Nearby Nature believes every child needs a chance to discover, learn, and grow in nature nearby. Scholarship aid through our Every Child Outside (ECO) Fund, grants, and partnership agreements is available to individuals for our Summer Daycamps, Wonder Keepers Preschool, Natural Neighbors After School Program, and No School Day Adventures. Aid is based on the fees due at our Membership rates, generally around 15% less than Non-Member rates.
Step one of applying for scholarship aid is to become a Nearby Nature member at the Supporter Level of $70/year. Only one membership is needed per family per year and covers all family members living in the same household. If paying for a membership is a hardship, a Community Friends Membership (at a cost of $0) may be included in the total amount of aid you are offered.
*Note: Our goal is to meet your family’s need as much as possible, but all awards depend on our total funding available in the ECO Fund, grants, and partnership agreements. Please share the link to our Contribute page if you know people who would like to help fund scholarship aid!
Step by step directions for requesting aid:
- Fill out the Scholarship Application section in the registration form for the program/s for which you are requesting aid.
- Nearby Nature staff will input the information you provide into the WorkSource Oregon’s Prosperity Planner.
- The Prosperity Planner will give us a % need estimate for your family. This is our starting place for providing aid. We also consider additional challenging circumstances noted in your application.
- For each kind of program (Summer Daycamps, Wonder Keepers Preschool, Natural Neighbors After School Program, and No School Day Adventures), you will be eligible for up to three scholarships per child (as long as funds are available at Nearby Nature). Your aid offer will be at its highest level for your first session of a program and will decrease by 10% for each subsequent session.
- The total amount of aid you are eligible for per year will be relative to your % need as well as our total available funds shared equitably between families in need. If you request aid for more than one program, all aid will be combined as we consider your yearly available support.
- Once we have calculated your need, we will email you a detailed offer. When you get your offer, we will give you a deadline by which you can choose to accept it in full, in part, or decline. You will never be charged anything until you accept your offer.
- Once you accept your offer, you will have a set time to make a non-refundable deposit for your program (or to pay in full if you program is happening soon). If you do not make your deposit by the deadline, we reserve the right to offer your program space to another child. Please contact us if you are having trouble making a prompt payment so that we can make a plan for your deposit rather than removing your child from the program.
- Please send questions to programs@nearbynature.org or call us 541-687-9699.
Updated 2-20-26