Apply For A Scholarship

River Network offers a limited number of scholarships for those who need financial assistance to attend River Rally. Thanks to the generosity of our scholarship supporters we have been able to offer scholarships that cover up to 100% of registration fees for a significant percentage of attendees in past years.

This year, scholarships are available to cover partial registration, full registration, and/or travel assistance (travel assistance is offered as a set amount that attendees can use at their own discretion to offset travel or accommodation). River Network acknowledges that there are diverse needs for assistance, and we work to balance that with a true evaluation of equity when distributing available funds. We ask that scholarship applicants consider the following when assessing their level of need:

Your organization’s size and budget: Our Network is comprised of organizations of all sizes, structures, and budgets, including 100% volunteer-run organizations, organizations without dedicated travel and professional development funds, and community groups that aren’t incorporated/eligible to directly receive donations and funding.

Your personal/organizational ability to invest in professional development: In previous years, River Rally has welcomed a significant percentage of early career professionals (in 2024, 1/4 of attendees were under 35 years old), those not yet employed in the environmental sector, and volunteers and community members associated with Network members.

Your own economic privilege: River Network has been looking to other organizations for guidance on how to frame economic privilege, and the following prompts helped us understand how to evaluate economic need more accurately:

• Do you rent housing, or were you able to secure financing to purchase a home?
• Do you have access to healthcare, retirement, and/or paid time off benefits as part of your employment?
• Does your income allow you to make regular contributions to savings accounts, retirement accounts, investments, or other “rainy day” funds?
• Do you utilize financial assistance programs of any kind to access food, housing, healthcare, childcare, or other basic needs?

While there are many ways to understand economic privilege, it is our intention that this short list of prompts inspires scholarship applicants to reflect on the level of need they express in their applications, with the consideration that our Network is made up of diverse people in variable circumstances.

Priority scholarships will be made available to speakers, either as partial or full awards.

A $20 deposit is required to submit a scholarship application for River Rally 2026. If you are not awarded a scholarship to attend River Rally, you can either have this deposit refunded or applied to your registration fee. If this application fee is a barrier for you, please let us know.

If awarded a scholarship, your application will be automatically converted to a registration upon acceptance. There will be no need to complete a general registration form once you accept your award. 

Scholarship & Registration Timeline

• Scholarship application open: January 21-February 25, 2026
• Scholarship decisions: Starting February 4, 2026, on a rolling basis as funds are available
• General registration opens: February 4, 2026 (open until event capacity is reached)

Questions about scholarships? Contact us.