Scholarships
ECECAF has provided over $11.5 million in scholarships from 2007 through 2025
ECECAF Scholarship Program
The ECECAF scholarship program provides up to $5,500 over two terms ($2,750 per term), and awarded just under $1 million in 2025.
Members’ children can benefit from ECECAF post-secondary scholarships. The ever-rising costs of education can place a financial strain on our members. Scholarships are the ideal form of student aid to help subsidize these costs, and they never have to be repaid.
Children are eligible to receive a scholarship towards post-secondary tuition fees provided that:
- Parent(s) contributes to the Fund for a minimum of 12 consecutive months prior to the start date for each of the two scholarship terms (or four apprenticeship periods)
- Student age must be under 25 years at the start date of the scholarship term
- Student must be accepted into an accredited and approved full-time educational post-secondary program or apprenticeship
- Fall (September) term applications are to be submitted after receiving grades in December and by March 31
- Winter (January) term applications are to be submitted after receiving grades in April and by July 31
- Full-year programs and apprenticeships are to be submitted within 90 days of receiving grades
Extenuating circumstances with regard to these conditions may exist. The Board of Trustees reviews these on a case-by-case basis.
Keep scrolling for Joy of Learning scholarship…
Joy of Learning Scholarship
NEW in 2026!
Applications are now being accepted for Fall 2026 study.
Application deadline: May 15, 2026
For mature students (25 years or older at start of term) OR in graduate, master’s, or doctorate studies*
Scholarship disbursement of $5,500 to one board-selected recipient per year.
View Guidelines and Application Form.
*Medical doctor is considered an undergraduate degree and therefore does not fall within the guidelines of this scholarship for “doctorate studies”
About Joy of Learning scholarship’s namesake…
Joy Arntzen began her nursing career in 1977—the same year United Nurses of Alberta was founded—and has devoted herself to the profession and to caring for others ever since. From the very beginning, her commitment extended beyond patient care to supporting her fellow nurses. In 1978, she was elected to the Negotiating Committee of her rural public health local, where she worked for more than nine years and served on the committee for six. During this time, she endured a month-long employer lockout, giving her a true understanding of the strain labour disputes place on nurses, families, and communities.
After starting her family, Joy returned to nursing in long-term care, where her compassion for vulnerable residents and her colleagues deepened even further. Seeing the inequities between unionized and non-unionized nurses, she took it upon herself to lead the unionization of her workplace—an effort rooted in her belief that every nurse deserves fairness, respect, and support. She became the first Local 215 President in 2001.
In 2005, Joy joined Capital Health in Edmonton coming from the rural long-term care facility. Guided by her steady dedication to advocacy and collaboration, she became active in Local 196, serving as an office representative, then as Second Vice President and Chair of the Professional Responsibility Committee.
In 2011, Joy was elected as President of United Nurses of Alberta Local 196 and joined the Edmonton Civic Employees Charitable Assistance Fund (ECECAF) Board of Trustees, representing the Local.
As a Trustee, she is especially committed to initiatives that lift ECECAF members up – charitable supports, educational scholarships, and special aid programs designed to help members and their dependents.
One of the longest-ever serving Trustees since ECECAF’s founding in 1941, Joy brings unwavering empathy, decades of frontline experience and heartfelt leadership, continually championing the well-being of nurses and ECECAF members in the Edmonton communities they serve.
In 2026, as recognition of Joy’s 15 years – and counting – on the Board of Trustees, the Joy of Learning scholarship was established to honour her enduring contributions and lasting impact to ECECAF.
