GrantMe: Empowering Students’ Financial Futures
Madison Guy was recruited to UBC’s Women’s Varsity Soccer Team on a scholarship. Even before commencing post-secondary, Madison was aware of the significant costs associated with attending university. However, once she started at UBC, this realization only escalated as she became one of many students who had living expenses, extracurricular activities, and additional commitments to manage on top of her schoolwork. Although her financial aid was substantial, it didn’t cover these large costs. She began seeking out external scholarships to help lessen the financial toll. While endlessly researching and applying to scholarships, Madison uncovered an abundance of financial aid opportunities but a tremendous lack of transparency surrounding them. Through her trials and tribulations of applying, Madison saw the significant investment of time one had to sacrifice in order to make worthy applications. That investment of time, she learned, was a luxury not all students had. With that, GrantMe was born.
After her final season as the Team Captain of the UBC Women’s Soccer Team in 2016, Madison learned that the average student in Canada graduates with $26,000 in student debt while $10 million worth of scholarships go unclaimed annually. With her first-hand arduous scholarship application experience and passion to create lasting, positive change, Madison started to develop GrantMe: a platform and service that “makes winning scholarships, getting into your dream school, and graduating debt-free as simple as a few clicks.’’ Ultimately, GrantMe was built with a vision to make the scholarship application process less daunting to students, bridging the gap between the millions of dollars of unclaimed scholarships and hardworking students who would benefit from increased clarity and access to them.
GrantMe’s mission is to empower students with the tools and skills to create a fulfilling future that will hopefully, in turn, eliminate student debt in Canada. Through their coaching process, GrantMe has already helped students win over $4 million in scholarships, aiming to help students win 10 times more scholarships by matching students to scholarship opportunities using GrantMe’s Scholarship Matching App (SMAPP). SMAPP uses GrantMe’s large (and growing) database to match students with scholarships using a variety of criteria. The platform supports students by organizing their applications and creating application templates for scholarships that they’re matched with. GrantMe is made for anyone seeking a scholarship — regardless of whether they’re in Grade 9 or already enrolled in (or applying to) University. In addition to providing tailored help to students, GrantMe also has an entire team dedicated to building free resources like blog posts or YouTube videos to provide transparent and accessible financial aid information.
NBR had the distinct pleasure to sit down with Arry Pandher, Head of Enrolment at GrantMe. Like many GrantMe employees, Arry was familiar with GrantMe before working there, having used it during his own scholarship application process. GrantMe has a unique culture in that they actively recruit students who have used GrantMe in the past to work for the team. Arry noted that “a big part of that is because students that go through the process generally know what other students are looking for.” This allows the GrantMe team to learn from students’ experiences and continually improve their offerings. Many students who use the platform later become mentors for new students because the value they derived from the process motivates them to want to pay it forward. GrantMe is dedicated to “building this greater community as a whole company.”
Arry noted the impact GrantMe had on him by making the scholarship application process much more accessible. By increasing accessibility, GrantMe plays a crucial role in making access to education more equitable for all students in Canada. This is a goal GrantMe is continually working towards, as Arry noted the importance of scholarship accessibility for students from low-income families or marginalized groups. Arry discussed the importance of further increasing accessibility especially for students from low-income families and marginalized groups. By making higher education more accessible, GrantMe is indirectly contributing to greater societal and economic development. With GrantMe, every student is then empowered to dream about becoming the world’s next famous entrepreneur, scientist, doctor or anything they aspire to be. Effectively, this ensures that any student can “click a few buttons and know exactly what it takes to be the next Elon Musk or be the next student at Queen’s.”
Arry describes the typical student who uses GrantMe as “a student that’s motivated, looking to have an impact on their future, and wants to do some good in the world.” He highlighted that students’ drive and hunger to learn is insatiably motivating for their team. Not only does this positive energy contribute to the overall atmosphere of the company, but the students’ enthusiasm ensures that students are “getting closer to their dream while learning a lot of valuable skills along the way.”
GrantMe envisions a future where every single student across Canada can attend school without student debt and answer the question of “how are you going to pay for school” in just two sentences. Currently, GrantMe is operating within Canada and serving Canadian students. However, Arry mentioned that “10 years from now we’ll be looking to support anybody, anywhere. That’s the goal.” Today, GrantMe is now a 50 person team. They work with 8 educators (students mentors that have used GrantMe in the past and educate others about the platform), and continue to grow their cohort of mentors every year. GrantMe also has 5 advisors, and they’re actively hiring. Madison’s powerful work earned her recognition on BC Business’ 30 Under 30 list as well as on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.
