To encourage and enable professionals who are Minnesota Chapter members to participate in SLA continuing education or professional events by awarding grants to be used for registration, required materials and necessary travel expenses. The grant can be used for Greater Minnesota members to come to Minneapolis/St. Paul for chapter events.
Award
Two $250 awards (one awarded in spring and one in fall)
Eligibility
- Must be a current SLA-MN member
- Grant recipients must share their professional development experience with the chapter at a Board meeting or in a Discussion post on SLA Connect.
- An individual is not allowed to win two consecutive grant awards, and applications will not automatically transfer from one award period to the next. Applicants are free to resubmit their application in a subsequent award period should it still be viable.
- Grant recipients are obligated to serve on the Awards Committee for the following calendar year.
Judging Criteria
- Awards are given only to applicants meeting all eligibility criteria.
- If there are no qualifying applications during any particular grant period, the award will not be distributed and monies will not be transferred to additional or future grant award periods.
- Essays will be judged on the described benefits the applicant will gain by attending the event.
Application Process
The Awards Committee will solicit applications through chapter communications (i.e. website, SLA Connect, social media, etc …). The winner will be announced in the same way and the award will be presented at a future meeting. A maximum of two grants will be awarded each calendar year (one in spring and one in fall).
- Applications may be sent by email to the Awards Committee chair at minnesota.sla@gmail.com.
- After an application is selected, SLA-MN will notify SLA HQ office of the grant recipient. Depending on the activity requested in the application (conference/course registration, hotel, travel expenses), SLA HQ will either cover that cost directly or reimburse the recipient who provides receipts via the Community Expense Request Form (new in 2020).
Please submit the following information to the Awards Committee chair for consideration:
- Name
- Contact information, including phone and email address
- Title of the event you would like to attend
- Date and location of the event
- Write a statement of no more than 300 words about the event and how it will benefit you as an information professional, the Minnesota Chapter and/or the information profession.
- Please include a link to the event’s description