A s part of its mission in support of the Camino de Santiago, American Pilgrims on the Camino started a grant program in 2009. We now offer grants or scholarships in four major categories: 1) Infrastructure and Gathering, information and encouragement; 2) mini-grants available to American Pilgrims local chapters; 3) hospitalero training; and 4) hospitalero service support. The overall purpose of the Grant Program is well described by the American Pilgrims' mission statement: To foster the enduring tradition of the Camino by supporting its infrastructure, by gathering pilgrims together, and by providing information and encouragement to past and future pilgrims. Please see details of the granting requirements and the application process below.

     • The Infrastructure and Gathering, Information and Encouragement Grant Program

     • Local Chapter Mini-grant Program

     • The Hospitalero Training Scholarship Program

     • The Michael Wyatt Hospitalero Service Grant Program

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The American Pilgrims Grant Program had its best year in 2012 providing over $17,000 in funds to support the Camino both in Spain and in the U.S.  

In Spain,

• The Asociación de Amigos del Camino de Santiago de Astorga y Comarca received a $6,000 grant to install energy efficient windows in the albergue in Astorga.
• The Asociación Amigos del Camino de Santiago de la Comunidad Valenciana received a $6,000 grant to partially fund the construction of a new albergue in Castronuño (Valladolid) on the Camino de Levante.

In the U.S.,

• The William & Mary Institute for Pilgrimage Studies received a $4,000 grant to partially fund the International Symposium on Pilgrimage Studies which took place in the College of William and Mary in October 2012.
• The Puget Sound Chapter received an $813 grant to fund its Notecard Fundraising Project which it hopes will help it to start and albergue partnership program in the coming year.

In addition, the American Pilgrims local chapter $100 mini grants were awarded to the Puget Sound, Northern California and Portlandia chapters to support their programming. In 2013, the minigrant program has increased its grants to $200. 

In 2011 American Pilgrims on the Camino was pleased to make the following awards:

• American Pilgrims announced two additional grants awarded in late fall of 2011. A $6,000 grant was awarded to the Federación Española de Asociaciones del Camino de Santiago to make improvements to the Albergue de Peregrinos de Arrés on the Camino Aragonés. During February and March of 2012, the funds will be used to make improvements to the sleeping rooms, kitchen, bathrooms and floor of this albergue that has served over 25,000 pilgrims in the last 10 years. In addition a $4,000 grant was awarded to Future Educational Films to continue working to complete the Camino Documentary. Under the vision and leadership of Lydia B. Smith, this important project is receiving support from American Pilgrims for the second time.

• American Pilgrims announced the recipients of the first ever Hospitalero Training Scholarships: Seth Brooks and Cara Cerise. These scholarships funded the registration fees for the hospitalero training course that took place at the 2011 annual Gathering in Santa Barbara, California. American Pilgrims plans to offer a limited number of scholarships to future trainings.

• American Pilgrims provided $5,600 funding for a grant titled "Placas Solares Energía Térmica Solar" to the Asociación de Amigos del Camino de Santiago de Astorga y Comarca. The Asociación will use to grant to partially finance the installation of solar panels to heat the water of the large albergue in Astorga. The funding will provide critical and eco-friendly support to an important albergue on the Camino francés and the Vía de la Plata which served 22,066 pilgrims in 2009.

In 2010 American Pilgrims on the Camino was pleased to make the following award:

• The American Pilgrims' Board of DIrectors approved $4,000 grant request from Professors George Greenia of the College of William and Mary and John Moore of the University of Alabama respectively to support their work in bringing together scholars and students for pilgrimage studies in a multi-disciplinary initiative called the North American Camino Consortium. The Consortium is a new effort to promote scholarship and direct experience on the Camino among university professors, graduate students and undergraduates. The program will bring hundreds of new pilgrims to Spain in a carefully mentored program of study and enrichment that will include coursework at the University of Santiago de Compostela and time on the Camino. The initial workshop will be at Georgetown University early in 2011, bringing together professors in the fields of religion, anthropology, Spanish language and literature, art history, medieval history, and sociology to invite their participation in this new pilgrimage studies program.

