Tuition Support
Scholarships & Discounts
Momenta Workshops is committed to supporting both aspiring and working photographers through a range of scholarships and discounts. We offer financial assistance to emerging talents who demonstrate passion and potential in their craft, helping to make our courses more accessible.
We know that doing an in-person workshop is not an inexpensive proposition and we want to honor those storytellers who make a commitment to continuing education. Momenta is always looking for ways to make our programs more accessible to those who might benefit from our programs but need financial support.
Momenta’s scholarship fund and generous donors allow us to offer discounts and several merit-based scholarship programs. These partial and full scholarships help reduce the cost of the workshop considerably. For those not eligible for a scholarship, we have several discount offers for various professional groups and associations as well as alumni discounts for returning clients.
“As an alumna of Project NOLA, I know first hand the power of connecting storytellers with the people whose stories need to be told. More importantly, creating such connections strengthens the ties in our communities, where our concentrated effort creates ripples that go far beyond just the local."
— Marianna Wallig, Momenta Scholarship Winner - Project Portland
Scholarships
MOMENTA SCHOLARSHIPS
Momenta offers the following partial scholarship awards for the Project Series: Photographing Nonprofits workshops (unless otherwise stated). These scholarships are paid for through the Momenta Scholarship Fund and made possible through our company’s founders and supportive donors to support aspiring and working photographers as they seek to grow their skills.
International & Puerto Rico Workshops:
1 One (1) Award Winner will receive a $1000 scholarship applied toward tuition.
2 Two (2) Runner-up Awards will receive a $600 scholarship applied toward tuition.
US Domestic Workshops:
• One (1) Award Winner will receive a $600 scholarship applied toward tuition.
• Two (2) Runner-up Awards will receive a $300 scholarship applied toward tuition.
Application Requirements:
Winners will be selected by a majority vote of a Momenta Workshops staff jury, based on all application criteria. If you are selected as a Winner or Runner-Up, you must accept your scholarship and register for the workshop with a deposit within 7 days of the official announcement.
A cover letter emailed to info@momentaworkshops.com with the subject: “Momenta Scholarship Application for (NAME OF WORKSHOP)”.
The letter should explain why this award and this topic is important to your photographic career or interest, what project you intend to cover (if applying for the mentoring package) or what type of nonprofit you’d like to cover and why (if applying for a Project Workshop: Documenting Nonprofits), and how this experience would benefit your career goals.
A link to an online portfolio and/or Instagram account.
Terms:
The scholarship will be applied to the final total for your tuition payment. We suggest you register and pay a full deposit before applying for a scholarship to ensure you are not waitlisted for your desired program.
Once you are sent the award letter, if you do not register within the 7 days of notification, the next runner up, based on judge’s voting totals, will be given the scholarship.
Eligibility:
Open to any photographer or student photographer regardless of country, age, skill level, or profession. You must send in the application in full by the deadline and be ready to register for the workshop within 7 days should you be awarded a scholarship.
Next Award Deadlines:
Project Los Angeles: Applications due by November 27 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time
Project Puerto Rico: Applications due by November 27 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time
Project NOLA: Applications due by December 5 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time
Please don’t apply unless you are willing to accept either award and will register regardless of the award total you receive.
It wastes our judges’ time and takes opportunities from the other applicants. Thank you.
The Erica Award:
A scholarship sponsored by the generosity and love of family, friends, and colleagues of photographer Erica Robinson so that her creative journey will inspire others
Photograph by Jonathan Thorpe
THE ERICA AWARD
This award was created and sponsored by friends, colleagues, and loved ones in honor of Erica Robinson, an amazing photographer based in California and breast cancer survivor. Erica boldly documented and shared the images of her own cancer treatment with the public during chemotherapy, radiation, endocrine therapy, and recovery. The photographs radiated emotion, vulnerability, and perseverance. Her raw honesty in the face of the disease became a beacon of hope for so many.
In 2022, Erica launched the Under the Pencil project that combined personal handwriting and portrait photography as an act of creative expression for AYA women with breast cancer. In collaboration with Pink Strength and after the success of a beautifully produced gallery show of the first chapter of portraits, Erica has now expanded the project to include AYA women with other cancers. This exploration of shared experiences has become a unifying thread among participants and has created a body of work that shifts narrative control back into the hands of the patients.
“As a creative there are pressures to create art around pivotal moments in your life and the lives of those around you. With a cancer diagnosis I felt this immediately. But, in true Aries fashion, I fought this expectation wanting to do it my way on my own time. In October after leaving a second failed MRI with puncture marks up and down my arm, bleeding and bruised, exhausted and defeated, I setup the camera for a self portrait. It felt forced and inadequate, but at the same time necessary. This year when I couldn’t make photographs, I wrote words. When I couldn’t write words, I made photographs. This cycle bounced around in my skull until I quite literally decided to write on my photographs. It was raw and cathartic and my anxieties of being misunderstood by so many, for the first time felt at ease. Under the Pencil, (a twist on “under the knife”) is a project I needed for me, but is really for all of us,” Erica stated on her Instagram profile. “While my personal breast cancer diagnosis was the catalyst, Under the Pencil has proven to be driven less by the flavor of cancer and more by the human experience.”
Erica is a native of Boston, Massachusetts but has been a world traveler and nomadic soul her whole life working as a wedding photographer, camera store technician, and a cruise ship photographer (immortalized in the incredible documentary comic series The Crew Member). Since 2016, Erica has represented Tamron USA as a National Technical Representative and you can follow her work on her personal website and Instagram.
