Guild Scholarship Program

The Guild is starting a small grants scholarship program for its members. This program is a pilot effort. We expect to change it depending on what we learn this first year.

Members can apply for tuition or partial tuition to any woodworking school either in Oregon or outside Oregon, though some preference will be given to local schools and courses of study. There is no limit on the kind of skills or projects anticipated; hand work, machine work, marketing* your woodworking projects, etc.

The Guild will review applications and choose recipients in two categories, professional and amateur, with the definition of “professional” being annual earnings of more than $1,000 from his or her woodworking.

A panel of three Guild members consisting of the Scholarship Chairman, one other Guild Board member, and one member at large will review applications and select recipients. Selections will be based primarily on value to the member and value of the information back to the Guild membership, and will take into consideration other information furnished by applicants (See Application for details). Elected officers of the Guild can veto any panel selection, but may not choose recipients. No Board members, elected or appointed, will be eligible for scholarships during their terms on the Board.

The source of funds for the program is the $10 per year increase in dues approved last year specifically for scholarships.

Those who are awarded tuition grants will be expected to offer a presentation on what they learned to the membership, either at a regularly scheduled Guild meeting, or a half-day “Saturday Seminar”, or some other appropriate method as proposed by the applicant.

The money for this program is limited. Therefore, at the start of the program at least, priority will be given to applicants who expect to share the cost of their courses/seminars. We hope to make more grants in the less-than $200 range rather than fewer, higher amounts.

We will have two rounds of applications, one for fall classes and one for winter classes, and then we will assess the program before proceeding with application rounds for spring and summer courses.

The Guild is also in the process of negotiating with two woodworking schools – the Oregon College of Art and Craft and the Northwest Woodworking Studio – for scholarships for non-Guild students. The Guild funds for this program come from scholarship donations from Guild Sponsors and Guild general funds.

Scholarshp Application

Microsoft Word
Adobe PDF

Scholarship Chair