About Us Who we are and what we do

Sri Lanka - Canada Scholarship Foundation (SLCSF) is a Canadian charity established in 1998 and registered in British Columbia, Canada. SLCSF is also a Canadian Government (Canada Revenue Agency, CRA) approved charity.


SLCSF is run by unpaid volunteers and all your donations (except essential costs such as bank fees) go to charitable activities unlike in many other charitable organizations where a significant chunk of donations goes to pay staff salaries, office rentals etc.


SLCSF's main objective is to advance education by providing scholarships and educational material to financially disadvantaged students in Sri Lanka, who continually demonstrate academic excellence.


Our current focus is on students in Sri Lanka who are studying in grades 12 and 13. In selecting applicants, we advertise countrywide and select the most deserving applicants based on their academic performance, per person family income, special situations such as parents being sick or had passed away etc. Those are the only criteria we consider in awarding a scholarship.


The scholarship is 3,000 Sri Lankan Rupees per student per month for a total of 24 months (two years). Since 1998 we have awarded close to 2,600 scholarships.


We are delighted to let you know that among our past scholars are Doctors, Educators, Engineers, Executives, Lawyers, Nurses and in other occupations making great contributions to society. Without your help this would not have been achieved.




Donations are Tax-Deductible

Since 2008 Canada Revenue Agency has approved SLCSF as a charitable organization, making all donations tax-deductible.

100% Volunteer Organization

There are no paid staff in the Foundation. All board members and other supporters are unpaid volunteers.





By advertising in Sri Lankan newspapers, applications are invited from students who satisfy the following criteria:

  • An academic achievement of a minimum of seven (7) 'A' passes (out of 9 subjects) in the most recent GCE O/L (General Certificate of Education - Ordinary Level) examination.
  • GCE (O/L) examination results certified by the school principal.
  • A certification from the Grama Officer (the Government Representative for the area of residence of the student) attesting to the suitability of the student for financial support for education, based on the economic standing of the family.
Out of the applications received that satisfy the above criteria, the Board of Directors select the most deserving children based on a priority ranking of academic excellence, economic hardships and other factors such as family handicaps (eg: deceased parents), for the award of the scholarships. After the scholarship has been awarded, the student's suitability for continued assistance is evaluated, based on their performance in the examinations conducted by the schools.
Students periodically write to their sponsors, appreciating their kindness, generosity and how the donations make their dreams come true. You may directly write to them if you wish. All the names of sponsors, students and the Foundation's annual financial statements are published in a newsletter annually (see current and past newsletters) and sent to the sponsors and other supporters of the Foundation.
Yes of course! We have sponsors from all over the world.

Please note the donation amount to sponsor a complete scholarship is in Canadian dollars (CAD).
Yes, with the Memorial Scholarship Program, you can sponsor one or more scholarships in loving memory of deceased family members, relatives, friends or anyone close to your heart.

The scholarship(s) will be specifically named as "Name-provided-by-you Memorial Scholarship(s)" and will be awarded to the recipient student(s) indicating as such. We will also separately list these memorial scholarships and their recipients in our annual newsletter. We believe this is an excellent way to ensure that the name of your deceased family member or anyone close to your heart continues to live on, while you are paving the path for a financially disadvantaged student to become successful in life!

The same selection criteria and financial commitment of regular scholarships will apply to these scholarships as well.

Please complete the memorial scholarship section in the Sponsor Application Form found on the Donate page.

Amila Kariyawasam, BE, ME, PhD

President

Chandima P. Karunanayake, BSc, MSc, PhD, P.Stat.

Vice President

Hemaguptha D. Goonetilleke, BSc, MASc, PhD

Secretary

Ranjith Muhandiram, BSc, PhD

Assistant Secretary

Manik Navaratne, BBA, CPA, CGA

Treasurer

Lakshman Gamage, BVSc, Mphil, MSc, PhD

Assistant Treasurer

Nilantha Randeniya, BSc (Hons), PhD(pending)

Public Relations

Sandeepa Nilukshi, MBBS (pending)

Assistant Sri Lankan Coordinator

Sahan Ravindu, BSc (pending)

Sri Lankan Coordinator

S N Jayantha Senarathne, BSc, MSc

Assistant Sri Lankan Coordinator

S R H Chinthani Jayarathna, LLB Dip

Newsletter Editor

Sunanda Gamage, BSc, PhD

Fundraising

Bandula Abeysundara, MSc, PhD, PEng (Retired)

Board Member



All board members are volunteers. They are not paid or compensated in any way.