Scholarships and Volunteer Opportunities

General Scholarship

CNU is pleased to offer a limited number of scholarships to citizen activists and advocates working on promoting compact, walkable cities and towns that provide residents a high quality of life while protecting the natural environment.

This year's conference in Madison, WI, will be held at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, June 1-4, 2011.

CNU offers scholarships to enable individuals and organizations without conference budgets a more affordable way to attend the conference to ensure a diverse group of participants. General Scholarship Guidelines are as follows:

  • Scholarships will be awarded based on need and interest. Priority will be given to individuals and organizations working to involve citizens in urban design, policy, and planning; those working on community, economics, environment, and design issues; and to students intending to work on these issues.
  • CNU encourages individuals from across the country and from the Greater lakes region to attend this conference. Scholarships are used to assist with the conference registration fee only.
  • Please fill out this online scholarship form to apply. Please print it out if you wish to save a copy of your application. The filled up form is not accessible once submitted.
  • Application Deadline: Wednesday April 6, 2011.
  • Notification of scholarship -- Scholarship recipients will be informed of awards by the week of April 18. At that time, everyone who applied for financial aid will be informed of their award and any remaining costs to attend CNU.

Rich McLaughlin Scholarship Fund for Appointed and Elected Officials

Longtime CNU member Rich McLaughlin passed away from pancreatic cancer on December 31, 2006. A committed pioneer to the cause of compact, walkable communities built for people, not cars, Rich was a tireless advocate of designing urban places according to New Urbanist principles. Rich had a deep knowledge and commitment to the principles of New Urbanism, from his early days at DPZ to his pioneering work on a neighborhood modeling system and creating a Neighborhood Design Center in Madison, Wisconsin. He touched thousands of lives in his work with developers, planners, architects, landscape architects, citizens, appointed and elected officials, students and visionaries. His passion for walkable, compact communities that embrace diversity, density and beauty will live on in the many projects he had a hand in around the country.

In honor of Rich McLaughlin and his contribution to New Urbanism, CNU created a Rich McLaughlin Scholarship Fund that will pay for one or two appointed or elected officials to attend CNU’s annual conference. By educating appointed and elected officials on the benefits of New Urbanism, they will have the tools they need to be leaders in the revitalization of their communities.

To contribute to the Rich McLaughlin Scholarship Fund, please Donate Online or send donations to:

Congress for the New Urbanism 140 S. Dearborn St., Ste. 404 Chicago, IL 60603 Make checks payable to Congress for the New Urbanism, and please note "Rich McLaughlin Scholarship Fund" on the check memo line. All donations are tax-deductible.

To apply to the Rich McLaughlin Scholarship Fund, please fill out the Rich McLaughlin Scholarship Application. Please print it out if you wish to save a copy of your application. The completed form is not accessible once submitted.

  • Application Deadline: postmarked Friday April 15, 2011.
  • Notification of scholarship -- The scholarship recipient(s) will be informed of awards by the week of April 18th.

Volunteer Opportunities

Many volunteer opportunities are available for CNU 19.

Thank you for your interest in being a volunteer at CNU 19: Growing Local, Madison, WI, June 1-4, 2011. Volunteer opportunities are offered for people wishing to experience the Congress at a deeper, more involved level or people facing financial difficulties. Volunteers are offered a 4-day registration for the highly discounted fee of $75. A minimum of 10 hours of volunteer time is required. Volunteers are entitled to participate in any of the non-ticketed sessions, workshops or plenary sessions (including the opening session), provided that there is no conflict with the volunteer schedule.

Each volunteer is responsible for their own travel arrangements, lodging, and other expenses.

The Congress for the New Urbanism takes place over the course of 4 days and consists of a wide range of events occurring at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center and other locations in and around Madison. The average volunteer shift will be between 1.5 and 4 hours long.

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
The following list consists of ways you can assist us in achieving a successful Congress. It is possible that you may work several of these tasks over the course of the conference.

  • Congress registration
  • Session audio/visual and lights, CEU’s collection
  • Directing attendees to meeting rooms
  • Collecting tickets
  • Stuffing packets
  • Running errands
  • Assisting with Tours and Urban Laboratory sessions
  • Special events

MANDATORY VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION
Volunteer tasks and other information will be explained in detail at the MANDATORY volunteer orientation session. You have 3 options to select from: Tuesday, May 31st 6:00pm-7:00pm, Wednesday, June 1st 9:30am-10:30am or Wednesday, June 1st 3:00pm-4:00pm. The orientations will take place at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison.

DISCOUNTED REGISTRATION FEE: Volunteers are offered a 4-day registration for the highly discounted fee of $75. Volunteers will be asked to provide a $175 payment when registering, and will receive a $100 reimbursement upon completion of the required ten hours of volunteer time. Registration information will be provided upon selection. QUESTIONS? Please email Meridith Mueller at meridith01@gmail.com.

HOW TO APPLY
To apply to be a volunteer at CNU 19, please fill out the online volunteer application form by April 6, 2011. No hard copy of the application form is available. You will receive an email confirming or declining your application the week of April 18th.