Sponsorship means contributing toward a Member's work, or donating funds toward someone else's Membership.  That would normally be someone you know.  If you're thinking of sponsoring someone, you could inform them or we could; your option.  Some people like to give a sponsorship in a birthday card or the like, some like it to arrive in the mail as a surprise. 

If you're sponsoring someone who is already a Member, you decide how much to donate, and every $50 is counted as one hour of work toward their LifeYacht.  Up to a third of a Member's LifeYacht can be earned in cash contributions; two thirds of the hours to earn it must be worked.   It's not a rule, but typically people sponsor people they know.  Some Members solicit sponsors, because they're preparing for missions work, some are content to do all the work themselves, and spend the time between now and the time they start at the Academy preparing for their life in missions.

 
Scholarships

Scholarships are different from Sponsorships in that the donor rarely knows the recipient beforehand, and there are conditions attached.  They're somewhat misnamed; they're not really given out based on grades.  It's sort of a traditional word for "helping to pay for a program someone wants to get into."  In this case, a scholarship is a Membership that someone pays for, to be given to someone else who can't pay for their own or to promote Membership among a certain group of people.  The donor normally puts conditions on it, depending on what kind of person they want to help get into the Academy.  Absent conditions specified by the donor, they're used for cases where someone wants to join, but simply doesn't have the money.

For example, if they see families as an endangered species, they might want to provide a scholarship to be awarded to a family of at least six.  If they care about orphans, they may provide a scholarship to be awarded to an orphan in an orphanage, to be Offered a Berth when they turn eighteen.  The donor can provide a scholarship for which we accept applications, or one for which we have to go find a qualified recipient, like the orphan above (most orphanages don't provide computers; the kids would be oblivious to our existence until we contacted them).  They might want to provide a scholarship to send someone to a specific Fleet, in which case the recipient has to do at least half their missions in that Fleet (we require cross-training), or a scholarship for a World Ranger or an Independent.  Scholarships actually can be based on grades, or for a graduate of a given school; the possibilities are endless, and totally under the Donor's control.  Any requirement that we can actually determine someone meets or doesn't, can be set by the Donor when the Scholarship is funded.

During a Cadet's progress, the Foundation has the responsibility of making sure that any conditions of the scholarship continue to be met or the scholarship must be re-evaluated, and possibly rescinded and re-awarded.  A scholarship might require a certain grade level be maintained, for example.

Then, assuming we don't have to search out the recipient, when someone wants to join but simply hasn't got the fee, they can apply for a scholarship and explain their situation, and if they fit the requirements of any of the scholarships we have available, they're awarded that Membership at no or reduced cost to them.  The only restrictions on scholarships is that once someone is awarded a scholarship, they must fulfill any on-going requirement the Donor set, they cannot transfer or sell it, and they must accept the first Berth that's offered them by the Admissions Council or lose the scholarship.  It is then awarded to someone else who qualifies according to those same rules set by the Donor when the scholarship was set up.

Sponsorship is a minimum $50, which credits one hour toward the recipient's LifeYacht, and we need to know to whom to credit it.  If they're not a Member yet, either you or we can contact them and let them know there's sponsorship money waiting to help them on their way.  Sponsorship is simply a matter of sending in a check with the recipient's name in the memo field; there's no more paperwork required.

Scholarships cost the same as Memberships.  See the Membership Agreement for details.   Let us know what qualifications you want to put on it, and we'll send you a signed Scholarship Agreement.  When you get that, make sure it says what you wanted, print it, sign a copy, and send it in with your payment.

If you don't want to put specific conditions on it, you just want to contribute something to applicants who can't quite afford their own Membership, you can simply put "Scholarship Fund" in the memo of a check for any amount.  We'll send you a receipt, which may or may not be useful at tax time, depending on what kind of deduction you try to take, and the money will be put into a general fund for need-based assistance to people who want to join but are having financial trouble.