The Award:
One (1) Award Winner will receive a full scholarship applied toward tuition for any US-based workshop (excluding Puerto Rico) of their choosing or a 6-month virtual mentoring for a project on cancer related issues.
Application Requirements:
A cover letter email explaining why this award and this topic is important to you, what project you intend to cover (if asking for the mentoring package) or what type of nonprofit you’d like to cover and why (if choosing a Project Workshop: Documenting Nonprofits), and how this experience would benefit your career goals. If selected, the awardee's project must be a story focused on an issue relating to cancer or cancer survivors.
A link to an online portfolio and/or Instagram account.
Terms of the Award:
The Erica Award will grant a photographer paid tuition to a Momenta domestic in-person workshop or a 6-month of virtual project development mentoring. If selected, the awardee's project must be a story focused on an issue relating to cancer or cancer survivors.
Winners will be selected by a majority vote of a Momenta Workshops staff and Erica Robinson, based on all application criteria. If you are selected as a Winner or Runner-Up, you must accept your scholarship and register for the workshop within 7 days of the official announcement. If you do not register within the 7 days of notification, the next person in line, based on voting totals, will be given the scholarship.
Eligibility:
Open to any female or female-identifying professional photographer. International candidates are accepted but no visas or travel stipends are available for this scholarship.
Next Award Deadlines:
Deadline for applications is January 1, 2026. Award announcement will be made in January 2026.
The Tancer Award:
A scholarship sponsored by Project NOLA and Project LA alumnus Bill Tancer in honor of his wife, Laurie Minden Tancer, who passed away from cancer.
THE TANCER AWARD
This award is sponsored by New York Times bestselling author Bill Tancer in memory of his late wife. Lori Minden Tancer passed away on July 27, 2014 after bravely waging a 14-year battle with breast cancer. Lori was passionate about supporting children’s programs and making a difference in the lives of all she knew. This award honors her legacy and generosity by helping up-and-coming photographers focus on storytelling and outreach during a nonprofit program with Momenta.
Eligibility:
The Lori Minden Tancer Award will grant a professional photographer working in the field less than five (5) years a full paid tuition to a domestic Momenta Workshop (excluding Puerto Rico). If selected, the photographer will be assigned to work with a charity focused on children’s issues. The award will pay for a student’s tuition to a US Domestic workshop.
Past winners include Rachel Cerrotti, Emory Harger, and Annabelle Hendersøn.
Application:
Send an email to info@momentaworkshops.com with the following:
Cover letter or email explaining why you’d like to attend this specific workshop and how this workshop will benefit your career goals
A link to your online portfolio or Instagram account
Email subject heading reading: “Scholarship Application for (Insert name of the workshop here).”
Terms:
Winners will be selected by a majority vote of Momenta Workshops staff and Bill Tancer. If you win this award, you will have one (1) week from the time you are notified to register your selected workshop. Please email our offices with questions.
The Award:
One (1) Award Winner will receive a full scholarship applied toward tuition for any US-based workshop (excluding Puerto Rico) of their choosing or a 6-month virtual mentoring for a project on cancer related issues.
Application Requirements:
A cover letter email explaining why this award and this topic is important to you, what project you intend to cover (if asking for the mentoring package) or what type of nonprofit you’d like to cover and why (if choosing a Project Workshop: Documenting Nonprofits), and how this experience would benefit your career goals.
A link to an online portfolio and/or Instagram account.
Terms of the Award:
The Tancer Award will grant a photographer paid tuition to a Momenta domestic in-person workshop or a 6-month of virtual project development mentoring. If selected, the awardee's project must be a story focused on an issue relating to cancer or cancer survivors.
Winners will be selected by a majority vote of a Momenta Workshops staff and Bill Tancer, based on all application criteria. If you are selected as a Winner or Runner-Up, you must accept your scholarship and register for the workshop 7 days of the official announcement. If you do not register within the 7 days of notification, the next person in line, based on voting totals, will be given the scholarship.
Eligibility:
Open to any professional photographer working in the field less than five (5) years.
Next Award Deadlines:
Deadline for applications is February 1, 2026. Award announcement will be made in January 2026.
Discounts
We value the importance of investing in educational growth at any point in your career. This is why we've developed a discount program that greatly incentivizes the joining of a professional group relevant to your career goals. In most cases, the initial membership fee is far less than the discount you'll receive from us. So, we want to reward you for joining the fight to keep our industry alive when you support visual media, arts, and documentary organizations. Just send us your membership number to secure a healthy discount on one of our workshops or educational programs.
Equity Support
We offer specialty incentives and support for veterans, active duty, first responders, first generation immigrants, disabled, and rural storytellers. Please contact our staff for more information and help us get to know your situation.
Students
Full time college students get specialty pricing on all our workshops. Most discounts are 50% off the cost of tuition for US workshops. To inquire about the discount for a specific program, please reach out to our staff.
Nonprofit Staff
If you are a nonprofit staffer, we want to support your organization’s mission and offer you discounted tuition rates to attend our programs, please reach out to our staff and let us know program you are interested in joining.
Professional Organization Members
Professional organizations members of Travel Writers of America, ASMP, ASPP, NPPA, PPA, NAPP, GLAPP, & WPJA get 10% off workshops with the code PRO26. We will check your membership status. Don’t see yours listed? Call us to check.
Discount terms: Attendees cannot stack discounts. Only one discount can be used at a time. Proof of professional affiliation, student status, or employer may be required to approve the discount. Contact Momenta’s staff for the discount code and let us know the qualifying category and any info you think we might need. If no further verification is needed, we’ll email you a discount code to be used at checkout.