Scholarship Policy Update 2025

Title

Vote to Update Scholarship Policy 2025

Sponsor

V (MMT)

Co-Sponsors

Joe Shaul (PR)
Uwe (Director)
Krist Pregracke

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

The aim of this vote is to revise and clarify the language of 2021 Scholarship Update with the following new language. A higher scholarship applicant count in recent years has created a backlog of applicants. This is a vote to update the Scholarship policy to a manage a dynamic number of seats (5% of the paying membership count) to accommodate the member body no matter the count. It also expands scholarship terms again to 12 months, as we have found the current scholarship term length is again insufficient for recipients to get authorized on tools and complete their goals, likely from the continued growth in demand for authorizations. It also shifts the turnover time to the beginning of March, to avoid conflicts with common holiday plans around the beginning of the year for both applicants and volunteers.

Language of the Vote

A copy of the below can be found at, Scholarship Policy 2025

Scholarship Policy 2025

Consistent with our mission, PS1 offers Scholarships to individuals that might not otherwise be able to participate due to financial constraints, or who seek membership for the purposes of education or community service.

Scholarship Team

"Scholarship Team" refers to the scholarship officer and any members in good standings that are delegated with any of the duties below.

Team Duties

Communicating with applicants and recipients
Reviewing 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

Financial & Logistical Considerations

The total number of available scholarships will be a count capped at 5% of total paying membership based on a snapshot taken at the beginning of December using the current member management software. This provides the Scholarship Team roughly three months to finalize scholarship selections and gain Board approval based on the determined number of available seats. Scholarship applicants that are not selected are required to re-apply to be eligible for the following term.

Scholarships are to occur on a 12 month application cycle beginning on the first week of March for a smooth on-boarding process for scholarship recipients. Scholarships are approved for 12 month cycles with decisions being sent to candidates within the first week of March. All scholarships will have an option to renew via reapplication for an additional 12 months within three calendar years. Former scholarship recipients may be considered again in the third year, or for the second scholarship term within the same two years if there are insufficient applications to saturate the scholarship budget for the upcoming term.

Scholarship selections will be guided by the specifics of the selection criteria that are generally laid out in this document. The selection process is done by the Scholarship Team, provided that scholarship recipients are ultimately reviewed and voted on by the Board of Directors.

The Scholarship budget may also receive additional funding from donors in addition to what is voted upon in the annual budget. Donor funding may be added to the general scholarship pool, or as a separate scholarship designed to support particular applicants (e.g. a scholarship specifically for welders) provided those scholarships fit the goals and objectives of Pumping Station: One and are approved by the Board of Directors. All sponsored scholarship types should be made available for review by the membership, including those that are temporary, although donors and recipients may remain anonymous. Funds provided by donors for the purpose of supporting scholarships will be added to the general pool of Scholarship funding unless otherwise specified.

Terms

“Scholarships per month” refers to a singular instance of waived dues for that month’s membership. When someone receives a scholarship per annual term, they are receiving 12-months worth of scholarships to be used within that term. Modifications to an assigned scholarship term should be directed to the scholarship officer.

Limitations

The Board of Directors reserves the right to provide scholarships to the extent the Board or other designated volunteers are currently able to successfully manage and only to those applicants they deem to meet the criteria, regardless of availability. The Board of Directors reserves the right to revoke scholarships if the recipient violates the Membership agreement, does not fulfill the requirements of their scholarship, or does not respond to Board correspondence in a timely fashion regarding pertinent issues pertaining to their scholarship. The Board will work to the best of their ability to address issues for scholarship recipients with clarity and in a timely fashion. Scholarships are not transferable.

Selection Criteria

Successful applicants should meet one the following conditions:

Applicant can demonstrate financial need
- This may be demonstrated by checking off a declaration in the scholarship application that PS1 dues would render the applicant unable to join PS1 without a scholarship
Applicant demonstrates that their PS1 membership will be used for the purposes of education or community service