Scholarship Policy 2025

2025 Scholarship Policy

Scholarship 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.

Scholarship Team Structure and Duties

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.

The Scholarship Team will responsible for:

• 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 deemed unnecessary
• Working with class/workshop instructors to integrate scholarship recipients in manner that benefits both attendees and instructors

Scholarship 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.