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 Austin, Texas, will be held at the Austin Convention Center, April 3-6, 2008.

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 Texas region to attend this conference. Scholarships are used to assist with the conference registration fee only.
  • Please fill out this scholarship online 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: postmarked Wednesday, February 6, 2008.
  • Notification of scholarship -- Scholarship recipients will be informed of awards by the week of February 25. At that time, everyone who applied for financial aid will be informed of their award and any remaining costs to attend CNU.

New Rich McLaughlin Scholarship for Planners, 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 has started a Rich McLaughlin Scholarship Fund that will pay for one or two elected public officials - Planning Commissioners, Town Board members, City Council members, Mayors, etc. - to attend CNU’s annual conference. By educating 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 send donations to:

Congress for the New Urbanism
140 S. Dearborn St., Ste. 310
Chicago, IL 60657
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 filled up form is not accessible once submitted.

  • Application Deadline: postmarked Friday, February 29, 2008.

  • Notification of scholarship -- The scholarship recipient(s) will be informed of awards by the week of March 10.

Volunteer Opportunities

The deadline has come and gone. We have recruited a great team of volunteers to cover all needs for the Congress. We do not accept applications anymore. Thank you for your interest.