APRA VIRGINIA ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP GUIDELINES

Amount

One scholarship of up to a maximum of $500 will be awarded annually for the scholarship recipient to attend a research-related professional conference of his or her choice. The awarded funds can be used toward tuition only and will be paid directly to the conference on the recipient’s behalf. If winner fails to attend the conference, a full refund of the scholarship will be required by the individual.

In the event that there are additional scholarship funds remaining after the winner has been selected, the Scholarship Committee has the discretion to offer an additional award. 

Eligibility

All current members of APRA Virginia are eligible and encouraged to apply.  Primary qualifications for the award determination are:

1.       Overall quality of the application, including the quality of personal statement.

2.       Demonstrated financial need. Eligible applicants include any individual whose organization is unable to cover the costs of sending him/her to a research-related conference or who does not have an organization with whom he/she is affiliated. 

No requirements of experience or length of time in prospect research will apply.

All current APRA-Virginia board members will serve on the Scholarship Committee and will therefore be ineligible to receive the scholarship award. Also, all previous recipients of this award are ineligible.

Application

Applicants will be required to submit a resume as well as a personal statement not to exceed one page.  The personal statement should address the way in which a professional conference will enhance their research skills and the following: 

·         How will attendance at a professional conference impact the applicant professionally? 

·         How will attendance at a research related Conference benefit the applicant’s organization and/or clients? 

·         Why would it be impossible for the applicant to attend the conference without the scholarship?

Applications can be submitted to any member of the APRA-Virginia board.  Applications will then be forwarded to the Vice President, who will serve as chairperson of the Scholarship Committee.

Determination

The APRA-Virginia board and the previous year’s recipient(s) will serve as the Scholarship Committee and will make all decisions concerning the awarding of the scholarship.  Once all applications have been received, the Scholarship Committee Chairperson will distribute copies of the applications to all Committee members, and arrange a date for a telephone conference (or e-mail response) to discuss the selection.

Deadlines

For 2008, applications will be due by Friday, March 7, 2008 and the final decision will be announced at the spring chapter meeting to be held on or around March 30, 2008.

Other requirements

The scholarship winner will be required to share highlights/experiences from the conference with the Virginia APRA membership within the year following attendance of the conference. The scholarship winner will also serve as a member of the next year’s scholarship committee.

Additional Information/History

The first scholarship was awarded in 2002.

The 2005 APRA-VA Scholarship was awarded in memory of Greg Gluba.