GTTM 2025: Expanding CVG Grant Opportunities

Last year, you helped us start an Attendance Grant program. The pilot grant paid for 35 BIPOC fans to come check out CONvergence. Our plan this year is to continue that program, and add an additional grant for fans with demonstrated financial need. Your 2026 Give to the Max donation will help make sure geeks in financial hardship can still take a weekend to enjoy themselves by minimizing their expenses.

“Just because something works doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.” — Shuri

The BIPOC (an abbreviation for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) grant is still going strong! The following facts remain true:

• Year over year, our survey data* shows that over 90% of CONvergence attendees identify as white, yet census data shows roughly 27% of Twin Cities area residents identify as non-white. 
• Additional research and polling of SFF and speculative fiction spaces in general shows significantly higher percentages of non-white fans—closer to 45%. 

As we awarded grants for our last convention, we ran the numbers, and the volume of our community’s generosity (both here and by donating during registration) means a second grant is entirely feasible. We’re choosing to support folks who are demonstrating financial need**, so they can have a low-stress good time with their community. We looked at the statistics, and it’s clearly the right thing to do.

Learn more about the 2026 CONvergence Attendance Grant at: cvgcon.org/grant

*Approximately 15% of attendees take the annual CONvergence survey.

**Details on process of demonstrating need forthcoming with the application.

Help Raise $4,000

$4,000 in donations will fund 70 CONvergence Attendance Grants. That’s 70 people welcomed into our community to experience everything that CONvergence is! Together, let’s Give to the Max and make it possible!