Tighten has sent a contingent to Laracon US for the last four years, and we've loved the opportunities and relationships that have come from our time there. We've tried to give back with talks, sponsorships, fun events, and more. But this year, we want to take it a step further: we want to give a grant to help more people attend the conference.

Why a grant?

The tech industry is a place of incredible potential, and that potential isn't always accessible equally to all people. We believe that the best Laracon, and the best Laravel community, has an increased presence from folks from groups that are traditionally under-represented in tech.

Our goal for the grant is that it will help individuals from these groups attend the conference, and in turn, help the entire Laravel community by exposing us to a broader range of experiences and ways of thinking.

What we're pledging

In line with those goals and commitments, we will be pledging $5000 total towards offsetting the conference expenses of one or more community members.

We understand that we can't remove every hurdle that might be in anyone's path to a career in the Laravel community, but we aim to have a positive impact in reducing at least one hurdle, the financial cost of attending a professional conference.

We don't have a defined set of characteristics that are or are not acceptable reasons for someone to apply for the grant. Rather, we encourage anyone who feels they might fit the description above to apply (see details below) and the grants will be awarded at the discretion of Tighten's partners, Dan Sheetz and Matt Stauffer.

The grant application opens on December 23, 2017 and closes on February 23, 2018; decisions will be made and recipients notified by March 30, 2018. The grant application is available here:

Apply for the Laracon 2018 Grant

Application Requirements

The application will ask a few questions to help us understand who you are and why this grant would be helpful to you. Here are a few, just so you're prepared:

• Name
• Twitter and GitHub handle (optional)
• Geographic location
• Years in programming
• Would this be your first Laracon?
• Would this be your first first professional conference?
• Estimated travel costs
• What amount of funding support would allow you to attend Laracon 2018?
• Is there anything else you'd like to share with us about your application?

One thing you can do for us

Could you share this post either with everyone you know or specifically with anyone you think might want to apply for the grant? We really hope to be able to use this money to make as much positive impact as we can, so we want to make sure the message gets out as broadly as possible.

Thank you!