Community

Giving Day and every day, supporting our students and faculty members

March 19, 2026

For the first time in SFU history, our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends are uniting on a single day to raise funds in support of causes you care about—and to make a difference where it matters most to you.

A 24-hour celebration of philanthropy launching March 26, SFU Giving Day will be an annual event; an opportunity to give, but also to learn about the many ways that people give to SFU, and how their giving helps students and faculty members across the university. While it is a day for everyone, we recognize that in these challenging times, it may not be within everyone’s reach to give, but we can celebrate together how giving efforts mean so much.

Celebrating its 60th anniversary as one of SFU’s founding faculties, SFU’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) has been at the heart of the university’s intellectual life since 1965.

FASS has a long tradition of supporting its students and faculty members through a variety of engaging and inclusive opportunities. Many of these are partially or even fully funded by our community of alumni and donors. Every dollar donated contributes meaning and support to our students and faculty members’ academic and research pursuits.

For Giving Day, we are highlighting two opportunities for donor support: The FASS Bursary Fund and the FASS Dean’s Strategic Fund.

FASS Bursary Fund

To support undergraduate students, consider giving to the FASS Bursary Fund. Bursaries are a supplemental source of funding for students with demonstrated financial need. Since 2021, dozens of our students have received the FASS Bursary Fund to ease some of the financial burden of their tuition and fees.

FASS Dean’s Strategic Fund

Another opportunity to support is by giving to the FASS Dean’s Strategic Initiatives Fund. This fund supports the strategic initiatives of FASS, ranging from experiential learning opportunities like field schools and study abroad to support for faculty research through Breaking Barriers Interdisciplinary Incentive Grants and Kickstarter Seed Grants.

One of the most recent and prominent examples of this fund's use is the FASS Undergraduate Fellowship, currently in its second year. The FASS Dean’s Strategic Initiatives Fund supports this exciting leadership program by annually awarding fellowships to up to 20 undergraduate students.

“We created this fellowship to foster leadership that is rooted in compassion, intellectual curiosity, and a commitment to making a positive impact,” says FASS Dean Laurel Weldon. "We wanted to recognize students who are not just excelling at their studies, but who are also driven by a sense of purpose and a desire to contribute meaningfully to their communities. This program gives them the opportunity to expand on those qualities.”

FASS has a long tradition of supporting its students and faculty members through a variety of engaging and inclusive opportunities.

If you would like to contribute to these or other funds in SFU’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, please visit our “where to give” page.

Nicoleta Amponsah, FASS Director, Advancement, is available to answer any have questions about giving to SFU’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Please contact her at nicoleta_amponsah@sfu.ca and (778) 680-6315.

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