Thanks to generous support from The Rockefeller Foundation, The Frank Karel Scholarship to ComNet enables The Communications Network to offer registrations to nonprofit staffers and communications-focused academics who would not otherwise be able to attend ComNet24.
The submission period for Karel Scholarship has now ended. Applicants will hear back during the week of May 13.
Please note, the scholarship includes one free registration for ComNet. It does NOT include travel, lodging, or other incidental expenses.
If you have been a Karel Scholar at a previous ComNet, unfortunately you are not eligible for the 2024 Karel Scholarship. This is open to non-profit staffers and communications-focused academics only (i.e. we’re unable to accept applications from foundations, including community foundations and grant-making organizations.)
Learn more about past Karel Scholars below:
Past Karel Scholars have joined us from organizations including:
Thanks to the generous support of:
Who was
Frank Karel
In the mid-1970s, Frank Karel was hired as the new communications lead for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The first ever. And he didn't know where to begin or what to do... So, he picked up the phone and called a colleague with a similar sounding title at The Rockefeller Foundation, who graciously invited him to lunch to discuss the opportunities and challenges ahead.
And with that lunch, The Communications Network was born. Today, The Communications Network counts more than 1,800 members from social sector organizations across the globe.
Frank would later join The Rockefeller Foundation as its communications chief and help the foundation expand its leadership in the philanthropic sector.
In the spirit of honoring this history, The Rockefeller Foundation is the founding sponsor of The Frank Karel Scholarship at The Communications Network’s annual conference.