Scholarships

 
 

The Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center offers scholarships with two intentions:

  • To reduce financial barriers to participation. This means making sure anyone with an interest in our classes and shop access programs can take part in those opportunities regardless of their financial resources.

  • To increase racial equity with a reparations mindset. This means prioritizing access for Black, Brown, and Indigenous learners/artists, who are under-represented in fire arts specifically and in the arts more broadly.

CAFAC raises funds for scholarships primarily through sales in our gallery, which operates on a regenerative model, splitting income between gallery artists and the scholarship fund. We also seek individual contributions and grants to support scholarships.

To ensure that funds can be shared broadly, scholarship awards have some limitations:

  • You can receive one scholarship award for one class per calendar year, for a maximum of $350.

  • A family can receive two scholarship awards for two classes per calendar year, for a maximum of $700.

  • The calendar year is determined by the date of your application (rather than the date of the class).

Please note: Classes held at Dodge Nature Center (Shepard Farm) are not eligible for CAFAC scholarship funding.

 
 

Eligibility for cafac scholarships

We believe that you are in the best position to determine what amount of assistance you need to make your participation possible. In the past, we have used School Nutrition Program household income guidelines to determine eligibility.

To keep things simple, we’ve set a few levels for you to choose from:

  • 50% tuition coverage. This means that CAFAC’s scholarship fund will cover 50% of the tuition portion of your class fee, and you will contribute 50% of the tuition plus the materials fee. This option is available to anyone who needs it.

  • 75% tuition coverage. This means that CAFAC’s scholarship fund will cover 75% of the tuition portion of your class fee, and you will contribute 25% of the tuition plus the materials fee. This option is available to anyone who needs it.

  • 100% tuition coverage + equity building. This means that CAFAC’s scholarship fund will cover 100% of the tuition portion of your class fee, and you will contribute the materials fee. This option is available to anyone who identifies as Black, Brown, Indigenous, BIPOC, or of mixed race.

eligibility for donor designated scholarships

On occasion, generous donors make scholarships available for certain types of classes or students meeting specific criteria. Current options include:

Samuel Vaynshenk Scholarship Fund
Samuel fought a yearlong battle with glioblastoma, his sense of humor intact throughout (“can’t brain good,” as he liked to say). Unfortunately, he passed away in 2021. As a tribute to his life, legacy, sense of humor, and love of the arts, the family of Samuel Vaynshenk has made this scholarship fund possible.

  • 50% coverage - Samuel Vaynshenk fund. The scholarship fund will cover 50% of the tuition portion of your class fee, and you will contribute 50% of the tuition plus the materials fee. This option is available to sufferers and survivors of brain illnesses and injuries, or those who have been hospitalized for mental illness.

  • 100% coverage - Samuel Vaynshenk fund. The scholarship fund will cover 100% of the tuition portion of your class fee, and you will contribute the materials fee. This option is available to residents of long-term care facilities who are sufferers and survivors of brain illnesses and injuries. It is also available to children referred from Shriners Hospitals. 

 
 

Application Process

Our application is trust-based. We don’t require income verification because those kinds of administrative processes often create barriers to participation and reinforce inequitable systems. By building a scholarship fund from those who have means to make contributions or gallery purchases, CAFAC is able to provide assistance to those who need it.

  • Before you apply, consider if this is the right time for you. Many classes last for a couple months. When scholarship funds are committed to you, we ask that you make a commitment to yourself to attend.

  • Complete the scholarship application and submit it at least two weeks before the start of the session. Many classes fill quickly so early application is recommended.

  • Please make sure the class you’d like to take is offered and has space available. Please don’t register for the class before you submit your application.

  • We’ll review and notify you of your eligibility by email within one week (usually sooner). At that time, we will register you for your chosen class and send an invoice for your portion of the class fee. We appreciate your timely payment in order to hold your spot. 

Apply now for a scholarship via Google Form.