Overview
The IMTA Collegiate Travel Grant provides funding to support the attendance of collegiate chapter members at either the MTNA National Conference in March/April or the MTNA Collegiate Pedagogy Symposium in January.
This grant is intended for individual applicants, not for entire chapters. The total amount distributed annually may not exceed the current fiscal year budget line amount (full distribution not required). The 2025-2026 budget line amount for Collegiate Travel Grants is $1,500.
Applications are due by November 1 to accommodate those wishing to take advantage of the MTNA Conference Early Bird registration deadline. (Symposium does not have an early bird registration deadline.) The application form is available below.
Approval and Notification Process
The IMTA Board of Trustees is responsible for approving all grant applications. The process is overseen by the Chair of the Trustees. Applications are submitted directly to the Chair, who then distributes them to the other trustees for review.
(Exception: If a Trustee is the current Collegiate Chapter Chair on the Board of Directors, they must recuse themselves from the selection process. In such cases, the trustees should request that the State President appoint an alternate person to participate in the decision-making process.)
Once the grant recipients and amounts have been determined, the Chair of the Trustees notifies all applicants via email regarding the status of their application. Recipients are informed that they will receive their check approximately 30 days before the event for which they’ve applied. This timing helps ensure that recipients’ plans to attend are confirmed before funds are disbursed. They should also be reminded of the final submission reports due to the Collegiate Chapters Chair following the event.
The Chair also sends an email to the Treasurer–copying the Collegiate Chapters Chair and the State President– with the following details:
– Names of the recipients.
– Recipient contact email.
– Mailing addresses
– Grant amounts
– Date the checks should be mailed (approx. one month prior to the National Conference or Symposium)
Recipient Requirements
IMTA financially supports student attendance at an MTNA event as an investment in the future of MTNA. Students may use the grant for any expenses related to the MTNA Conference or the MTNA Collegiate Symposium and are not required to document expenses with receipts.
If awarded this grant, you will be asked to fulfill the following:
- The majority of your time should be spent at the conference or symposium. Depending upon your actual travel dates and times, please represent Indiana at as many of these events as possible:
- MTNA National Conference:
- IMTA state dinner
- Collegiate Chapters reception, Collegiate Chapters Forum, or other designated collegiate sessions, and presentations by other collegiate chapters.
- MTNA Collegiate Symposium:
- Attend all relevant events.
- MTNA National Conference:
- Share details regarding your experience with your collegiate chapter at a future meeting.
- Submit a brief report/thank you for your experience within one week of your return home to the IMTA Collegiate Chapters Chair (which may be published on the IMTA blog).
Unused Funds
If, for any reason, grant recipients are unable to use the funds for the intended event, the grant money must be returned to the Indiana Music Teachers Association (IMTA). An email notification should be sent to the IMTA President, Treasurer, Chair of the Trustees, and Collegiate Chapter Chair.
Uncashed checks should be returned to the IMTA Treasurer. If a check has already been cashed, the recipient (individual or association) must return the funds to the IMTA Treasurer via personal check, bank check, or money order, made payable to the Indiana Music Teachers Association.
All of these steps must be completed as soon as possible and postmarked or date-stamped no later than two weeks after the original event’s end date.