In 2009 American Pilgrims on the Camino was pleased to make the following awards:

• The project titled "Conclusión de la Casa América en Fuenterroble de Salvatierra en Salamanca España", submitted by the albergue in Fuenterroble, was awarded an $8,000 grant. This is the second American Pilgrims' grant received by the albergue in Fuenterroble. In 2008, American Pilgrims provided $10,000 to fund the initial phase of construction of the Casa América. The albergue in Fuenterroble is under the leadership of Fr. Blas Rodríguez Boyero (Don Blas) who also serves as President of ACASAN, Asociación de Amigos del Camino de Santiago Via de la Plata. More information about ACASAN and the albergue in Fuenterroble is available at www.viadelaplata-fuenterroble.com. You can see a video of the dedication.

• The project titled "The Camino de Santiago Documentary Film Project" submitted by Future Educational Films, Inc. was awarded a $4,000 grant. The grant will fund post-production work on the film being produced by Lydia B. Smith and Theresa Tollini-Coleman. During the American Pilgrims gathering in Winter Park, FL in March 2010, Ms. Smith screened a 23-minute preview trailer of what will soon be an exciting documentary. More information on the documentary project is available online at www.caminodocumentary.org.

The Infrastructure and Gathering, Information and Encouragement Grant Program

Grants will be made in the following two categories:

1. Infrastructure grants are for projects whose aim is to develop and improve the infrastructure of the Camino de Santiago. These are typically made to albergues or to organizations that work to further develop the infrastructure of the Camino in Spain. These grants are limited to a maximum of $6,000.

2. Gathering, information and encouragement grants are made to groups/organizations in North America that need support to organize and hold regional events that bring together past and future pilgrims with the aim of informing, promoting and encouraging people who would like to experience or have experienced the Camino de Santiago. These grants are limited to a maximum of $4,000.

Proposal Submission
The grant proposal cover sheet and the proposal format are on the next page. Proposals must be submitted electronically to grants@americanpilgrims.com by June 15, 2013. Proposals (including letters of support which should be scanned) must be either Microsoft Word or PDF files.

The application form is available in PDF and Microsoft Word formats.

Proposal Review and Eligibility
Proposals will be reviewed by a committee composed of American Pilgrims Board members and members at large. The committee will make a recommendation to the Board on which grants to fund. Final funding approval will be made by the American Pilgrims Board at its summer 2013 meeting.

A primary review criterion for all proposals is the proposed project’s ability to further American Pilgrims’ mission so the proposal should address how the proposed project does this. Another very important review criterion is the applicant’s resourcefulness in seeking funding from other sources. Because grant funds are limited, applicants should be aware that American Pilgrims may be able to award only a portion of the amount requested.

For-profit enterprises and entities fully subsidized by local, regional or federal governments are not eligible to apply. Grants are not made for funding the general operations of an organization or albergue.

Proposal Funding
Notification of funding will be made no later than August 15, 2013. Before funding can take place, successful recipients will be required to submit the American Pilgrims Grant Acceptance Form; the form will be made available to applicants whose proposal is successful.

Spending and Reporting Policies
American Pilgrims funding is to be spent within one calendar year of the award. Grant recipients will be required to submit a final report within six months of the expenditure of the American Pilgrims grant funds. The final report requirements will be communicated to grant recipients at the time of award notification.

For more information, please contact us by e-mail.

American Pilgrims Chapter Mini-grant Program

The American Pilgrims on the Camino mini-grant program is designed to provide the organization’s local chapters with a modest amount of funds to realize events or programming. Each grant is for a maximum of $200 and each chapter is allowed to apply for up to two grants per calendar year. Examples of support for an event or programming would include (but are not limited to) rental of a space for a meeting, food for an event, rental of a film or equipment for an event and speaker fees. Funds cannot be used to purchase alcoholic beverages nor items that will become the property of any one chapter member.

The application form is available in PDF and Microsoft Word formats.

The Hospitalero Training Scholarship Program

The purpose of this scholarship is as follows:

The goal of the American Pilgrims Hospitalero Training Scholarship is to make participation in one of the organization’s hospitalero trainings financially feasible for members of American Pilgrims. Scholarship recipients will have their registration fees for hospitalero training paid by American Pilgrims. After participating in the training, members will be prepared to volunteer in an albergue on the Camino de Santiago, thus contributing to the pilgrimage’s support and development.

