Grant and Funding Programs Offered by St. Paul's High School (SPHS)

St. Paul’s High School is a Catholic Jesuit independent high school located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In addition to delivering secondary education, the school manages a significant portfolio of student financial aid that effectively functions as a suite of internal grant and bursary programs. The cost of education is covered by a mix of tuition, a per‑student government grant, and extensive fundraising activities coordinated through the Advancement Office.

A central objective of St. Paul’s is to ensure that qualified students can attend regardless of their family’s financial means. To achieve this, the school administers full and partial bursaries, with as much as $700,000 per year in financial aid awarded in recent years. Approximately one in five students receives some form of financial assistance, underscoring the scale of these funding programs.

The Bursary Fund is the core need‑based financial aid mechanism. After admission, families may apply through an online assessment service, and applications are reviewed confidentially by the school’s Bursary Committee and the President. Awards are granted on the basis of demonstrated financial need and must be renewed annually, providing ongoing support throughout a student’s studies.

Within the bursary portfolio, donors can establish a Named Bursary Fund. With a defined minimum contribution and endowment thresholds, named funds are invested, and only the earnings are distributed each year to support bursary requests. This structure creates a sustainable, perpetual source of financial aid tied to particular families, individuals or memorial intentions.

The school also operates the Magis Fund, which offers targeted financial support so that students can fully participate in all aspects of school life. This fund covers items such as lunch money, bus tickets, instrument rentals, sports equipment, tutoring, school attire and graduation costs, ensuring that co‑curricular opportunities are not limited by a family’s budget.

Through its Giving and Annual Giving programs, St. Paul’s invites alumni, parents and friends to contribute to several priority funding streams: the bursary program, unrestricted “Greatest Need” support, student programs (athletics, arts, debate, retreats and more), and capital and major maintenance projects. These contributions enhance the school’s capacity to maintain excellence in academics, spiritual formation and extracurricular offerings while keeping tuition as accessible as possible.

Additional initiatives, such as Crusader Bleacher Seat naming opportunities and planned giving via estates or gifts of securities, further expand the school’s long‑term funding base for bursaries and student support. All of these mechanisms position St. Paul’s as both an educational institution and an active distributor of financial aid to its student community.

Guided by its Jesuit mission to educate students as whole persons and form “men for others,” St. Paul’s uses its financial aid programs to foster a diverse student body across religious, cultural and socio‑economic backgrounds. By combining structured bursary administration with donor‑supported funds, the school plays a meaningful role in the regional education funding landscape, reducing financial barriers and expanding access to high‑quality secondary education in Winnipeg.