Financial Aid
Financial Accessibility
Your Journey Is Within Reach
Everyone deserves the chance to access their next rite of passage. That’s why we work hard to offer financial aid for youth programs and sliding scale program fees for adult programs. With the support of our generous donors, we offer over $40,000 each year in assistance to make meaningful, transformative experiences possible for all people.
You can find more information about how our aid processes work below. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@riteofpassagejourneys.org.
Youth Programs
Rite of Passage Journeys (ROPJ) offers equity-based financial aid to help ensure that a family’s financial circumstances don’t prevent a young person from participating in our programs.
Financial Aid Application Process
Once your family has chosen a youth rite-of-passage program, you can apply for financial aid before registering. The application will ask about your intended program and your household’s financial circumstances, including:
Number of people in your household
Annual household income
Other aspects of your financial circumstances, such as your ability to meet basic needs, access to financial safety nets, and regular caregiving expenses
Once you’ve submitted your application, our team will review it and get back to you as soon as possible with a financial aid offer.
After receiving your offer, you’ll have 7 days to pay your deposit and secure your spot. If you don’t register within those 7 days, the spot will be released to another family. Your financial aid offer will remain valid for the rest of the enrollment season, should you decide to register later and a spot is still available.
How Financial Aid Is Determined
Journeys uses the current Federal Poverty Guidelines in combination with your answers to the Financial Circumstances Questionnaire to determine Financial Aid award amounts:
Tier 1 – Up to 100% Tuition Coverage: Annual household income is less than 2x the Federal Poverty Level for the number of people in your household.
Tier 2 – Up to 50% Tuition Coverage: Annual household income is at least 2x but less than 3x the Federal Poverty Level for the number of people in your household.
Tier 3 – Up to 25% Tuition Coverage: Annual household income is at least 3x but less than 4x the Federal Poverty Level for the number of people in your household.
We are not able to provide financial aid for families whose annual income is more than 4x the Federal Poverty Level.
For Families With Seperate Households
ROPJ recognizes that families and households take many forms. Our financial aid process considers household income, family size, available financial resources, and individual circumstances to determine eligibility and award amounts.
For parents or caregivers living in separate households, ROPJ considers:
The income and resources of the household applying for aid,
Child support, alimony, and other financial support received
Any contribution toward program tuition from another parent or caregiver.
However, we do not automatically count the income of a parent who lives separately and does not contribute to the child's expenses. We recognize that estrangement, safety concerns, and other circumstances may affect access to financial support.
Families can share any additional information they would like us to consider. Our goal is to assess each family's financial circumstances fairly and consistently while making programs accessible to young people across a range of family structures and financial situations.
Financial Aid Determination Examples
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Family A is a family of four with two working parents and two children. They hope to enroll their child in a Youth Summer Program with tuition of $3,495.
Their combined annual income is $45,000, less than 2x the Federal Poverty Level for a family of four ($62,400). They qualify for Tier 1, with potential aid covering up to 100% of tuition.
In their Financial Circumstances Questionnaire, the family shares that they sometimes struggle to meet basic needs, have limited savings, and carry debt that is difficult to manage. They also have monthly childcare expenses and little to no disposable income. They indicate that paying more than $500 toward tuition would strain their finances.
Considering their income and financial circumstances, Journeys awards substantial financial aid.
Financial Aid Requested: $2,995
Financial Aid Awarded: $2,995 (86% of tuition) -
Family B is a family of four with two working parents and two children. They hope to enroll their child in a Journeys summer program with tuition of $3,495.
Their combined annual income is $75,000, less than 3x the Federal Poverty Level for a family of four ($93,600). They qualify for Tier 2, with potential aid covering up to 50% of tuition.
In their Financial Circumstances Questionnaire, the family shares that they can generally meet basic needs but have limited savings and significant monthly childcare expenses. They carry student loan debt and have little discretionary income after covering monthly expenses. They indicate that $1,500 is a manageable contribution, though it would require careful budgeting.
Considering their income and financial circumstances, Journeys awards partial financial aid.
Financial Aid Requested: $1,995
Financial Aid Awarded: $1,500 (43% of tuition) -
Family C is a family of four with two working parents and two children. They hope to enroll their child in a Journeys summer program with tuition of $3,495.
Their combined annual income is $120,000, less than 4x the Federal Poverty Level for a family of four ($124,800). They qualify for Tier 3, with potential aid covering up to 25% of tuition.
In their Financial Circumstances Questionnaire, the family shares that they can meet their basic needs, have some retirement savings, and regularly have a modest amount of disposable income. However, they also carry substantial student loan debt and have ongoing expenses that limit their ability to pay the full program tuition. They indicate that $2,700 is a manageable but significant contribution.
Considering their income and financial circumstances, Journeys awards a modest amount of financial aid.
Financial Aid Requested: $795
Financial Aid Awarded: $700 (20% of tuition) -
Family D is a family of four with two working parents and two children. They hope to enroll their child in a Journeys summer program with tuition of $3,495.
Their combined annual income is $140,000, more than 4x the Federal Poverty Level for a family of four ($124,800). According to ROPJ financial aid guidelines, they are not eligible for financial aid, but they still choose to apply.
In their Financial Circumstances Questionnaire, the family shares that they can meet their basic needs, have retirement savings, and regularly have disposable income. They carry a mortgage and student loan debt, and they indicate that contributing $2,500 toward tuition would be a stretch but feasible.
Because the family's annual income exceeds 4x the Federal Poverty Level, they are not eligible for financial aid, regardless of their requested amount or other financial circumstances.
Financial Aid Requested: $995
Financial Aid Awarded: $0
Adult Programs
For adult programs, including Adult Wilderness Quest and Year-Round Offerings, we encourage participants to use our sliding-scale payment option to make programs accessible across a range of financial circumstances.
You can use the graphic below to help determine your tier on the sliding scale.
