Travel Scholarship Application

The scholarship program is intended to make it possible for WordPress community members to attend the summit conference; specifically, community members who have been invited but might not be able to attend for financial reasons. Scholarships may cover all or part of the conference registration fee, travel, and/or lodging. We can also assist in acquiring international visas.

Our scholarship selection team will be looking for applicants passionate about WordPress who would not be able to attend the event without financial assistance. Please indicate in the application the level of financial assistance you need, keeping in mind that we strive to accomodate the maximum number of scholarship applicants that our budget will allow. In other words, please only apply if you really can’t afford the trip, and ask for the amount you really need; don’t apply because you’d rather spend your money on video games and beer. 🙂

Application Deadline is August 30, 2012

Scholarship Evaluation Criteria

1. Only voluntary, non-profit work makes applicants eligible for a scholarship. Working on the WordPress project (coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress., documentation, events, etc) as part of a paid job does NOT count. If you are paid to work on WordPress, we can provide a letter to help convince your company to send you to the summit.

2. Scholarships are both rewards and incentives. Applications will be ranked based on what they have done for WordPress in the past and based on how much their attendance at the summit will benefit them and the WordPress project.

Prior to submitting your scholarship application:
1. Please evaluate if you will really be able to attend the summit. If you decide you can’t attend after receiving a scholarship award (travel/hotel), you will not be eligible for a WordPress event scholarship in the future. We understand that situations may come up last minute, so please be considerate of other scholarship applicants and consider family and job obligations before applying.

2. It is your responsibility to research the visa requirements for your country. Please research obtaining a visa for your country prior to submitting your application, and let us know the anticipated wait time before you’ll hear back about a visa. The WordPress Foundation can provide an Invitation Letter if necessary, whether you are applying for a travel scholarship or not. If you receive a scholarship but are unable to attend the summit due to not obtaining a visa, you will not be eligible for a WordPress event scholarship in the future.

3. You must have a current passport *in your possession* with an expiration date no earlier than 3 months after the conference to apply.

Apply for a travel scholarship to the WordPress Community Summit

If you have a question regarding scholarships, please leave a comment on this post or contact Jane directly.

P.S. This post and form largely inspired and/or cribbed from Drupal’s DrupalCon scholarship program. Props, Drupal!