Scholarships

The TIBC11 Scholarship Program exists to reduce financial barriers to participation and ensure that the Congress includes people who are deeply rooted in place-based, Indigenous, and bioregional work across Turtle Island.

Scholarship Details

Scholarships are for individual support and investing in bioregional capacity. Each scholarship recipient is understood as a representative, bridge-builder, and knowledge carrier for their life-place.

Family/tribal/community groups planning to attend the Congress may apply together, in one application.

Each participant selected for a scholarship will receive:

A free ticket to the Congress (including all meals, parking pass and camping pass)
Up to $500 USD Travel Stipend, distributed via reimbursement after the Congress.

Scholarship recipients are expected to attend the gathering from start to end, September 15-19.

Scholarship Selection Priorities

The TIBC11 Scholarship Program is designed to ensure that the Congress reflects the full diversity of people, places, and lineages engaged in bioregional organizing across Turtle Island. Scholarships will prioritize applicants who meet one or more of the following criteria:

Indigenous and Native American, Black, Latino/a/x, and all people whose leadership, lived experience, and cultural knowledge are essential to regenerative futures.
Members of rural, remote, or frontline communities, and participants from bioregions that are historically underrepresented in continental or movement-wide gatherings. This includes participants from Mexico and Latinoamerica.
People who are actively organizing at watershed, bioregional, or territorial scales, including community conveners, land and water stewards, governance practitioners, and local movement builders.
Artists, cultural stewards, and wisdom keepers, whose creative and ceremonial practices sustain culture, transmit knowledge, and strengthen community resilience.
Youth and Elders, whose perspectives anchor both long-term stewardship and intergenerational continuity.

Selection will consider the ways applicants’ participation can strengthen their home communities and contribute to a diverse, relational, and place-based Congress. Meeting one or more of these priorities does not guarantee a scholarship, but helps guide decisions toward equity, representation, and movement impact.

How Applications Will Be Evaluated

Scholarship applications will be reviewed using a holistic and values-based approach. Applications will be evaluated based on the following considerations:

Alignment with Scholarship Priorities
Reviewers will consider how applicants align with one or more of the stated scholarship priorities, including place-based organizing, cultural stewardship, intergenerational leadership, and representation from under-resourced or underrepresented communities.
Community Connection and Impact
Priority will be given to applicants who demonstrate a strong relationship to their home community or bioregion, and who articulate how attending the Congress would support their ongoing work, community well-being, or local organizing efforts.
Financial Need and Access Barriers
Reviewers will consider financial barriers to participation, including travel distance, income level, caregiving responsibilities, and limited access to institutional funding.
Contribution to Congress Diversity and Learning
Applications will be assessed for how each participant would contribute to the collective learning environment of the Congress, including through lived experience, cultural knowledge, organizing practice, artistic expression, or intergenerational perspective.

No single factor will determine selection. Final decisions will balance individual need, collective representation across bioregions, and the overall goal of cultivating a Congress that is equitable, place-rooted, and community-led.

Timeline

Phase 1, ~February to April

Applications open February 19, 2026 and close on April 1, 2026.

Applications will be reviewed and scholarship recipients will be notified by April 17, 2026.

Phase 2, ~May to June

If resources allow, we may run a second round of scholarship consideration. This round would take into consideration applicants from Round 1, as well as any new applicants. We would aim to communicate about this possible round by May and notify recipients for this possible round by the end of June.

Scholarship applicants are welcome to buy a ticket through the regular registration process if they wish to secure a spot while waiting to hear back. If they are selected for a scholarship, we can issue a refund for the ticket cost.

Reimbursements, late September
Scholarship attendees can submit their travel expenses for reimbursement.