Access financial support for your education journey

Apply for a Scholarship

The 2025-26 application is now closed and will reopen for the 2026-27 school year in December 2025.

Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada post-secondary scholarships award young people $5000 for each academic year of study until they finish their program (to a maximum of 7 years from their program start) through a once yearly competitive application.

To be eligible to apply for a scholarship, you need to be:

  • Not currently receiving a CAFC Scholarship*
  • Have been or will be in either temporary or permanent care of the Ministry or Department responsible for child protection services up until your age of majority birthday or have been in permanent care of the Ministry or Department responsible for child protection services for at least 12 months. More Details.
  • Be attending a post-secondary institution full-time or on a reduced schedule with academic accommodation, for a full school year starting in September 2025 or January 2026
  • Under the age of 30 if you have or are currently receiving CAFC supports
  • Over the age of 30 and have not received a CAFC Scholarship before

*If you are a current CAFC Scholarship ($5000) recipient, you do not need to make an application.

Not sure if you are currently receiving a scholarship or a bursary? Questions about eligibility, the online application form, or the documents needed? Ask us! grants@cafdn.org.

Connect with our team

 Amanda Ball
Program Manager
(416) 923-0924, ext. 226
aball@cafdn.org

Apply for a bursary

Bursaries will not be available for Fall 2024. Please check back, if circumstances allow us to open the application, we will update the website as soon as possible, and the link will be available below.

Bursary awards are available throughout the school year to full- and part-time post-secondary students who meet the eligibility criteria. Bursaries are for a maximum of $2,000 for full-time students and up to $200 per course for part-time students.

To be eligible for a bursary, applicants must be:

  • Not currently receiving a Foundation Scholarship or bursary
  • Have been or will be in the temporary or permanent care of the Ministry or Department responsible for child protection services up until your age of majority birthday or had been in permanent care of the Ministry or Department responsible for child protection services for at least 12 months. More Details.
  • Are under the age of 30 if you have or are currently receiving Foundation supports; or
  • Are over the age of 30 and have not received a Foundation Scholarship or Bursary before

Connect with our team

Amanda Ball
Program Manager
(416) 923-0924, ext. 226
aball@cafdn.org

Apply for a graduation award

The 2025 Graduation Award is now open for applications

Graduation Awards are granted to students who have received at least one Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada’s scholarship or bursary in support of their post-secondary program (College, University, Trade School) which have been completed, or are close to being done*.

*In this calendar year, after the end of the current semester, or after the summer semester. If your program will be done at the end of the fall semester (December) or later, please wait to apply for the 2026 Graduation Award.

Graduation Awards grant $500 for each year of the standard length of your program, up to a maximum of $2000. The awards are paid in two installments: 90% will be granted in the summer, and the remaining 10% will be granted in February after a short survey.

Apply Now

If you are unsure if you’ve received a CAFC scholarship or bursary, or have questions about the award or the application, please email grants@cafdn.org.

Connect with our team

 Amanda Ball
Program Manager
(416) 923-0924, ext. 226
aball@cafdn.org

Other career and academic funding

The Youth Opportunity Fund is closed for the 2024-25 school year. Please keep an eye on this page as we will update the website and a link to apply will be available below if we are able to reopen the application.

The Youth Opportunity Fund provides individual grants to youth who were in permanent care in Canada or who are (or were) eligible for their provincial or territorial extended care program. Grants can be used for courses, programs, and other activities that will assist them in securing employment and achieving success in their careers. Examples include post-secondary tutoring, application fees and career related courses.

Learn more

Are you a young person or social worker looking for more information? Join our email list by submitting this form to learn more about programs and funds for youth involved in the child welfare system.

Young People In Profile

Meet Brigitte

“Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada has supported me in getting braces for my teeth, scholarships for my studies, and even clothes. They’ve helped me get connected to community supports and get a laptop and printer. I hope to use my experiences in care, and in life, to help youth and families in my community and give back. One of my more personal goals is to fully love and be at peace with myself.”

Privacy Overview
CAFC logo
Necessary Cookies

Some Cookies are necessary to make the website work properly, for example allowing us to show you the right webpage, keeping track of your preferred language, tracking items in a shopping basket, and helping us to keep our website secure. You can set your browser to block these cookies, but some parts of our site will not work. These cookies do not store any personal data.

Analytics Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages. Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Marketing Cookies

These Cookies place an additional cookie, or small text file, on your browser, containing an anonymous identifier. This allows third-party vendors like Google and Meta to provide aggregate reports on the demographics and interests of website visitors and customize advertising on the Internet based on your browsing activity.