Financial Assistance

Financial assistance may be available depending on your circumstances. Read about the following resources to see if they are applicable to you.

DIAGEO Wine & Spirits Award

The DIAGEO Wine & Spirits Award is designed to create opportunities to enter the beverage alcohol industry. This initiative offers several financial awards, which cover the full tuition. The following Continuing Education courses/programs are part of this initiative:

To be considered, you must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a protected person.

To apply, you must complete the DIAGEO Wine & Spirits Award PDF application form and send it via email to seleftheriadis@georgebrown.ca.

George Brown College Student Assistance Fund

The George Brown College Student Assistance Fund offers limited funds, including funds for tuition, for students taking select Continuing Education courses.

To be considered, you must demonstrate financial need.

To apply, you must contact the Financial Assistance Office for a Student Assistance Fund application form and submit the completed form at least six weeks before the course start date (deadline subject to change due to new government policies).

LCBO Spirit of Inclusion Initiative

The LCBO Spirit of Inclusion Initiative is designed to create opportunities for diverse historically gender-marginalized people (woman, transgender, non-binary, or gender diverse people) to enter, advance, and thrive in the winery, brewery, and distillery fields. This initiative offers several financial awards, which cover the full tuition. The following Continuing Education courses/programs are part of this initiative:

To be considered, you must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a protected person and you must self-identify as a woman from a diverse background currently under-represented in the beverage alcohol industry (examples include but are not limited to Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, women with disabilities, first-generation Canadians, LGBTQ2S+, and non-binary gender).

To apply, you must complete the LCBO Spirit of Inclusion Initiative Award PDF application form and send it via email to seleftheriadis@georgebrown.ca.

Ontario Bridging Participant Assistance Program

The Ontario Bridging Participant Assistance Program (OBPAP) provides bursaries of up to $5,000 to cover direct education costs for internationally trained nurses with financial need who are attending bridge training programs that are offered by select post-secondary institutions (colleges of applied arts and technology in Ontario, publicly assisted universities, and the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences) that have been approved by the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration, and International Trade and are not approved for the purposes of OSAP. OBPAP bursary assistance is limited to program tuition, book, and equipment costs as reported by the post-secondary institution offering the bridge training.

To be considered, you must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a protected person living in Ontario and you must not be in default of a student loan, restricted from OSAP eligibility, or in receipt of Second Career or OSAP funding.

To apply, contact the Continuing Education Nursing department at cenursing@georgebrown.ca.

Ontario Colleges Nursing Program Transformation Initiative

The Ontario Colleges Nursing Program Transformation Initiative offers free tuition in select nursing courses. The following courses are part of this initiative:

To be considered, you must be an internationally educated nurse (IEN) who has been assessed by the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) as needing additional education to meet the competencies required to become registered in Ontario as a general class registered nurse (RN).

To apply, you must complete and submit the online IEN Competency Upgrade Pathway: Fee Waiver Eligibility Form.

WeRPN Nursing Education Initiative

The Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (WeRPN) Nursing Education Initiative (NEI) offers education grants that reimburse base tuition course fees (as well as registration fees for conferences, seminars, or workshops) of up to $1,500 per WeRPN funding year. (Other fees unrelated to tuition – such as ancillary, lab, campus, incidental, or athletic fees – are not eligible for reimbursement.)

To be considered, you must be a nurse who is registered to practice in Ontario and who is taking a professional development course or program that enhances the quality of nursing care and services in Ontario.

To apply, you must follow the WeRPN application process and submit an application online. You do not need to be a member of WeRPN to apply. For more information, visit the WeRPN NEI web page.

Windmill Microlending

Windmill Microlending can provide affordable loans of up to $15,000 to immigrants and refugees in Canada to pay for the licensing or training you need to get back to your field of work. This is an option for both full-time and part-time students. Windmill is a non-profit charity (since 2005). Visit windmillmicrolending.org for more information.