ICAS Foundation
ICAS Foundation aims to support academically talented young people from disadvantaged communities to study accountancy or finance-related degrees.
Launched in 2012, ICAS Foundation is a charitable organisation that makes a difference to academically talented young people by helping them overcome prohibitive financial circumstances and take their first steps towards a career in accountancy or finance. This is achieved through bursary support, a mentoring scheme and internships that add important skills and experience.
ICAS Foundation’s objectives
- Identify and then support academically talented young people to discover their true potential.
- To mobilise the ICAS membership as donors, mentors and facilitators.
- Secure funding that enables the awarding of bursaries of up to £2,500 p.a. to individuals whose parents or guardians earn below a certain threshold.
- Secure suitable, paid internships to build students’ workplace skills and experience.
It is vitally important that we do all we possibly can to give any aspiring, but disadvantaged, future Chartered Accountants and finance professionals, the opportunity to succeed. As ICAS members and as a profession, I believe we can do more to help a disadvantaged generation get on or stay on a ladder of progress.
- Sir David Tweedie, Past President & Chair of Trustees ICAS Foundation.
How ICAS Foundation is funded
ICAS Foundation relies on voluntary income from a range of sources:
- Donations from ICAS Members.
- Partnerships with major corporates.
- Major donations from individuals.
Mentoring with ICAS Foundation
Alongside working in partnership with accountancy firms and industry to secure paid internship opportunities, ICAS Foundation matches their students to CA mentors. These mentor volunteers are experienced CAs from within the ICAS membership.
Volunteer to mentor with the Foundation and you’d work in a similar way to mentoring a professional, except in this case you’d be working with a school leaver, college student or university undergraduate.
It isn’t time-intensive and usually involves two hour-long meetings in the first month, with various face-to-face meetings and email correspondence following from there, on a minimum quarterly basis.
And as with mentoring a qualified CA, volunteering as a mentor with ICAS Foundation can be a highly rewarding experience for both mentor and the mentee.
Learn more about ICAS Foundation, volunteer as a mentor or make a donation:
ICAS Foundation is a Charity registered in Scotland: SC034836