‘Doubling down’ on needed resources

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This article was published 11/06/2024 (827 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IG Wealth Management has earmarked more than $1.5 million for measures reducing barriers to education for Indigenous and newcomer youth.

“Education isn’t the same for everyone,” Damon Murchison, the company’s president, told a crowd gathered for the announcement Tuesday at its headquarters.

“This is us doubling down in Winnipeg, (and) doubling down in grassroots where our resources are needed the most.”

The wealth management firm is funnelling $900,000 to Red River College Polytechnic and $675,000 to Pathways to Education Winnipeg, a program delivered through the Community Education Development Association.

IG Wealth Management regularly gives more than $2 million to local causes, Murchison said. It’s turning its focus from sponsorships to grassroots investments.

For RRC Polytech, that means a four-year funding plan covering up to 10 scholarships, 10 internship programs and a navigation coach to assist Indigenous students.

“That is going to be your quarterback,” Murchison later told a reporter, describing the coach.

The coach will field Indigenous students’ questions and concerns. The goal is to assist 300 pupils in the 2024-25 academic year, and upwards of 300 the following year.

With the coach’s help, students may find housing and bus routes or learn about proper school protocol, like what time to best arrive for class.

“We sometimes focus too much on … scholarships and bursaries,” said Fred Meier, RRC Polytech chief executive. “What we’re finding is that a lot of the barriers are around mentorship.”

The coach is another piece in the Winnipeg post-secondary facility’s Indigenous-focused initiatives, Meier noted — this month, Indigenous students aren’t charged program application fees. It’s been “well-received,” he added.

He applauded IG Wealth Management’s offer of mentorship, internships and summer employment to Indigenous students.

“One of the things we notice the most is the difficulty of transitioning to the workplace,” Meier said. “IG is stepping forward to help with that transition.”

Funding will affect students in the school of Indigenous education’s pathway to information technology programs and its pathway to business, creative communications and digital technology programs.

Mentorship and internship programs will be finalized in later discussions with RRC Polytech, Murchison said.

“There’s a lot of opportunity here,” he said, listing routes in finance, operations and marketing. “They’ll tell us, and … we’ll make sure that we’re aligned.”

The set-up is both “the right thing to do” by helping a younger generation and a way to identify new talent, Murchison explained.

Money given to Pathways — which assists inner-city youth and aims to increase high school graduation rates — will target financial and academic supports such as bus fares, food, free weekly tutoring and summer language lessons. It will also fund one-on-one supports and social programming, such as field trips and career fairs, Murchison detailed.

Programming will be focused in Winnipeg neighbourhoods including Lord Selkirk Park, William Whyte, Dufferin and North Point Douglas. Over three years, IG Wealth Management aims to reach 675 local high school students.

“A return on investment … is beyond guaranteed,” Jordan Bighorn, executive director of the Community Education Development Association, said in a speech.

Organizations involved will keep track of IG’s impact, Murchison said. The groups will work closely as students come on board. “We want to make sure … (we’re) doing the right things the right way.”

IG Wealth Management began in 1926 in Winnipeg; as of May, it had $128.6 billion in assets under advisement.

IGM Financial is its parent company.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com