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Spring 2026 Conference Scholarship Applications Closed March 13th, 2026.
Applications must be submitted by 5:00 PM on March 13, 2026. Scholarship recipients will be announced during the first week of April. Please review the Scholarship information below carefully, as the 2026 Scholarships include updated requirements and priority of awards. If you have questions, please contact Membership VP, Maria Nguyen.
Conference Scholarship Information
On January 8th, 2026 the OACA Board voted to implement policies and requirements for OACA Conference Scholarships.
Scholarship Overview:
Scholarship awards are limited to available external funding. Awards are partial, capped, and subject to per-person and per-year limits. OACA does not guarantee full coverage of conference expenses. Once allocated funds are exhausted, no additional scholarships will be awarded unless specifically approved by the OACA Board.
Scholarship Policies (effective 1/8/2026):
- Scholarships are only allowed for conference registration costs and hotel costs. Meals and mileage are no longer be an allowable scholarship expense.
- Scholarships will be capped to $500 per OACA member, per calendar year.
- Scholarships will be capped to $2000 per court, per calendar year.
Scholarships Award Order:
- Scholarships will be awarded to one person per court. Additional scholarships per court will be considered if there are no other eligible scholarship applicants.
- First time conference attendees (any in-person OACA Conference, not first time Spring Conference attendee, but they’ve previously attended a Fall Conference).
- First time scholarship recipients.
- Clerks that are new to their positions (Less than 2 years in the role).
- Board members and Committee members, or other OACA members who are actively involved/serving OACA.
Requirements for Scholarship Recipients:
- Be a current OACA members at the time of application. Dues must be paid prior to applying.
- Attend all conference sessions for the days the scholarship is being provided.
- Serve at the conference by doing one of the following:
-Introducing a speaker
-Assisting at the Check-in Table for Conference
-Assisting at the Check-in Table for Social Hour/Banquet
-Help with set up on Sunday morning (survey info on tables, agendas, on tables, fidget toys on tables).
-Help clean up extra OACA supplies after conference ends on Tuesday. - Write an article on a conference session for the ECHO newsletter
- Serve on an OACA Committee for 1 year. Failure to actively participate will make them ineligible for future scholarships.
- Write a “thank you” to the vendor(s) providing scholarship funds. Designated Board Member to be cc’d on the “thank you” email. The email should include generally why the scholarship was needed and what the member took away from conference.
Requirements for Scholarship recipient’s court/fiscal responsibility:
- Sign off on Scholarship Agreement, to state that if the employee fails to attend the conference, the court/fiscal agent will reimburse OACA for any costs incurred (e.g. hotel room, registration).