Scholarships and Financial Aid
Funding Opportunities for Adults
Enrollment at Quaker Colleges and Internships and Fellowships for Quaker Organizations:
Lake Erie Yearly Meeting (LEYM) is committed to supporting young adult Friends who choose to attend Quaker colleges and universities for their undergraduate education, and for individuals who will be participating in a post-secondary internship or fellowship for a Quaker organization. The criteria is spelled out in the Lake Erie Yearly Meeting Scholarship Fund policy statement. Deadline is March 1st for the succeeding scholastic year. (NOTE: 2023 application Deadline has been extended to April 30th.)
Funds for Attendance at Conferences Reflecting Quaker Values and Testimonies:
The Yearly Meeting has a budget line to assist Friends to attend conferences developed by or sponsored by Quaker groups or conferences whose purposes are closely aligned with Quaker testimonies, such as peace, equality, integrity, and simplicity. These funds are not meant to support travel to regularly occurring Quaker meetings such as the FGC Gathering or Yearly Meeting sessions, since other scholarships are available for those events. They should be used for one-time or rarely occurring events, workshops, or conferences. To request funding submit this form to the Clerk of Lake Erie Yearly Meeting at least six weeks before an answer is needed. The form should be accompanied by a statement of support from the Clerk of the Friend’s monthly meeting, the Convener of their Worship Group, or the designee of either. Funding decisions will be made together by the Presiding Clerk, the Treasurer, and the Clerk of the Ministry & Nurture Committee or their designees.
LEYM Spiritual Formation retreats. Friends wanting help to cover the cost of a Spiritual Formation retreat are asked to first request help from their monthly meeting, then let the registrar for the Spiritual Formation Program know if they need additional help. Funds come from the Spiritual Formation Program monies.
Ministry Scholarships are available from The Ministry Scholarships Fund to help support monthly meetings that wish to send a member or attender of their meeting to a seminar, institute, or workshop for education or training related to ministry among Friends, such as The School of the Spirit, the Earlham School of Religion, or a clerking workshop. Two requirements are: 1) that the request comes from the monthly meeting rather than the individual, and 2) that the monthly meeting also provides financial support to the individual. Apply to the clerk of LEYM’s Ministry & Nurture Committee. (YM08-25.4, YM08-38)
Yearly Meeting business. Yearly Meeting officers and appointed representatives to Friends’ organizations may receive reimbursement for travel expenses for business on behalf of the Yearly Meeting and for attendance at meetings of Friends’ organizations. The principal travel cost to be reimbursed is the transportation itself. Friends are expected to cover their own food costs and, whenever possible, to arrange lodging with Friends. However, the intent of the Yearly Meeting is that no one be excluded from representing LEYM because of limited financial resources; thus individuals may request reimbursement for additional travel-related expenses or take them as a tax-deductible contribution to the Yearly Meeting.
An LEYM committee member may be reimbursed for unusual expenses incurred on behalf of the Yearly Meeting by obtaining written approval from the yearly meeting clerk in advance.
Friends wishing reimbursement should use the Travel Expense Reporting Form which appears in Appendix D of LEYM’s Policies & Procedures Manual and on LEYM’s web site. The filled-in form and attached receipts should be mailed or given to the treasurer.
Yearly Meeting officers, representatives, and committee members who do not request reimbursement are still asked to submit to the treasurer reports of out-of-pocket and in-kind expenses such as travel, long distance telephone charges, and postage, so that the cost of conducting Yearly Meeting business may be accurately known.
LEYM Annual Meeting. Waived fees are offered to help Friends attend Annual Sessions. Currently, first-time attenders receive 1/3 off their total costs, Clerks of Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups receive 25% of their costs, all children 18 and under are not charged for lodging, and LEYM covers 2/3 of the cost of meals for those aged 3-18 (there is no charge for children under 3).
In addition, the following volunteers get room, meals, and registration at no cost:
* Teachers for the youth program
* Bookstore manager
* Registrar
* Plenary speaker
* Workshop leaders who are not from LEYM
LEYM Friends who need additional help to attend can request it from the registrar.
Monthly meetings are responsible for travel expenses of their representatives to LEYM who attend Annual Meeting.
LEYM Representative Meeting. A small donation is requested to cover lunch and other costs at Representative Meeting. Monthly meetings are responsible for travel expenses of their representatives to LEYM who attend Representative Meeting.
LEYM Service Project preceding Annual Meeting. Need-based scholarships are available from The Works Project Fund to participate in the service project. Friends may apply when they register.
Traveling Ministries Fund: This fund supports the travel costs of LEYM Friends whose travel in the ministry has been recognized by their monthly meeting and LEYM through a travel minute. It is administered by the Ministry & Nurture Committee. (YM13-23, YM13-43, YM14-24, YM 15-22)
Special travel requests. For help with travel costs of doing Quaker work such as service on an FGC committee, LEYM Friends can apply to the yearly meeting clerk. The clerk will consult with the treasurer and the clerk of the Finance Committee. Other officers, other committee clerks, and other members of the Finance Committee may be consulted as needed.
Assistance in obtaining a Cooper Scholarship to attend Earlham School of Religion (ESR). On request, LEYM’s Ministry & Nurture Committee can recommend an LEYM Friend for a Cooper Scholarship at Earlham School of Religion (ESR). ESR is part of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. It is a Quaker theological school offering masters level study. ESR offers full-tuition Cooper Scholar Awards. Priority is given to Quaker students who have been identified as promising leaders and ministers by their monthly and yearly meetings. Complete information is available from ESR.
Funding for Children and Teens
Annual LEYM K-8 Fall Retreat. Scholarships are available from LEYM’s Youth Activity Fund. Parents can apply for a scholarship when they register their children for the retreat.
Youth activities and conferences. LEYM’s Youth Activities Fund can be used to help underwrite or provide scholarships for activities and conferences for the youth of the Yearly Meeting. This fund was established to help support events such as LEYM-sponsored youth trips to William Penn House, and the FGC Gathering, but the use of the fund is not limited to that. It could, for instance, be used to help a youth attend Friends Music Camp. This fund cannot be used for scholarships to attend academic institutions (YM93-10). Friends wanting assistance from the fund should fill out the Youth Activities Fund Application which can be found in the LEYM Financial Manual with a letter of support from their monthly meeting.
LEYM High School retreats. Funds to help teens attend LEYM High School retreats are available from LEYM’s Youth Activity Fund. Teens can apply for a scholarship when they register for the retreat. Drivers (including the Coordinator) who transport teens to LEYM High School retreats can apply for reimbursement of their costs from the High School Retreat Fund. Apply to the Coordinator.
LEYM Annual Meeting. Waived fees are offered to help young Friends attend Annual Meeting. Currently, children 18 and under are not charged for lodging, and LEYM covers 2/3 of the cost of meals for those aged 3-18 (there is no charge for children under 3). Parents of young Friends who need additional help can request it from the registrar.