Giving Back (and Paying It Forward)
The Vincent Design Indigenous Scholarship Fund
For the last few months, we’ve been working in collaboration with a team of partners and clients to get a special project organized and off the ground. We’re excited to announce that the Vincent Design Scholarship Fund is now up, running and ready to start building more opportunities in graphic design.
Specifically, our scholarship will provide educational funding to Indigenous Youth pursuing college or university studies in graphic design and related programs in Canada. We know every student’s story is different, but the reality of the financial gap for many under-served Indigenous Youth is still apparent and needs to be addressed.
And after 15 years building our firm, we find ourselves in a place where we can give back to our community and pay it forward to the next generation of designers. In creating this scholarship, we’re aiming to reduce barriers to educational success for eligible Indigenous Youth while encouraging their future careers and contributions in the visual arts.
“We’ve reached a stage in our growth where we now have the capacity to focus directly on our outreach goals in a way that has potential for the most meaningful impact. We are also more experienced now as employers, and we see the real need for more trained Indigenous designers — we can be a part of creating those opportunities.”
~ Vincent Design founder and creative director, Shaun Vincent
Breaking Down Barriers, Building Connections
Recipients of the Vincent Design Scholarship Fund will be able to apply those resources towards educational costs in postsecondary design or related program studies.
Plus, Vincent Design will participate in a mentorship journey with successful recipients throughout their academic career, continuous to a post-graduation placement or practicum. This aspect of the initiative is really exciting for us – we know from our own experience starting out in this industry that emerging designers benefit greatly from having a community of experienced mentors to show us the ropes and help us find our own path as artists or business owners or both.
To bring the scholarship fund to reality, we are thrilled about partnering with our client and colleagues at Indspire, a national Indigenous registered charity that invests in the education of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. Indspire is administering the fund for both donations and the application process. With the breadth of their experience in fundraising, inspiring achievement and community building, along with the reach of their audience nationally, we know this fund and the opportunities it can provide for Indigenous education is in the very best hands.
Plus, Indspire is providing 1:1 matching funds for this scholarship, generously helping us reach our goal of raising a minimum of $5,000 by March 1, 2021 (or, $10,000 total with Indspire’s matching funds) so that funds are in place for students in the 2021 fall semester.
“We have always had the sense that we could be successful professionally, but that it would feel hollow without meaning attached to that success. For us, the meaning comes from having connection and impact within the communities we work and live in. It’s truly an honour to have these kinds of opportunities to collaborate with members of our personal and professional networks on such important projects.”
~ Chris Redekop, Accounts Manager
Want to Apply or Donate to our Scholarship Fund?
The scholarship fund is administered by Indspire; they oversee and coordinate collection of donated funds and candidate applications as well as distribute the scholarship funds. Eligible student applications are adjudicated by Vincent Design.
When our scholarship fund opens for application, eligible students will be able to apply directly through Indspire.
Follow us on Instagram (@vincentdesignca) for news and announcements about the scholarship fund, the application openings and deadlines, and to keep track of our fundraising progress.
And we invite and encourage you to share this post widely: we hope to reach as many youth as possible who are considering or currently pursuing studies in graphic design and who might be eligible for the scholarship. If you or somehow you know would also like to contribute to the scholarship fund, donations can be made on Indspire’s website. (And remember, they are matching every donation dollar for dollar!)
As always, we deeply appreciate your support for the vibrant, talented and growing community of Indigenous designers here in Winnipeg and across the country. Helping us spread the word about our scholarship fund, and the giving opportunity towards the fund, will make a real difference in these students’ lives and the future of Indigenous design.
