Scholarship Program
The Rail~Volution 2008 Scholarship Program application deadline has now passed.


The planners and sponsors of the 14th annual Rail~Volution conference are pleased to be able to offer a limited number of scholarships to citizen activists and advocates working on transit and related land use issues. The 2008 conference will take place in San Francisco, California October 26-30, 2008.  Since its inception, Rail~Volution has offered scholarships to enable individuals and organizations without conference budgets a more affordable way to attend the conference as a way to ensure a diverse group of participants.
General Scholarship Guidelines are as follows:

• Scholarships will be awarded based on need. Priority will be given to individuals and organizations working to involve citizens in transportation and land-use issues and to students planning to work on these issues.
• Rail~Volution awards predominantly partial scholarships in order to offer funding to a larger number of people. This, coupled with the home-stay program, is the most efficient way conference organizers could see to aid activists and advocates in reducing the costs of attendance.
• Rail~Volution sponsors encourage individuals from across the country and from the San Francisco Bay Area to attend this conference. Scholarships can be used to assist with the conference registration fee and, in some cases, travel expenses. For out-of-town scholarship recipients who are interested, we will attempt to arrange home-stays with a community member from the San Francisco Bay Area.

There are two scholarship programs:

National Scholarship Program
This is eligible to all participants coming outside of the nine Bay Area Counties

• Due Date: Thursday, August 28, 2008
• Includes funding for full registration or half registration, travel expenses in some cases, and possible home-stay arrangements with local Bay Area activists
• Scholarship Recipients notified September 22nd
• For questions contact railvolutionscholarships@gmail.com

Local Scholarship Program
This program is eligible to applicants coming from the nine Bay Area Counties – Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.

• Due Date: Friday, August 22, 2008
• Includes funding for full registration except for $40 commitment fee, no funding is available for travel expenses although all conference attendees receive a multi-agency transit pass which includes: AC Transit, BART, Caltrain, Samtrans, Muni, VTA or Golden Gate Transit.  You will be granted unlimited access to these systems during the conference.
• People from the San Francisco Bay Area who are willing to provide a home-stay for a national scholarship recipient will be offered a full fee waiver to attend the conference.  You would be hosting a community advocate from of the nine Bay Area counties.  Hosts ideally are located within walking distance of stops for transit systems listed above.
• For questions contact railvolutionlocalscholarships@gmail.com

Frequently Asked Questions:

• Will a scholarship include mobile workshops? No unfortunately the fees for the workshops, charrettes, and seminar are in place to ensure commitment of your attendance and cannot be waived.
• Can I just apply to host someone in exchange for a conference fee waiver? No, our first priority is funding scholarships to the top candidates.  Those who were close to being awarded will be considered first for participation in the home-stay program.  To increase your opportunities for being given a home-stay in exchange for a fee waiver, please complete the scholarship application.
• What time exactly are applications due? The online form date and time stamps your submission.  Any application completed by midnight on the due dates listed will be considered. 
• How many scholarships will be awarded?  At this time it is uncertain, we are currently fundraising to provide fund this scholarship program. The final number will depend on how much we raise.  In either case we definitely encourage you to submit an application.