Open Forum

Does your museum offer scholarships for summer camps or classes?  We are exploring possibilities for offering summer art camp scholarships so I am gathering information about scholarship opportunities at museums and art organizations. 

If your institution offers scholarships, could you please answer the following questions:

• What is the scholarship amount or percentage?
• How do you promote the scholarship opportunity?
• Do you ask individuals to show documentation of their financial need?  If so, what types of documentation are requested?

Thanks so much for any information you can provide!

   

------------------------------
Amanda Driver
Access and Inclusive Programs Manager
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville AR
amanda.driver@crystalbridges.org
------------------------------

Original Message------

Does your museum offer scholarships for summer camps or classes?  We are exploring possibilities for offering summer art camp scholarships so I am gathering information about scholarship opportunities at museums and art organizations. 

If your institution offers scholarships, could you please answer the following questions:

• What is the scholarship amount or percentage?
• How do you promote the scholarship opportunity?
• Do you ask individuals to show documentation of their financial need?  If so, what types of documentation are requested?

Thanks so much for any information you can provide!

   

------------------------------
Amanda Driver
Access and Inclusive Programs Manager
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville AR
amanda.driver@crystalbridges.org
------------------------------

We offer camp scholarships thanks to support for an individual who set up a fund many years ago. We draw from it each summer. I go through the school system and lately one particular school. We're a rather small museum, so that is easier than fielding applications. The schools know students needs as well as children that have an invested interest in art (in our case). You need to make sure their parents are able and willing to get them there, so another reason to work with the schools. They know!

------------------------------
Rebecca Sailor
Curator of Education
Gibbes Museum of Art
Charleston SC

Original Message:
Sent: 12-01-2015 12:42 PM
From: Amanda Driver
Subject: Summer Camp and Class Scholarships

Does your museum offer scholarships for summer camps or classes?  We are exploring possibilities for offering summer art camp scholarships so I am gathering information about scholarship opportunities at museums and art organizations. 

If your institution offers scholarships, could you please answer the following questions:

• What is the scholarship amount or percentage?


• How do you promote the scholarship opportunity?


• Do you ask individuals to show documentation of their financial need?  If so, what types of documentation are requested?

Thanks so much for any information you can provide!

   

------------------------------
Amanda Driver
Access and Inclusive Programs Manager
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville AR
amanda.driver@crystalbridges.org
------------------------------

At COSI we offer scholarships each year based on the available funding from Donors or annual giving campaigns specific to the scholarship need. In terms of internal operations of the scholarship process here's an insider view of what we do:

• We post on-line a one page application. (see attachment) This really just asks for their general info, camp they want, household size and income. A $30 deposit is required and comes out of the total amount they will owe.
• We then take the current federal poverty guidelines for income and household size and do some math. This math results in a chart (sample attached).
• If they fall on the chart they qualify for the percentage off at the top of that column.
• We then contact them to let them know. We also let them know the aid is first come, first served. When they call us back to confirm we place them on a spreadsheet to confirm we have given away that amount of funds so we don’t exceed the available funds that year. While we are nice and firm on the message that we cannot hold the funds – realistically when we get to toward the end of the funds with 1 or 2 spots left, we give them a few days to call us back before we call someone else.
• We place them in our reservation system using a discount code that only internal reservationists have access to. (in other words while a guest can sign up for camp on their own on-line – they cannot if they are receiving aid)
• As far as their portion of the payment – we typically try to get their portion over the phone that day with a credit card as normal protocol for all camps is that payment is due at the time of reservation. If they cannot pay the balance at that time or on the phone and want to mail in check or money order, we agree on a payment plan with them. Our reservation coordinator handles this and uses her best judgement and basically all of it is due by the end of May. (at the latest the week before their camp begins or we have to cancel their reservation) Typically they pay it off at once or in 2 installments 1 month apart.

I hope you find this helpful and insightful for the good work we all do around providing and improving access to our educational programs.

------------------------------
Josh Sarver
Sr. Director of Experiences
COSI
Columbus OH

Original Message:
Sent: 12-01-2015 12:42 PM
From: Amanda Driver
Subject: Summer Camp and Class Scholarships

Does your museum offer scholarships for summer camps or classes?  We are exploring possibilities for offering summer art camp scholarships so I am gathering information about scholarship opportunities at museums and art organizations. 

If your institution offers scholarships, could you please answer the following questions:

• What is the scholarship amount or percentage?


• How do you promote the scholarship opportunity?


• Do you ask individuals to show documentation of their financial need?  If so, what types of documentation are requested?

Thanks so much for any information you can provide!

   

------------------------------
Amanda Driver
Access and Inclusive Programs Manager
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville AR
amanda.driver@crystalbridges.org
------------------------------

At the Humboldt Botanical Garden in Eureka, CA we offered a summer day camp for the first time this past year and it included full scholarships that were funded by a local women's organization who granted the funds to us. We accepted applications (which are posted on our website at www.hbgf.org) and were able to grant 5 full scholarships. In the application we did ask for household income level. We did not ask for proof of need because we did not want to embarrass anyone. We decided inhouse that if they wanted the scholarship bad enough to lie about it, so be it. It was not a problem. 

