[IABS-Talk] 2024 Kenneth Jernigan national convention scholarship information

[Marilyn Green]

Hello fellow federationists,

Please see the below and share with those who have not had the
advantage to attend an in-person national convention:

Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship
by Tracy Soforenko

Have you always wanted to attend an NFB annual convention but have not
done so because of the lack of funds? The Kenneth Jernigan Convention
Scholarship Fund invites you to make an application for a scholarship
grant. Perhaps this July you too can be in the Rosen Center Orlando
enjoying the many pleasures and learning opportunities at the largest
and most important yearly convention of blind people in the world.

The three biggest ticket items you need to cover when attending an NFB
national convention are the roundtrip transportation, the hotel room
for a week, and the food (which tends to be higher priced than at
home). We attempt to award additional funds to families, but, whether
a family or an individual is granted a scholarship, this fund can only
help; it won’t pay all the costs. In recent years, the grants have
been $750 for individuals.

We recommend that you find an NFB member as your personal convention
mentor, someone who has been to many national conventions and is able
to share money-saving tips with you and tips on navigating the
extensive agenda in the big hotel. Your mentor will help you get the
most out of the amazing experience that is convention week.

Who is eligible?
Active NFB members blind or sighted who have not yet attended an
in-person NFB national convention because of lack of funding are
eligible to apply. If you have attended a convention virtually but
have never attended an in-person convention, you are still eligible to
apply.

How do I apply for funding assistance?
This year we will be accepting applications online. Since applications
must be completed in a single session online, we strongly recommend
you prepare your responses in a document, and then cut and paste your
responses into the application form. The application form does not
support complex formatting, so we recommend avoiding formatting such
as bullet points and fonts/styles.

Effective January 1, 2024, the application form can be found at the
following link:
https://nfb.org/form/kenneth-jernigan-convention-scho?q=form%2Fkenneth-jernigan-convention-scho

The application will ask for the following information:

Contact information: Include your full name and both your primary
phone where you can be contacted by your state president and your
mobile phone you might use at convention, if available.
Please include your mailing address and, if you have one, your email
address. If you don’t have an email address, please consider if there
is a friend or chapter member who might be able to assist with email
correspondence.
State Affiliate/chapter information: Include your state affiliate,
your state president, chapter, and chapter president, if you attend a
chapter.
Mentor information: Include your personal convention mentor, and
provide that person’s phone number.
Funding request: Include your specific request, and explain how much
money you need from this fund to make this trip possible for you. We
suggest you consult with other members to make a rough budget for
yourself.
Essay questions to explain why this is a good investment for the NFB:
How do you currently participate in the Federation?
Why do you want to attend a national convention?
What would you receive?
What can you share or give?
Any special circumstances you hope the committee will take into consideration.
If you cannot apply online, you can still apply by writing a letter to
your state affiliate president answering the above questions. This
letter should be emailed to your state affiliate president. Once you
have decided you will apply, please contact your state president in
person or by phone to request his or her help in obtaining funding. Be
sure to tell the state affiliate president when to expect your
application, and mention the deadline.

Once your application has been submitted, your application will be
provided to your state president via email. It is still your
responsibility to contact your affiliate president. He or she must
email a president’s recommendation directly to the Kenneth Jernigan
Convention Scholarship Fund Committee at kjscholarships at nfb.org. Your
president must email the recommendation no later than the deadline of
April 15, 2024. If you have applied outside of the online form, the
state affiliate president must email both the recommendation and the
application letter.

Notification of Award
If you are chosen to receive this scholarship, you will receive a
letter with convention details that should answer most of your
questions. The committee makes every effort to notify winners by May
15, but you must do several things before that to be prepared to
attend if you are chosen:

Make your own hotel reservation. If something prevents you from
attending, you can cancel the reservation. (Yes, you may arrange for
roommates of your own to reduce the cost.)
Register online for the entire convention, including the banquet, by May 31.
Find someone in your chapter or affiliate who has been to many
conventions and can answer your questions as a friend and mentor.
If you do not hear from the committee by May 15, then you did not win
a scholarship this year.
Receiving the Award
At the convention, you will be given a debit card or credit card
loaded with the amount of your award. The times and locations to pick
up your card will be listed in the letter we send you. The committee
is not able to provide funds before the convention, so work with your
chapter and state affiliate to assist you by obtaining an agreement to
advance funds if you win a scholarship and to pay your treasury back
after you receive your debit or credit card.

More Information
For additional information, please contact the chairman of the Kenneth
Jernigan Fund Committee, Tracy Soforenko, at kjscholarships at nfb.org or
410-659-9314, extension 2020.
Above all, please use this opportunity to attend your first convention
on the national level and join several thousand active Federationists
in the most important meeting of the blind in the world. We hope to
see you in Orlando.

-- 
Marilyn Green, President
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
312-343-8396
president at nfbofillinois.org
www.nfbofillinois.org
Live the life you want!

The National Federation of the Blind of Illinois is a community of
members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the
nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live
the lives they want.