It’s that time of year again – PRSA Silicon Valley is opening applications to its annual Diversity and Multicultural Scholarship for 2024. Established in 2020 in partnership with 501(c)(3) charitable organization PRSA Foundation, the Chapter has awarded for the past three years talented and creative undergraduate students in the Bay Area paving a new pathway in the communications industry.

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Our mission is to amplify the diverse voices that make our industry lucrative, rich and powerful. To double our impact this year, we’ve launched a Share the Love Matching Campaign, matching donations to the fund up to $5,000. 

“To clarify this exciting development, if our generous PR community of corporations, agencies and consultants can collectively donate $5,000, we will add another $5,000,” said Meghan Fintland, PRSA Silicon Valley chapter president. “This doubles the impact we can have on the rising stars in our community, spotlighting our standout commitment to the massive impact of mentorship on careers – especially on those just starting out.” 

In December of last year, PRSA Silicon Valley donated 100% of the proceeds from our Media Predicts event to the scholarship, increasing the amount of students we are now able to award this year. In order to cultivate an ever expanding pipeline of diverse and exceptional talent, it’s imperative we start at the root – opening doors for those in our local colleges and universities to thrive in our industry. We need to develop and prepare the next generation of brilliant leaders to take the baton in our communities.

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According to a recent study published by McKinsey, $8 billion is spent on DEI initiatives a year, yet progress in actually reducing discrimination and improving inclusion is hard to tangibly see, so much so that efforts have been dubbed a "DEI Industrial Complex.” To address this gap at the local level in our community, the Chapter has dedicated itself to seeking out diverse rising stars in public relations and communications and supporting them through scholarship funding, mentorship and professional development.

We encourage full-time undergraduate students in the San Francisco Bay Area to complete and submit an application. We want to hear from you on why diversity matters in the communications industry, the impact it's had on your life and the recent multicultural communications efforts you’ve been a part of to bridge the gap between your community and institution and/or college. The details, including specific eligibility, can be found at the newly launched PRSA Foundation webpage here: Scholarship Details (awardspring.com). The deadline to apply is May 11, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. PT – so don’t wait!

To that end, our Share the Love Matching Campaign will allow even more students the opportunity to be awarded in 2024, and we are calling for donations from communications professionals who want to give back! We are matching donations up to $5,000 to double the impact we can have on the rising stars in our community. This program is only made possible by the generous donations of many communications leaders, agencies and organizations in and around the Bay Area.

Please consider donating to the fund so that we can continue to award more incredible students this year and in years to come. If you are interested in supporting, please visit the link here and select “PRSA Silicon Valley Diversity and Multicultural Scholarship Fund” from the drop-down menu. Your donation will automatically be matched, doubling the impact of your investment. We thank you for investing into a more diverse and inclusive communications industry!

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Alannah McDermott is a San Jose-based public relations professional with 4+ years of experience in media relations and marketing communications for a range of industry-leading B2B and cyber security clients. She serves on the Board of the Public Relations Society of America Silicon Valley Chapter and is an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion within tech and communications.

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