About

The Chan Kent Foundation is a registered charity, established in 1964 by Charles Chan-Kent to provide scholarships to students requiring financial aid. It was founded on the principle that all people are entitled to the opportunity of  a better education. The scholarship fund, originally called the Charles Chan Kent Golden Wedding Anniversary Scholarship Foundation, was initiated during Charles’ and Toy’s 50th wedding anniversary.

Contributions to the Chan Kent Foundation are invested and administered by the Vancouver Foundation. Over the years, through the growth in our investments, the Fund has been able to distribute scholarships to over 250 students, originally at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University, and now focused on Arts & Design with Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Emily Carr University and Vancouver Community College.

In the beginning, our scholarships were reserved for students of Chinese descent because of policies and laws in British Columbia, Canada that prevented Chinese people from having equal human rights. Between the late 1800s to mid-1900s, over 100 anti-Chinese laws and policies existed in British Columbia.  Until 1947, the Chinese were not allowed to vote. This restricted them from entering professions in medicine, law, teaching and politics. As times evolved, our scholarships became eligible to students of any ethnicity.

As a result of a strategic review in 2020, the Board of Directors decided to include more fully a focus on grants to students in the Fashion Industry. This is an acknowledgment to the original source of funds for The Chan Kent Foundation, donated by Charles Chan Kent, who was a pioneer in the textile and clothing manufacturing industry in Canada. This decision will not preclude our ability to grant scholarships to other non fashion students in need, based upon availability.

The Chan Kent Foundation is a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency. We provide tax receipts for all donations over 25 dollars.