Elwood Harvey Co‑operative Leadership Award

Who’s it for?

Grade 11 students* looking forward to their post-secondary education and seeking ways to develop their leadership skills!

The Elwood Harvey Co-operative Leadership Program is a unique and rewarding opportunity for you to learn about money, leadership and co-operatives plus $2,500 to fund their post-secondary education.

Twenty-one lucky students get accepted into this program every year and we work with them throughout Grade 12. If you're selected, here's what you can expect:

  • Gain real life experience and find out what it means to be part of a co-operative organization.
  • Work closely with our member representatives and attend member council meetings.
  • Learn valuable leadership and networking skills.

Interested? Check out our How to Apply section. The deadline to apply is Sunday, February 9, 2025.

And don’t forget, we’re here to answer any questions you have, so give us a call at 1.866.863.6237 or send us an email at leadershipaward@affinitycu.ca.

We created this scholarship dedicated to the late Elwood Harvey to honour his significant contribution to the credit union and co-operative movement. Learn more about his legacy.

*You (or your parent/guardian) must be an Affinity Credit Union member to be eligible. Not a member? Open a membership online today!

How to apply

Before you begin

Before you begin the application process, follow the checklist below so that you'll have all the required supporting documents ready to attach electronically to your application.

Once your application has been successfully submitted, you’ll receive a confirmation email. If you don’t get an email back right away, send us an email at leadershipaward@affinitycu.ca and we’ll check on your application status.

If you have questions or if you need help with the application process, you can contact us at leadershipaward@affinitycu.ca or 1.866.863.6237 – we'd love to help!

What you’ll need to submit with your application:

Step 1: Reference letter

You’ll need a reference letter written by a teacher, group leader or community member, ready to attach electronically. Your reference can’t be a relative. The letter should answer the following questions:

  • Tell us about the student's personal qualities
  • Tell us about the student's contributions to their community and school
  • Why should this student receive this award?

Step 2: School transcript

You’ll need to have your grade 10 report card (i.e. Edsby) or school transcripts ready to attach electronically.

Step 3: Essay question

The application includes one essay question on co-operatives in your community. You can prepare your essay ahead of time and then copy and paste it into your application. It should be a maximum of 400 words. You have a choice of two topics to write about:

Essay option one

Describe your vision for the kind of community you’d like to live in.

  • Briefly describe two projects (real or potential), with one being a co-operative, that would contribute to this vision.
  • How would the co-operative principles and values contribute to this vision?

Essay option two

In your own words, provide a brief history of any co-operative in your community.

  • What role does (or did) it play in contributing to the well-being of your community?
  • How did it incorporate the co-operative values and principles in its daily functioning?

Tip: To help you prepare, check out the following links to learn all about how co-operatives make a difference:

The application deadline is February 9, 2025.

Apply now

Remember, you’ll need to attach the following as outlined above:

  • Reference letter
  • Grade 10 report card (i.e. Edsby) or school transcript

*Please ensure your supporting documents are in one of the following formats: PDF, DOC, DOCX, JPG or PNG, and that each document is no more than 1MB in size.

If your reference letter or transcript/marks is larger than 1MB, you can email it to leadershipaward@affinitycu.ca.

To find out if you’ve been selected, keep your eyes on your inbox! Successful participants will be notified via email – you might need to check in your junk folder to make sure you don’t miss it!