspiration to get a superior quality education and CIS helps them achieve their dream.
This crowdfunding initiative is a campaign by the CIS Community and Alumni to raise funds to ensure that the scholarship students they have supported through school have an equally rewarding college experience. The funds raised through this campaign will help send brilliant students who need continued financial support to university. These academically gifted students apply for scholarships to universities both in India as well as abroad and many of them are able to obtain either part or full academic scholarships.
The aim of CIS wings is to support the study, living and travel expenses of students who receive full scholarships at university along with supporting those students who receive only partial scholarships for their college programs. We hope to bridge the financial gap for these students so that they can, in fact, afford to go to their university of choice.
THE SCHOLARSHIP PROCESS AT CIS
Scholarships are available for students entering Grade 9 and Grade 11. The application process is open to only Indian citizens and applicants must be able to prove the financial need for the scholarship. Once the applications are received, which includes an essay, along with their previous report cards, the admission team reviews the applications and shortlists candidates.
Shortlisted candidates are then invited to take the admissions test and then appear for an interview with the High School Principal and Head of School. Based on their interviews, previous school reports, admission tests, and financial need, scholarships are awarded.
WHAT THE STUDENTS HAVE TO SAY
CIS WINGS
Each year when our scholarship students graduate from CIS, they apply to colleges both in India and abroad. While they do get grants/scholarships from the universities, it is not enough to help them support their college dream. As a school, we believe that we are responsible to help our scholarship students transition into college and to help them achieve their academic goals. We would like to launch CIS Wings as an ongoing campaign to raise funds for our scholarship students. Each year, one student will benefit from the fund and as we build the fund and make it successful we can look to expand this to students outside CIS as well.
FEEDBACK THAT YOU GET
To ensure that there is complete transparency, we will post feedback about 2-3 months after the campaign is completed to display how the student has benefited from your support. The details will be posted on the UPDATES section of my campaign and will be in a format like the one below. As soon as the update has been posted to the platform you will also get an EMAIL alert to you. Click on the link and you can read about how the student has benefitted and the success that she/he has achieved with your help and support. That's transparent right?
Sharing an example of the FEEDBACK FORMAT that we will be given to all funders.
FAQs
How does crowdfunding work?
Crowdfunding in India is a relatively new concept & is growing very quickly.
It’s a concept that allows a large number of funders (like you) to fund an idea or a cause or event by giving small amounts of money online. Fueladream.com is a crowdfunding platform in India that allows for such pooling of funds. You can fund innovations & ideas on FuelADream and be the first to get these products or make them come true. You can also do a good turn by funding charities and causes through crowdfunding. When you fund a charity it’s more like a donation & you get small innovative rewards like a shout-out on an FB page or a thank you email from the beneficiaries.
