Conference Grants
By Joan Near
Textile people — and CNCH guild members in particular — are so generous! In every guild, one hears about members sharing their knowledge, their equipment, their time — all for the sheer love of our arts.
And thanks to all of you, every year CNCH is able to offer five grants covering the cost of conference registration. Also every year, the guilds replenish that grant fund with a silent auction at the conference. Here’s some information on both of these heartfelt efforts to “pay it forward:”
GRANTS
As you may know, CNCH is divided into five geographic areas. One grant per area is awarded for each annual conference. Anyone interested will fill out an application form, which asks about three topics: your area of interest, what you’d like to pursue at the conference, and how you plan to share that knowledge with your guild (or the outside world.) The above link has full details, but here are some highlights:
- Three judges from the AdCon Board will review the applications and choose one from each area. (They don’t know applicant’s names during the process).
- The deadline for submission is December 12th.
- Grant recipients will be announced shortly before registration opens, and will be provided with a coupon code to zero out their registration fee.
- Grant recipients are still responsible for booking their room. For CNCH 2025, staying at Asilomar is required for conference attendance.
So fill out an application, and good luck!
GRANT SILENT AUCTION
To top up the grant fund, each guild is asked to chip in to the conference event called the Grant Silent Auction. Conference attendees place silent bids for the items, and the winners are announced on Saturday night. There are always wonderful items for bidding!
For CNCH 2025 at Asilomar, auction organizers have this to say: “This year’s Grant Silent Auction Theme will be a tote filled with inspiration. Think exotic fibers, vibrant colors and distant lands.”
For complete details, check out this link which takes you to that page in the Conference Guide on the cnch.org website. Here are a few highlights:
- The tote should include everything needed for a complete project: yarn, fiber, basket making materials, etc. and ideas/instructions for one or two different items that can be made from the contents of the tote.
- The totes can be dropped off at the conference; or there’s another option for delivery listed on the link page
- Finished projects using your tote full of fun will be displayed in a special gallery a year later, at CNCH 2026, and will be eligible for a People’s Choice award!
So put your heads together and let’s see what your guild comes up with!