Record Year for Your Family First Scholarship: $50,000+ Awarded to 67 students

JAN-PRO Canada’s Your Family First Scholarship Program awarded more than $50,000 to 67 students in 2026, the biggest year in the program’s history by both dollars awarded and number of recipients. The scholarship is available exclusively to JAN-PRO franchise owners, known as Certified Business Owners (CBOs), and their families. Since its Canadian launch in 2016, it has awarded more than $250,000 in total.

For a commercial cleaning franchise, it is an unusual benefit. It is also one of the clearest examples of what JAN-PRO means when it says franchise owner success comes first.

The program in brief

The Your Family First Scholarship Program originated with JAN-PRO International and has been offered by JAN-PRO Canada since 2016. It supports Certified Business Owners in good standing for at least one year, along with their spouses and dependent children, who are pursuing full-time or part-time undergraduate, graduate, college or vocational-technical studies. Recipients are selected based on academic performance, leadership and their connection to a Certified Business Owner.

Why a franchise brand funds scholarships

Most people who buy a JAN-PRO franchise are not chasing a title. They want more income, more control over their schedule and a better future for their families. For many, that future includes putting a child, a spouse or themselves through school.

The Your Family First Scholarship speaks directly to that goal. It turns the work a franchise owner puts into their business into a tangible return for the people they are building it for.

“This program is one that the system is proud to run. Most franchise owners start their business to earn extra income and ultimately provide for their families. Most are looking for means to improve the lives of their families. This scholarship is an exclusive opportunity for our franchise owners to assist their families even further.”

Jean Roberge, President, JAN-PRO Canada

With post-secondary costs still a real pressure point for Canadian households, every award helps a student cover tuition, books or living costs and stay focused on finishing their program.

A decade of growth, by the numbers

What started in 2016 as an added benefit for franchise owners has grown into a program that has now awarded more than $250,000 across Canada. The 2026 cycle set new highs on both measures that matter most: the most money awarded in a single year, at more than $50,000, and the largest group of recipients to date, at 67 deserving students.

“School can be overwhelming and stressful sometimes, but to receive this support from JAN-PRO helps me reassure myself that I’m doing something that matters. I’m really grateful that JAN-PRO sees the efforts in students. It’s great being acknowledged.”

Daireen, a recipient of a Your Family First Scholarship from the JAN-PRO Vancouver office

The growth of the scholarship tracks the growth of the franchise network itself. As more franchise owners build successful businesses across Canada, more families become eligible, and more students benefit.

Part of JAN-PRO’s win-win-win model

JAN-PRO is built on entrepreneurship at two levels. Certified Business Owners run their own commercial cleaning businesses, serving offices, medical clinics, schools and other facilities. Regional Franchise Developers grow the JAN-PRO system in their local markets, sourcing customer accounts and supporting the owners who service them.

The two depend on each other. When franchise owners deliver consistent service, customers stay. When customers stay, regions grow. That shared success is the core of what JAN-PRO calls its win-win-win franchise formula: good for customers, good for franchise owners and good for the regions that support them.

The Your Family First Scholarship extends that formula one step further, to the next generation. It is one piece of a broader support system that includes training, account sourcing and ongoing business support, but it is often the piece franchise owners and their families remember most.

Who can apply for the your family first scholarship?

The scholarship is open to JAN-PRO Canada Certified Business Owners who have been in good standing for at least one year, as well as their spouses and dependent children.

Applicants must be enrolled, or planning to enroll, in full-time or part-time undergraduate or graduate studies at a university, college or vocational-technical school. Employees of Certified Business Owners, Regional Franchise Developers and their families are not eligible.

How recipients are selected

Applicants complete an online application and, when requested, submit their most recent transcript and proof of enrollment. Finalists are evaluated on academic performance, leadership and their connection to a Certified Business Owner. Late or incomplete applications are not considered.

For the 2026 cycle, applications closed on August 9, recipients were notified by the end of August, and awards were paid in a single installment by September 30. Details for the next cycle will be posted at jan-pro.ca.

Congratulations to the class of 2026

JAN-PRO Canada congratulates all 67 recipients of the 2026 Your Family First Scholarship. Each one is pursuing a different program and a different career, but they share something in common: a parent, spouse or family member who chose to build a business of their own.

Ten years and more than $250,000 later, the program keeps proving a simple idea behind the JAN-PRO system. Building a business is also about building opportunities for the people who matter most.

This article comes courtesy of JAN-PRO Canada, the largest and most trusted commercial cleaning franchise in Canada.