ACL offers semi-annual mini-grants to support individual members who would like
to attend professional development training and/or conferences. Feedback has
shown that professional development is one of the most popular assets that our
members appreciate about ACL. Often, members must pay for such opportunities
not subsidized by their employers, so financial assistance could encourage more
people to attend these trainings.
ACL will offer two application periods per year to apply, based on when trainings
are scheduled. The application periods are March-August and
September-February. For events scheduled in late April-August or late
November-February, an application may only be submitted for a training or
conference scheduled within the application period. To allow sufficient planning
time, application deadlines will be adjusted for events scheduled at the beginning of
each application period. ACL members will receive advance notice of these
modified deadlines.
Applications will be reviewed on the 15th of each month on a rolling basis.
Recipients will be notified within 7-10 days from the 15th of the month.
Grant recipients will receive professional development mini-grant funds through
reimbursement after attending the event. To receive a reimbursement from ACL,
recipients must submit receipts with the method of payment and in the name of the
recipient, where applicable. If a recipient needs the funds ahead of time to register,
a special request will be made to and reviewed by the Committee and ACL
Treasurer.
Recipient’s obligation to ACL: to provide a brief overview of what was learned from
the professional development event. A brief follow-up report is due two months
after the date of the event. This written report will be followed up with a brief oral
report at an upcoming ACL meeting (either in person or over Zoom) to be
scheduled by the grant recipient and the Committee.
Grant Overview
Who can apply: Any current ACL member.
Amount of each grant: Grants can be given for $25 – $500 to fund travel and/or registration to professional development opportunities. These can include (but are not
limited to):
- American Library Association Conferences & Events
- Association for Library Service to Children Conferences & Continuing Education
- California Library Association
- Charlotte Huck Children’s Literature Festival, Redlands, California
- Infopeople
Extra criteria included in the grant application:
- How much are you requesting for reimbursement? ($25-$500 maximum per person) List each cost by category.
- Will you receive any additional financial support to attend this professional development event? If yes, how much?
- Which professional development event would this grant help to cover? (Please provide a website link.)
- Have you attended this professional development event before?
- How would you benefit from this professional development opportunity?
Priority will be given to:
- Training/events that focus on Youth Services.
- First-time attendees
ACL Professional Development Mini-Grant Application
From Armin Arethna, Fernanda Nuñez Gutierrez, Joy Shioshita, Shani Boyd
Revised Oct 22, 2025