Announcing eG Scholarships

[Dave the Cook]

The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters is very pleased to announce the launch of the eG Scholarships program. Applications are now being considered for four scholarships:

The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters Culinary Arts Scholarship:

a $5,000 cash scholarship for a pre-enrolled student, currently enrolled student or career professional, toward any culinary degree or certificate program at any accredited domestic or foreign culinary school. This scholarship is valid from 1 July 2006 through 30 June 2007, and may be used for tuition, tuition and residence, or tuition and supplies.

The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters Professional Chef Independent Study Scholarship:

a $5,000 cash scholarship for a professional chef (culinary or pastry) to conduct independent study worldwide. This scholarship is available for a professional chef with a demonstrated commitment to advancing his or her skills as a chef or pastry chef. This scholarship is valid for research and travel conducted between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2007. No extensions will be granted. All applicants are required to include a project proposal that clearly demonstrates the utilization of skills obtained during study; an itemized budget detailing the use of this award; a tentative travel schedule with dates and locations; and a current resume to qualify for this scholarship.

The Day/eGullet Society Culinary Journalist Independent Study Scholarship:

a $5,000 cash scholarship for a career journalist to conduct independent study and research worldwide; designed to further writing on an original and innovative culinary topic. This scholarship is available to a career journalist who demonstrates commitment to advancing his or her skills as a writer, and whose work is primarily focused on food, wine or some other aspect of gastronomy and the culinary arts. All applicants are required to include a project proposal that demonstrates true literary merit in both promise and achievement at writing (not just knowledge of food); an itemized budget detailing the use of this award; a tentative travel schedule with dates and locations; and a current resume to qualify for this scholarship. This scholarship is valid for research and travel conducted between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2007. No extensions will be granted. Primary funding for the Day/eGullet Society Culinary Journalist Independent Study Scholarship is provided by Jonathan Day and Melissa Taylor, as well as the eGullet Society general fund.

The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters Humanitarian Scholarship:

a $5,000 cash scholarship for a displaced victim of Hurricane Katrina, toward any culinary degree or certificate program at any accredited domestic or foreign culinary school. Recipient must be a pre-enrolled student, currently enrolled student, or career professional. This scholarship is valid from 1 July 2006 through 30 June 2007, and must be used for tuition, tuition and residence, or tuition and supplies. Proof of residence as of 29 August 2005, in an area rendered uninhabitable by Hurricane Katrina, is required.

The eG Scholarships program is administered by the Culinary Trust, a not-for-profit organization that administers scholarships for, among others, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the Julia Child Endowment Fund and the Culinary Institute of America. Scholarship applications and information are available now on the Culinary Trust website. The Culinary Trust administers these scholarships independently, and has a long-standing reputation for objectivity and dedication to excellence. The Culinary Trust team stands ready to address all technical and administrative inquiries about the eG Scholarships program.

Scholarship applications are being accepted now, and must be postmarked no later than 15 December 2005. A team of independent judges will review the applications, and eG Scholarship recipients will be notified on 15 March 2006. The eG Scholarship program is a public service of the eGullet Society, and is open to members and non-members alike. eGullet Society Society staff (which includes past and present hosts and managers, as well as former affiliates and moderators) are not eligible.

The eG Scholarships program is possible thanks to donations from eGullet Society members. We intend to increase our scholarship offering next year, but to do so, we need substantially increased member support in the coming year. As our membership and readership grow, so do our operating expenses. Our first fiscal year as a not-for-profit organization is about to come to an end, and we will incur significant accounting expenses. Liability insurance, office expenses and governmental fees add up. Finally, we have grown to the point where we urgently need paid administrative staff to support our more than 50 volunteers.

We hope you will help. In order to expand our service offerings, we not only need additional donors, but also we need every current donor to be a donor again next year.

If you are not yet a Society donor, please consider the service that the eGullet Society provides to you and the community. Your donation of $50 per year (less than a dollar a week) will allow the Society to maintain its offerings, but we hope you will consider donating at a higher donor level. To become a Society donor, simply click the Upgrade link at the top left of your screen (you must be logged on to do so; if you are not already an eGullet Society member, please join first). For large individual donations, and for corporate sponsorships (we acknowledge our corporate sponsors through banners, buttons and site notices that are viewed three million times a month), please contact the eGullet Society fundraising team at giving@eGullet.org or 212.828.0133.

If you are already a Society donor, please know that we appreciate and depend on your annually renewing subscription. Our expenses recur and increase each year, and consume nearly our entire budget. In many cases, if your credit card and other information have not changed, you don’t have to take any action for your subscription to renew; you just have to let it happen. But if your billing information has changed, you will need to update your PayPal profile in order for us to be able to renew your subscription. Of course, we hope you will consider upgrading to a higher donor level: if you are currently giving $50 annually, perhaps for the coming year, you will consider $100 or more.

The eGullet Society is steadfast in its dedication to increasing awareness of the arts of cooking, eating and drinking, and the literature of food and drink. The launch of the eG Scholarships program is a major step forward in the pursuit of our mission. With your support, we can look forward to taking many more such steps together.