------------------------------
Susan Tissot
Executive Director
Humboldt Botanical Garden
Eureka CA

Original Message:
Sent: 12-01-2015 12:42 PM
From: Amanda Driver
Subject: Summer Camp and Class Scholarships

Does your museum offer scholarships for summer camps or classes?  We are exploring possibilities for offering summer art camp scholarships so I am gathering information about scholarship opportunities at museums and art organizations. 

If your institution offers scholarships, could you please answer the following questions:

• What is the scholarship amount or percentage?


• How do you promote the scholarship opportunity?


• Do you ask individuals to show documentation of their financial need?  If so, what types of documentation are requested?

Thanks so much for any information you can provide!

   

------------------------------
Amanda Driver
Access and Inclusive Programs Manager
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville AR
amanda.driver@crystalbridges.org
------------------------------

Original Message------

Does your museum offer scholarships for summer camps or classes?  We are exploring possibilities for offering summer art camp scholarships so I am gathering information about scholarship opportunities at museums and art organizations. 

If your institution offers scholarships, could you please answer the following questions:

• What is the scholarship amount or percentage?
• How do you promote the scholarship opportunity?
• Do you ask individuals to show documentation of their financial need?  If so, what types of documentation are requested?

Thanks so much for any information you can provide!

   

------------------------------
Amanda Driver
Access and Inclusive Programs Manager
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville AR
amanda.driver@crystalbridges.org
------------------------------

This is great information and very helpful!  Thank you all!

Best,

------------------------------
Amanda Driver
Museum Educator
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville AR

Original Message:
Sent: 12-04-2015 01:39 PM
From: Lisa Hastreiter-Lamb
Subject: Summer Camp and Class Scholarships

Our museum does offer summer camp scholarships. Here at The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures in Tucson, AZ we have week-long morning camps for children ages 5-12 which families pre-register for. We also offer a more flexible program in the afternoons which we call clubHOUSE. Families do not have to pre-register for clubHOUSE (but it will secure a spot for your child) parents may choose to drop-off their children for one afternoon or as many afternoons of the summer camp program as they like. (We cap the program at 30 children per afternoon.) Our morning sessions are very popular and generally sell out. clubHOUSE is a fairly new program (debuted summer 2013) and enrollment has been growing each year but on average we only fill about have of the available spots. Since enrollment in clubHOUSE is not as high we offer scholarships for the clubHOUSE program only. Families fill out a simple form (attached to this email). A single qualifying household may receive up to 5 afternoon sessions per child but no more than ten sessions per qualifying household. They must prove need based on the current year's Federal Poverty Guidelines (½ price [150%-400%] and full scholarships [100% -133%] available based on household size and income). They may prove need with WIC, EIC, Temporary Assistance card or  2015 tax return. We mention scholarships on our summer camp webpage and mention that they are available in our advertising.

 

Lisa

Lisa Hastreiter-Lamb

Director of Education/Associate Director

The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures

4455 E. Camp Lowell Drive  Tucson, AZ 85712

p.520.881.0606 ext.105   f.520.881.9307

www.theminitimemachine.org

 

 

 

 

 

Hello,

The Bass Museum has been offering summer camp scholarships for 4 years now.

To inform the community about them we do the following:

• First, send a letter or email to teachers that have attended our teacher training workshops throughout the year asking them to recommend students from their class that would be interested or would benefit from a scholarship. The teachers give our scholarship form to these families and tell them that it's still first come first served so they must submit in a timely manner.
• Then create and send an eblast to our contact list and members. 

Our camps run on a weekly basis, so campers must sign up for one week at a time. In the past we have done partial scholarships, but have since decided to only offer full scholarships to those in need. 

If it is an economic hardship scholarship, we require that the parents submit a form that they can get from their school that says they qualify for the Federal Free or Reduced Price Lunch Program at their school. If they are homeschooled or decide not to apply to that program then they must submit their most recent tax return.  We look at the return and base our decision off of the same income poverty level that the Federal Free or Reduced Lunch Program uses (link to income eligibility guidelines pdf Here).

If it is a disability based scholarship request we ask they they provide one of the following:

• An Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP; if under 3)
• An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) from school system.
• A Section 504 Plan
• A medical diagnosis from a doctor
• a diagnosis by a state certified/licensed professional (ex., psychologist)
• Disclosure by the parent or guardian describing the child's specific condition and/or need for accommodations.

I have also attached our scholarship application form. 

Let me know if you have any other questions. 

------------------------------
Kylee Crook
Director of Education
Bass Museum of Art
Miami Beach FL

Original Message:
Sent: 12-07-2015 01:57 PM
From: Amanda Driver
Subject: Summer Camp and Class Scholarships

This is great information and very helpful!  Thank you all!

Best,

------------------------------
Amanda Driver
Museum Educator
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville AR