Financial Aid

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BUTCH Voices is working hard to provide a quality conference while at the same time, keeping costs for everyone involved as low as possible. That being said, we would like to offer financial aid to those who might otherwise be unable to attend. For those who are truly suffering from economic hardship, rather than choosing to spend their income on other non-essential goods and services, financial assistance may be available to help make attend the conference more affordable.

*However, please be advised that because of limited resources we reserve this offer of financial assistance exclusively for members of the Masculine of Center (MoC) community, and will not award financial assistance to allies. We thank you in advance for your understanding.

How will we select financial aid recipients?

We base financial aid on the federal poverty guidelines. We would like to know what your income is, and we will compare that with the 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for a family of four, which is $26,500. We will award financial aid by comparing your income to this standard. 

BUTCH Voices recognizes that the Federal Poverty guideline for a family of four ($26,500) is a highly flawed measure of poverty and would be hard to live on for even a single person in most areas of the United States and elsewhere. Despite its limitations, our use of $26,500 as a cutoff for a single person’s income is designed to make the financial assistance process as egalitarian as possible and to ensure that financial assistance is going to the people who need it most.

We encourage all financial aid applicants to apply for a scholarship which, if awarded would cover the cost of (1) full conference registration. 

Scholarships

In addition to the financial aid we offer, BUTCH Voices is also pleased to offer scholarships to provide full conference registrations to historically underrepresented groups in our Masculine of Center community. We will offer two scholarships to self identified Masculine of Center people who belong to any of the following groups:

  • People of Color 
  • People with Disabilities 
  • Trans women 
  • People Under 25 
  • People Over 50
  • Wild Card
  • Brown Boi Scholarship*

We encourage you to provide financial information. In the event that you are not awarded a scholarship we may also consider your application for financial assistance.  

*New for 2021: We are excited to offer the Brown Boi Scholarship. This is in honor of B. Cole (founder of the Brown Boi Project) as a Keynote Speaker for this year’s event. This scholarship is specifically for queer and trans bois of color under the age of 30. 

A NOTE ON FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:

BUTCH Voices is a grassroots organization comprised of an all volunteer Board and Steering Committee. And while we are able to offer assistance, our funds are not limitless. We have a set budget for financial assistance.. We ask that if you are able to volunteer, for 2 hours of volunteer service you will be able to attend the conference at no cost. We will start making financial aid offers after June 1st. FA appli­cations that we receive after June 1 will depend on future fundraising efforts and availability of funding, so please apply early if you feel you will need assistance.

To apply for Financial Assistance or a Scholarship, please fill out the following. Your information will be kept private and reviewed by an internal committee.

BUTCH Voices - 2021 Financial Assistance Application

We are so glad you are applying, and we would love to award a full conference admission to every person that applied. Unfortunately, resources are limited and we cannot. We ask that you answer these few short questions, and then submit a brief statement/presentation (no more than 500 words/2mins). 

  • Please tell us (The BUTCH Voices Financial Aid Committee) how your presence, as an individual, will enhance the BUTCH Voices Conference experience?

    We are less interested in why you think you *deserve* to come, because we think everyone deserves to come. We are more interested in what you (meaning you, right there, reading this now) are going to do to make this the best conference it can be.

    Now, that doesn't mean we expect fireworks, or even a workshop idea or something similar. Maybe you are a promoter and will tell all of your friends. Maybe you can juggle. Maybe you sing a rollicking rendition of "A Boy Named Sue." Maybe you are really shy and you know exactly how to get other shy people to get up and dance. Show us, tell us - LET US KNOW!

  • Which aid award are you applying for? If you are applying for more than one, please number rank your choices. (If applying for one - just place a number "1" in that category):
  • New for 2021: Scholarship for queer and trans bois of color under the age of 30

  • The statement does not need to be written, be as creative as you like.   If you are unable to write the statement due to a disability, please contact the financial aid committee by sending an email to finaid@BUTCHVoices.com.  We will be happy to discuss alternatives with you. Thank you for your interest in attending BUTCHVoices!