Scholarship Application Submission
Scholarship applications will be available approximately three months before training is scheduled. See the Hospitaleros page for general information about training.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and must be submitted electronically togrants@americanpilgrims.com 60 days prior to an hospitalero training. The application form is available in PDF and Microsoft Word formats.

Scholarship Application Review and Eligibility
Scholarship applications will be reviewed by a committee composed of American Pilgrims Board members and members at large. The committee will make a recommendation to the Board on which scholarship applicants to select; final selection will be made by the Board. The scholarship selection committee will attempt to have a diverse (across gender, ethnicity, geographic location, age, etc.) group of scholarship recipients.

Selection criteria for the grants include the following considerations.

• Scholarship applicants must be current members of American Pilgrims on the Camino and must have walked or biked on the Camino de Santiago to be eligible. American Pilgrims offers a student membership at a greatly reduced price for those currently enrolled as full-time students. Please see the Membership page for details.
• Financial need is a requirement for the scholarship so the applicant is required to address financial need in his/her application. (See the financial need section in the application.)
• Scholarship applicants will be required to address their specific plans, including planned timeline, for volunteering in an albergue in their application.

Funding and Post-Volunteer Responsibilities
Notification of funding will be made no later than one month before the hospitalero(a) training. After the hospitalero(a) training, recipients of the scholarship will be asked to write a 100-word statement describing how the scholarship facilitated their participation in the training; this statement may be used in La Concha, the American Pilgrims newsletter.

For more information, please contact us by e-mail.

The Michael Wyatt Hospitalero Service Grant Program

Grants will be made as follows:

The goal of the Michael Wyatt Hospitalero Service Grant is to assist members of American Pilgrims to realize an hospitalero volunteer service experience and hence allow them to “give back” to the Camino. The $500 grants are meant to partially fund members of American Pilgrims for travel from the U.S. to Spain in order to serve as volunteer hospitaleros at a Camino albergue for a minimum of two weeks. The hospitalero assignment will have to be completed during the calendar year following the award.

The grant program is named after Reverend Michael Wyatt who served as Chair of the American Pilgrims Board of Directors from 2006 – 2008. His insightful, wise, enthusiastic and caring leadership was a key factor in American Pilgrims’ ability to blossom into a truly national organization. Michael passed away in July 2009.

Proposal Submission
The hospitalero service will have to be completed during the calendar years 2013 or 2014. The deadline for submission of the Hospitalero Service Grant application is June 15, 2013.

The application form is available in PDF and Microsoft Word formats.

Proposal Review and Eligibility
Proposals will be reviewed by a committee composed of American Pilgrims' Board members and members at large. The committee will make a recommendation to the Board on which grants to fund. Final funding approval will be made by the American Pilgrims' Board. The grant selection committee will attempt to have a diverse (across gender, ethnicity, geographic location, age, etc.) group of grant recipients each year. Because grant funds are limited, applicants should be aware that American Pilgrims may be able to award only a portion of the amount requested.

The selection criteria for applications will include the following considerations:

• Grant applicants must be members of American Pilgrims on the Camino at the time of application. American Pilgrims offers a student membership at a greatly reduced price for those currently enrolled as full-time students. Please see the Membership page for details.
• Financial need is a requirement for the grant so the applicant is required to address financial need in his/her application. (See the financial need section in the application.)
• In order to encourage new hospitaleros, first-time volunteers will have priority.
• Working in a federación-sponsored (the organization with which American Pilgrims works) albergue, or at Fuenterroble de Salvatierra on the Via de la Plata.
• Successful grant recipients who have not already selected an albergue in which they are proposing to volunteer will work with Daniel De Kay, the director of American Pilgrims’ hospitalero training program, to ensure placement in an appropriate albergue.

Funding and Post-Volunteer Responsibilities
Notification of funding for the 2013 cycle will be made no later than August 15, 2013. The funding for travel to Spain to volunteer in as an hospitalero will be provided to the volunteer after he/she returns from his/her assignment. The grant recipient must provide a letter or certificate from the albergue verifying his/her volunteer assignment. Upon return, recipients of the grant will be asked to submit a written account of the hospitalero experience; these accounts may be published in La Concha, American Pilgrims’ newsletter.

For more information, please contact us by e-mail.