Scotiabank donates $1 million to support social innovation education at SFU
Jun 01, 2015
From left to right: Winnie Leong, Scotiabank’s Senior Vice President, British Columbia and Yukon Region; SFU President Andrew Petter; and Cathy Daminato, Vice-President of Advancement and Alumni Relations at SFU.
A gift of $1 million from Scotiabank will help prepare students at Simon Fraser University to positively transform the world through social innovation.
The gift will be used to fund three new initiatives at SFU designed to further social innovation education: the Student Awards in Social Innovation; the Social Innovation Student Competition Team Fund; and the Student Social Innovation Conference and Event Fund.
It will benefit students participating in the trailblazing social innovation programs facilitated by RADIUS (RADical Ideas Useful to Society), the Beedie School of Business’ social innovation lab and venture incubator, ensuring they remain at the forefront of social innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Scotiabank Student Award in Social Innovation will see Scotiabank provide $500,000 to attract and retain entrepreneurial undergraduate or graduate business students who demonstrate a passion for social enterprise.
$300,000 will be allocated to the Social Innovation Student Competition Team Fund in order to create a high profile signature student competition to inspire novel solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.
The Student Social Innovation Conference and Event Fund will allocate $200,000 to enabling students to develop their business ideas and skills through attending and competing at social innovation-focused conferences and events.
“Thanks to the generous support of Scotiabank, SFU will be able to further facilitate the development of the next generation of social innovators,” said SFU President Andrew Petter. “We are extremely grateful to Scotiabank for its generosity and foresight.”
The gift from Scotiabank celebrates their 50 year-long relationship with SFU, and coincides with SFU’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
It will help RADIUS continue their track record of successful student social innovation initiatives. These include the undergraduate venture accelerator course Change Lab; the Social Innovation Grant Fund, which provides financial support to students across SFU working on social innovation projects; and Opportunity Fest, the Beedie School of Business’ annual marketplace-style showcase of student creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
“Now is a time where innovation is key to survival for any business and entrepreneurs need to be adaptable to ever changing circumstances, “ says Winnie Leong, Scotiabank’s Senior Vice President, British Columbia and Yukon Region.
“Scotiabank is investing in young people by supporting SFU, as it helps guide Canada’s future social innovators. We look forward to seeing the achievements of these dynamic young students through the new social innovation offerings at RADIUS.”
About Scotiabank
Through our global philanthropic program, Scotiabank and its employees support causes at a grassroots level. Recognized as a leader for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has contributed on average $50 million annually over the last five years to community causes around the world.
Scotiabank is Canada’s international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and parts of Asia. We are dedicated to helping our 21 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 86,000 employees and assets of $837 billion (as at April 30, 2015), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). Scotiabank distributes the Bank’s media releases using Marketwired. For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankNews.
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