Bursary FAQ

COEO’s bursary program is available to anyone who needs financial support to attend our events. To apply for a bursary, please complete this form. If you are able and interested, COEO members will also have the option of contributing to the bursary fund while registering for the conference.

Who can access the bursary program?

There are many reasons that folks may need financial support to come to a COEO event. If any of the following criteria describe you and you need financial support to come, consider completing the bursary form. 

• You’re a post-secondary student
• You’re a new professional (in the outdoor industry for less than 3 years)
• You’re from a marginalized group (ex., indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+)
• You’ve had a recent significant change in personal circumstances that has created a financial stress

How does the bursary program work?

We want COEO to be accessible to as many folks as possible. There are many factors that could contribute to the registration price being a financial barrier to folks coming to a COEO conference.

1. Complete the bursary form by September 8th. The form will ask how much financial support you need. You do not need to explain why you need the money – we are working on the honour system here.
2. Hear from us by September 12th. You will be contacted by email about how much financial support we can offer. We have a limited amount of funds available to help folks come to each conference. Depending on the number of applicants, we will do our absolute best to give you the amount you need to come to the conference.
3. Register for the conference. When we let you know how much financial support we can offer you, we will also provide you with information on how to register.
4. See you at the conference! We look forward to connecting and learning together at the upcoming conference.

If I get a bursary, do I still need to get a membership?

Yes, if you purchase a bursary, you still need a membership. Our membership fees are what keep us running as an organization and we are unable to function without them. 

What can you do to help our bursary fund? 

Our bursary fund exists because of donations. We have fundraisers at our conferences (silent and live auctions) that generate most of the funding to the bursary program. COEO is exploring new ways to fundraise so that we can expand our bursary program and offer more bursaries in the future. If you would like to help contribute to the bursary fund, consider adding a donation to the bursary fund when registering for the conference online.

If you have any fundraising ideas for the bursary fund (particularly ones that draw on funds from outside the COEO community), please get in touch with COEO at in**@**eo.org.