I believe that quality dog education should be available to all, which is why we have a low monthly membership rate of US$29.99 to access every single fantastic online class at the Academy ($1 per day). Click here for info on the Diamond Membership. Read on to learn more about our scholarship program.
Here’s a bit about me. I grew up off the grid, in a home without electricity and running water, and for many of the years of my childhood, we needed public assistance for food. The poverty line was well above my parents’ income at the time.
As the valedictorian of my high school, I received both need-based and merit-based scholarships for college in the US. I’m grateful for the help I received when I needed it, and I’m proud of of the work I put in. I’m also aware of the intersectional privileges of being white, able-bodied, and born in the US that have given me fewer roadblocks to achieving career success.
No longer a little girl in poverty, I’m an author and I have built one of the world’s top online dog behavior communities. It’s my turn to pay it forward.
The Grisha Stewart Academy is open to dog trainers and dog families all over the planet and this scholarship is available to anyone who is not able to afford the membership. In particular, I encourage applications from aspiring dog training professionals in need whose communities are also underrepresented in dog training, including (but not limited to) People of the Global Majority (also called BIPOC – Black, Indigenous, People of Color), people with disabilities*, and people earning a living in countries where US$29.99 is a lot of money.
If $1 per day is truly not affordable for you, please consider applying for a 6-month Diamond membership scholarship (below). This is a one-time scholarship. As a scholarship recipient, we hope you will participate fully, learn as much as you can, discover ways to help all beings fight systemic oppression, and use the information to boost your dog training/behavior career.
If you actually *can* afford a Diamond Membership, please use the link to register without the scholarship. I appreciate your support in the important work of making the world a kinder place for people and non-human animals. Thank you for your honesty in not taking advantage of this scholarship I’m funding myself. 🙂
Having people only apply for scholarships when they truly need it allows me to not limit the number of scholarships, so everyone who needs this help can benefit.
Note: I also offer a bundle of free classes to non-profit shelters and rescues, separate from this scholarship. Click here for shelter scholarship info.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
- Is there a deadline for this application?
Applications may be submitted at any time. Please allow one month for processing and review. Feel free to email us to check in on your application. You should get a little message on the screen right away to confirm your application (below the submit button). - How do I determine if I can afford the membership?
The membership is $29.99/month, which is $1/day or $7/week. I won’t make you prove whether you can afford it or not, but I do ask you to use your best judgement so as to make this available to people who do truly need it. Also please keep in mind that the academy isn’t a mega-corporation, it’s a small woman-owned company, and we rely on the income from memberships to keep things going.-
- If you live in a country where dog trainers only earn $10 US per hour, by all means, get the scholarship!
- If you have to choose between using this money to getting an education or buying business cards and a website, get the scholarship.
- If you have discretionary spending that you could change without hardship to be able to afford the membership (especially money that’s going to a corporation), I’d prefer that you do a regular membership instead of a scholarship. If you take a look at your monthly expenses, you might be surprised by how much money goes out to optional items.
- If you would use the money saved here to spend at another school, please get a regular membership and not the scholarship – there’s so much here to learn, from so many world-class instructors, that your brain will be full, anyway.
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- What if I can’t afford it right now, but having the education means I can start working as a dog trainer and earning enough to pay for a membership?
Awesome! That’s the best case scenario. Scholarship recipients can attend any and all of our classes, even the ones for the CBATI-KA program. That’s right, you could become a Certified BAT Instructor – Knowledge Assessed. If you no longer need the scholarship, contact us and we can either help you get set up for a regular membership, or we can get you a coupon code (upon request) to make the first few months half off and make the transition easier. - I can sort of afford the membership, but some months may be too tight. What should I do?
Thanks for your honesty! We can give you a partial scholarship, half off for 6 months. Or you can always put your membership on pause if you won’t be using it as much. Contact us for details. - Who do I contact if I have questions?
Email Dani in the office using this form. Thanks!
* Note: I recognize some folks prefer the phrasing ‘disabled people.’ The phrasing I used here was preferred by the person with disabilities on our small (but mighty) team.