Members in transition. Young professionals. Small-community employees. Many ICMA members are challenged by limited resources in their pursuit of gaining the resources they need to better manage their communities.     

To help members experience the difference the ICMA Annual Conference has made for so many others, ICMA is accepting applications to its 2015 Conference Assistance and Stene Academic Scholarship Programs. The deadline for all applications is May 22, 2015. 

Conference Assistance Scholarships

ICMA’s Conference Assistance Scholarships are divided into four categories:

1. The Young Professional Scholarship is open to any ICMA member with three years or fewer experience as a full-time local government employee. There is no minimum salary requirement, although salary may be considered during the evaluation process.  
2. The Workplace Diversity Scholarship is open to women and minorities. It is the applicant’s responsibility to demonstrate (through additional information included in a required essay) how his or her background merits receipt of a diversity scholarship and how the local government and the community served will benefit from the individual’s conference attendance. There is no minimum salary or tenure cutoff for the Workplace Diversity Scholarship, although those factors may be considered during the evaluation process.
3. The Member in Transition Scholarship is open to any member enrolled in ICMA's MIT program.
4. The Small Community Employee Scholarship is open to any member serving in a small community with limited financial resources.  Applicants can self-select to apply for this scholarship. There is no minimum salary requirement, although salary may be considered during the evaluation process.

To be eligible for any of ICMA’s Conference Assistance Scholarships, an applicant must:

• Be a first-time ICMA Annual Conference attendee (not applicable to persons applying for the MIT scholarship nor to those who attended a past conference as a student member).
• Be a full-time local government employee (no part-time interns; MITs excluded from this requirement).
• Submit a completed application.
• Demonstrate an avid interest in a career in local government management through an essay.
• Submit two recommendation forms signed by local government managers or administrators who are familiar with your work.

Application materials are due Friday, May 22.  Direct questions to njames@icma.org.

Stene Academic Scholarship Program

Each year, ICMA selects a graduate school student as the recipient of its $1,000 Edwin O. Stene Academic Scholarship, named in memory of Kansas University Professor Edwin O. Stene. ICMA also will provide the Stene scholarship recipient with complimentary registration to its 2015 annual conference. Travel and housing expenses are not included in the Stene Scholarship stipend.

To be eligible, individual must be enrolled by September 2014 as full-time graduate student specializing in local government at a college or university recognized by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Public Administration. Must have had little or no full-time experience in local government (internships excluded).

Complete information on ICMA’s conference scholarship program can be found online.Direct questions to njames@icma.org.