In 2003 the National Docent Symposium Council established a scholarship fund to honor Carole Kramer, former Council member, advisor and co-author of The Docent Handbook, and her husband, Eugene L. Kramer, legal counsel to the NDSC. Carole and Gene Kramer value docent education and interaction, and each worked for many years to further the work of the NDSC in these areas. Carole’s museum, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the Kramer family donated funds for this scholarship, as did the NDSC.
The first three scholarships were awarded in 2005 to volunteer docents attending the symposium in Boston. The awards covered the registration fee for the symposium and included a complimentary copy of The Docent Handbook. Three more scholarships were given in Phoenix in 2007. That year two additional scholarships were funded by the Keepers Preservation Educational Fund, awarded to docents who worked in historic houses or sites. These recipients were also given complimentary copies of The Docent Handbook.
Sales of The Docent Handbook have continued to increase the operating funds of the NDSC. In 2008 Educational the Council decided to use the more inclusive term “educational grants” and voted to increase the number of grants to six. In selecting grant recipients the Council hopes to broaden the number of museums and galleries attending the symposium and to further its belief that docents meeting together can benefit from the educational programs and exchange of ideas offered at the National Docent Symposium. Grants are awarded only to volunteer docents and preference is given to docents from museums which are represented at the symposium for the first time.
Information about applying for a Kramer/NDSC Educational Grant is available on the website of the upcoming symposium. A link to the symposium page is provided on the home page of the National Docent Symposium Council. Grant recipients are selected in the spring before the symposium registration is opened.