Green Party Scholarships

Funding Built on Ten Key Values

Didn’t think your political affiliation would be a factor in footing the bills for college? Think again. If you are a member of the Green Party, a small alternative movement that stands tall on a platform of sustainability and world peace, you may be able to use this in your favor when applying for various college scholarships.

A few scholarships are even targeted specifically towards Green Party members, as a way of supporting the affiliation and breathing new life and enthusiasm into motivated young people who are both politically and environmentally inclined. Well known for their promotion of environmental and peace issues, the Green Party is an international political association which also offers some incentives for higher education purposes and political training.

If you’re on the hunt for information on the Green Party, its history and fundamentals, and its scholarship offerings, first brush up on your news archives from the Green Pages – the party’s official newspaper journal – and then get ready for your crash course on the subject:

Roots in Tasmania

You may be surprised to learn that, while formal organizing of the movement as a collective whole began in the USA in 1984, the Green Party was first established in Tasmania in 1972. As it was originated as a largely international movement, a few other countries have an active Green Party, too, including Canada, Sweden, Norway, and the Philippines. The Green Party today remains a thoroughly global presence, and is represented on the continents of the Americas, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia.

The Four Pillars

The core beliefs of the Green Party, known as The Four Pillars, are a commitment to ecology, social justice, grassroots democracy, and non-violence. These tenets of the group echo their vigilance towards world peace and stewardship of the environment above all else, and make the Green Party a strong representative of the “back-to-the-land” sustainability phenomenon, just as the belief in non-violence echoes parts of the thought of the civil rights movement.

Ten Key Values of the Green Party

The four pillars were expanded into the Ten Key Values of the Green Party. In addition to the party’s Four Pillars tenets, we find an expansion of their ideology in the ten key values: a commitment to decentralization, community-based economics, gender equity, diversity, personal and global responsibility, and future focus and sustainability.

These Key Values are essential components of the party’s political platform, and go hand-in-hand with their four pillars to support and extend their philosophy.

Differences Count

The Green Party in the USA is careful to point out the differences between their beliefs and those of their Republican and Democratic counterparts, as it is those that set them apart so distinctively as a comparatively unusual minority group. On most important issues, there is a great disparity between the views of the Green Party as opposed to the other two major political affiliations of the US.

Several notable examples are the Green Party’s staunch opposition to the death penalty and their support of a real overhaul in the campaign finance reform department. Through these differentiations, the Green Party works hard to distinguish themselves from all other political parties while remaining true to their Ten Key Values and Four Pillars of belief.

Membership

The Green Party does charge an annual membership fee for their Official Green Party Card. This cost also includes a bumper sticker, a button, their quarterly newsletter, and more.

This cost defrays the price of the items that come with membership, in addition to more importantly promoting the name of the Green Party, getting members more involved in awareness, and raising money for future funds to boost the group’s campaigning and sponsorship.

Where the Green Party May Be Found

Green Party hubs may be found on college grounds and politically charged cities all over the world. Green Campuses is the name of the branch of the Green Party founded in 2001 which heads up the organization’s school-based clubs. Like any other political party, many campuses have a group akin to the “Young Democrats” or “Young Republicans” to represent the college coalition of the Green Party.

Additionally, the Green Party has headquarters all over the world that are a little more formal than those on college campuses. The United States representative office is located in Washington, D.C. Every state in the U.S. has a division of its own, and the respective locations may be found on the Green Party’s helpful website.

Green Scholarships

The Los Angeles Greens Petra Kelly Scholarships

The Los Angeles Chapter of the Green Party has recently launched its Petra Kelly Scholarships which it awards annually to one male and one female student.

Recipients must be seniors in the LA Unified School District. Preference is given to students whose extracurricular activities emulate the beliefs of the party. The amount awarded is $500 per scholarship. For more information, contact the Los Angeles Greens directly.

The Richard A. Ash Fund

While this scholarship does not directly exclude those who are not members of the Green Party, it is in memorial of a former Green Party candidate, Richard A. Ash, and goes toward a deserving student who embodies the ten key values of the movement through their actions and ideas.

The awards provides $1000 per year to a disadvantaged student who champions the ideals of the constitution, the underdog, and the advancement of young people. Ash was major supporter of minorities and women, and so is his scholarship, though not exclusively so. Applications are available online.

More Opportunities for Green Party Members

One key resource in your hunt for scholarships and miscellaneous funding for your membership in the Green Party will be local and community hubs of solidarity and information. Do some research in your area to find out if there is a local Green Party club or chapter near you, and inquire as to whether they offer any funding to young, eager members of the group. If you’re interested in scholarships for Green Party membership, other related sources that you may want to look into because of this unique set of beliefs include scholarships for environmental science and peace and conflict studies.

It might even be worth checking into your local environmental activist and political activist organizations to see if they have any scholarship monies that align with the goals and values of the Green Party movement. Use the breadth of resources available to you, both on a local and national level, to pursue this belief system and turn your political affiliation into a way of paying for college for free.