Scholarship Policy Update 2025

Title

Vote to Update Scholarship Policy 2025

Sponsor

• V (MMT)

Co-Sponsors

• Joe Shaul (PR)

Vote Results

 Quorum:[ ]
 Yea Votes: [ ]  
 Nay Votes: [ ]
 Present or Abstain: [ ]

Schedule

Proposal Date

Date this proposal was posted to the membership and a request for a vote date was sent to the Board.

[TBD]

Member Input

Does the Sponsor choose to open the language of the vote for changes due to member input? (optional and can be modified at any time)

[x] YES [ ] NO

Vote Announcement and Beginning Date of the Discussion Period

The announcement date of the vote proposal is the beginning date of the seven-day (minimum) posting and Member discussion period. (Certain exceptional vote types have longer discussion periods. Check the Bylaws if you are unsure.) If the Sponsor has chosen to include member input, suggested edits can be made in a shared document or other collaborative vehicle until the language is locked. The sponsor can stop taking suggestions at any time.

[1/21/25]

Language Lock Date and Start of Voting

Five days prior to the Day of the Vote, the vote language is locked, all edits are frozen, and the language of the vote is converted to a pdf file. Ballots that include the pdf are sent to the Membership, and electronic voting begins. Note that the minimum discussion period of seven days leaves only two days for changes before the lock takes place.

1/31/25

Day of the Vote

Date the Board has assigned for the vote. The Day of the Vote is the day the vote closes.

TBD

Background

A higher scholarship applicant count in recent years has created a backlog of applicants primarily due to the swelling membership numbers while the scholarship seat count has remained at a static 15 seats. This is a vote to update the Scholarship policy to a manage a dynamic number of seats (5% of the paying membership count) that rotate on a 12 month basis by a new Scholarship Team. The proposed changes and new team will allow for more a more structured and equitable selection process, as well as more time for recipients to leverage space resources for skill development. Overall these changes aim to better serve our mission of creating an inclusive and accessible makerspace that reflects and enriches our diverse community. The updated policy aims to allocate scholarships based on a weighted criteria system that prioritizes both economic need and community representation. Additionally, it introduces provisions for storage access and workshop participation to ensure recipients can fully engage with PS1's resources and community.

Language of the Vote

Replace the existing Scholarship Policy with the following new language. A copy of the below can be found at, Scholarship Policy 2025

Scholarship Policy 2025

Scholarship Core Values

The Pumping Station: One scholarship program is founded on our commitment to making maker education and resources accessible to all. We recognize that financial circumstances should not be a barrier to participating in our community of makers, inventors, and creators. Our core values emphasize:

Community Enrichment

We believe that diversity in perspectives, experiences, and skills strengthens our makerspace community. By reducing financial barriers, we create opportunities for talented individuals to contribute to and learn from our collaborative environment.

Educational Access

We are committed to democratizing access to tools, technology, and hands-on learning experiences. Our scholarship program ensures that economic circumstances do not limit someone's ability to develop new skills or pursue creative projects.

Empowerment Through Making

We support individuals who demonstrate a genuine interest in making, learning, and contributing to our community. Our program aims to empower recipients to explore, create, and grow within our space.

Sustainable Support

We structure our scholarship program to provide meaningful, long-term access while maintaining the resources and stability of our makerspace. This ensures we can continue to support our scholarship recipients while preserving the quality of experience for all members.

Equitable Opportunity

We strive to create fair and transparent processes while maintaining confidentiality where needed. Our program aims to identify and support individuals who will both benefit from and contribute to our maker community.

Application Process

To apply for a Pumping Station: One scholarship, please follow the link to fill out our application form.

Scholarship applications are reviewed by a Scholarship Team before being submitted to the Board for approval no later than the last day of February. Once approved by the Board, recipients are given Pumping Station One access at no cost until the last day of February on the following year, providing a 12 month scholarship term to the recipient. Notices of scholarship award are sent to selected candidates within the first week of March. Selected scholarship recipients will have 2 weeks to accept or request to defer their scholarship. Applications will be dropped if not selected (requiring yearly re-application). Aside from financial dues, scholarship recipients are held to all of the same expectations as active members, and are subject to all of the same repercussions for violating space rules.

A clear disclaimer about the applicant's anonymity will be included in applications as applications will be anonymized for final Board review and approval.

Team Structure

A dedicated Scholarship Team will be established, consisting of:

• One Board member or Director at Large
• One member of MMT (Member Management Team)
• At least one Equity Analyst (member or volunteer)
• One frequent member with no other volunteer associations
• One other of any of the above positions to assure no deadlocks

• Alternatively, the team can operate with three members of any of the above positions as a skeleton crew.

Team Duties

• Communicating with applicants and recipients
• Reviewing submitted applications and vetting candidates
• Providing support to recipients throughout their scholarship term
• Answering any support tickets relating to scholarships
• Expanding and codifying scholarship processes and resources where a board or member vote is not necessary
• Working with class/workshop instructors to integrate scholarship recipients in a mutually beneficial manner
• Adjusting allocations based on reports from other volunteer teams to ensure the program enriches our community while maintaining sustainable resource and volunteer capacity

Allocation

The total number of approved scholarships will be a dynamic seat count capped at 5% of total paying membership based on a snapshot taken at the beginning of December. This provides the Scholarship Team roughly three months to finalize scholarship selections and gain Board approval based on the determined number of available seats.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated using a weighted point system that considers both economic need and barriers to access, as maintained and enforced by the Scholarship Team. This selection criteria will remain confidential to preserve the integrity of the evaluation process. Maintaining this confidentiality will prevent applicants from artificially tailoring their submissions and will prevent unintentionally discouraging qualified candidates, while still allowing the committee flexibility to adapt to changing needs.

Storage and Resource Access

• Scholarship recipients are exempt from paid class fees. For members running classes with material costs, adjustments to accommodate scholarship recipients are only required if the instructor has chosen to participate in the scholarship program. The Scholarship Team will assist participating instructors with structuring their classes appropriately.
• For classes with material costs where the instructor has chosen to participate in the scholarship program, the Scholarship Team will work with instructors to either:
  • Provide a materials stipend from the scholarship fund for recipient participation
  • Create modified participation options (such as observation/audit spots)
  • Partner with sponsors or donors to cover material costs
  • Work out other arrangements that empower the instructor in their workshop

• Recipients may opt in to a free shared storage drawer. The drawer will be shared with other recipients.
  • At the Scholarship Team's or Board's discretion, recipients storage drawer usage may be consolidated or expanded to better accommodate paying members and volunteers, or to otherwise maximize space efficiently.