WisCon is a wonderful weekend, and is the type of convention that can come to feel like a kind of “home” for regular attendees. But, of course, attending WisCon requires many folks to stay in a hotel room for several nights, to travel long distances, and to incur other costs that can be significant enough to prevent one from attending at all.

But maybe you’re someone who could attend WisCon, if only you got a little bit of financial help. If this sounds like you — or someone you know — the WisCon Member Assistance Fund may be able to help.

The WMAF is a pool of money which exists to help folks attend WisCon. Anyone can apply to request funds that can be used to cover airfare or other travel costs, hotel costs, childcare, or any other prohibitive expense. Members may also nominate friends or others who they know would like to attend WisCon but who may need a bit of help to do so.

One of the aims of the fund is to promote diversity and to give folks a way to join us if they’ve been unable to do so in the past. If you’ve never attended WisCon because the cost kept getting in the way, we strongly encourage you to nominate yourself for the Fund! Whether you’re an established industry professional, a long-time reader, or a brand-new fan, we’d love to have you. Whether you want to be on panels, give readings, or sit quietly in the back of a conference room, we want you at WisCon.

If you’re a regular attendee but things are looking tight this year, we also encourage you to apply to the Fund. We recognize that peoples’ needs and circumstances can change from year to year, and want to make it clear that the WMAF is not only for new attendees, but for everyone with a need that we might be able to help with.

If you have attended WisCon via Member Assistance Fund monies in the past, you can be nominated or apply again. If funds are limited, we will give priority to people who have not previously received assistance — but we do try to help as many nominees as we possibly can.

This year, we’ve extended the WMAF deadline to Friday, March 8. If you were considering applying for yourself, or nominating someone else, now is the time! For more details and specific instructions for nominating or applying to the WMAF, please see the WMAF information page. We look forward to hearing from you, and we hope to see you at WisCon 43!