What are we?

We are a Registered Charity, that means donations are tax deductible.

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We are an enrichment fund, we do not use our invested capital to fund our annual scholarships and bursaries.

We use interest from the capital and/or annual fund raised monies.

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Who are we?

A committee of volunteers from the Oliver community.  We are a mix of alumni, retired teachers, community professionals.

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What do we do? (as Directors of the Fund)

• co-ordinate fund raising activities;

• promote the Society;

• manage the donations and invest the capital;

• determine the yearly scholarship amounts from the annual interest earned;

• present our awards to the SOSS graduates.

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Why do we exist?

Post secondary education - college, trades school, or university, a post-secondary degree is critical to success in today's workforce.   Students living at home, may spend $9300 per year on average.  For those who move away, it may be in excess of $20,000.

McLeans asked 23,384 students how they pay for their post-secondary schooling and where they spend their money.  Options to pay for post secondary include:

• preplanning through RESP's

• financed through parent or student's regular income

• Scholarships and Bursaries

• student loans - government or bank (over 50% of students have loans)

• it is in our community’s interest to support the aspirations of our youth – they are our future!

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How does the Fund help?​

• scholarships and bursaries are presented annually at graduation to deserving students;

• the fund assists deserving students to achieve a higher education, develop their character and critical thinking to become a contributing member of society.

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What happens to donations to the Fund?

• the fund is under professional administration;

• over $1,000,000 is invested with the Vancouver Foundation;

• $20,000 is invested with the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan;

  • earnings from the capital is distributed a​nnually for student scholarships;

• based on interest earned on the capital, in 2024, $40,000 was awarded to students;

• Since 1995, over 500 individual students have received Enrichment Fund Society Scholarships

 

Why is this society deserving of donations?

• we are providing scholarships based on a secure endowment fund that will guarantee awards every year;

• we use our earned interest to provide our awards;

• all student recipients are graduates of SOSS.

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Who selects the student recipients of these awards?

A committee of teachers and administrators from SOSS choose the deserving SOSS graduating students based on the various criteria, as defined from the individual scholarship definitions.

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Who are the Directors of the Fund?

Current Society Directors are:

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