Influencer Scholarships
Inspiring Grassroots Change
Water quality and agriculture professionals, this is your opportunity to send a farmer or landowner to a conservation conference or field day. The goal of the scholarship is to help watershed coordinators and others to provide education to the communities they serve, and create buy-in from influential members of their watershed.
IAWA offers a limited amount of scholarships annually for Iowa farmers to attend a soil health conference or related event that may require registration, travel costs, or even a hired hand help in order to get away from the farm to attend. Nominations must come from Iowa water quality professionals.
Submit a nomination by emailing an individual staff member or admin@iaagwater.org.
Approved Conferences and Events:
Informal tours of farms of soil health/conservation leaders may also be considered (must be pre-approved in the nomination).
Have a suggestion? Include it in your nomination by emailing admin@iaagwater.org.
What the Scholarship Can Cover
Conference Fees
Gas, airfare
Hotel
Meals
Hired help to be able to get away
A small incentive to encourage attendance
Other – let us know!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How do I nominate?
We dont have a form for this process. We request that you send our staff an email (or use admin@iaagwater.org) and we will give you a call to talk through the details.
Why are water quality professionals the ones to nominate?
As a watershed coordinator, conservation agronomist, or similar title, one of the best tools in your toolbox is word of mouth – especially when local influencers are the ones to spread the word. Farmers learn from other farmers. And they notice what their neighbors are up to. This scholarship is a resource for water quality professionals to inspire and motivate a farmer they’ve built a relationship with to try a new water quality practice they haven’t tried before.
Who should you nominate?
This scholarship is for farmers or landowners who may be interested in or close to taking one more step in conservation. Maybe they’ve never tried no-till but are interested in trying it next year. Maybe they already utilize no-till, but want to try implementing cover crops. Or maybe they’ve got cover crops down, and now the next best water quality practice is adding an extended rotation or a prairie strip. The key to the nomination is outlining the eventual water quality impact.
Are there other requirements?
IAWA will approve nominations on a case by case basis. After that, we request that you send in a photo, program, or other proof attendance so that we can be sure we are being good stewards of nonprofit dollars!
How much money is available per person?
The scholarship is different year-to-year, but you can expect funds of up to $1,000 to be available most years. One Water nominees are an exception, and are eligible for more funding due to the high cost of travel and registration.
How much money is available?
IAWA replenishes the fund on a year-to-year basis based on available funding that year. On years that there is a One Water Conference, we prioritize scholarships for Iowa Corn, Iowa Pork, and Iowa Soybean members to attend One Water.
