The non-profit educational foundation of InfoComm, the International Communications Industry Foundation’s (ICIF) grant program provides you with the opportunity to mold the right employee for your company. ICIF is the pro-AV industry’s fastest-growing internship and mentoring program. It was designed to mentor young professionals who are entering the audiovisual industry. Participating companies involved with this program will gain insight into mentoring, coaching, and could potentially end up with a new employee.

The ICIF Grant Program is intended to be a key focus of the International Communications Industries Foundation (ICIF) with a mission to generate more participation with measurable results and a greater focus on workforce development. InfoComm International® member companies in good standing are invited to apply for an ICIF Grant, which will support a student at a local educational institution with a comprehensive program that has five distinct components: 1) Tuition Reimbursement, 2) Paid Industry Work, 3) InfoComm Online Education and Certification, 4) Mentoring Programs and 5) InfoComm Show Attendance.

Eligibility: Companies applying for a grant (Grant Sponsor) must be members of InfoComm International. Individuals (Grant Recipient) receiving an ICIF Grant must be students enrolled in a training or degree program related to the Professional Audio Visual (AV) industry.

The submission procedure:

• Step 1: A member company applies to be a part of this grant program. Through this application, the member company will identify the program sponsor, how many scholarships/internships the sponsor hopes to offer, what educational institutions the sponsor plans on working with and provide an overall plan. In addition, the application will specify the requirements that must be met by the member company.
• Step 2: The ICIF board approves the application or gives any feedback necessary to the member company.
• Step 3: The member company engages with educational institutions and promotes scholarship and internship. The member company gets students interested.
• Step 4: Interested students then apply for the program and select the member company that they are working with on the application.
• Step 5: Applications are forwarded to the member company.
• Step 6: The member company selects winners and forwards to ICIF for approval.
• Step 7: The member company and scholarship recipient start the program. The member company sponsor and scholarship recipient will participate in quarterly surveys/outreach to provide feedback to the foundation on the program and their progress.

The ICIF board believes that the new approach will be a force multiplier and encourage many young professionals and students to get into the audiovisual industry. This is achieved by helping member companies develop an internship program that promotes industry training and hands-on experience in the industry through non-traditional grassroots efforts.

To learn more about the program, check out hit flyer. And, here is the application.