On Thursday, I learned that I am one of 10 candidates to receive the DFA Netroots Nation Scholarship. The conference provides absolutely amazing  opportunities to learn from fellow progressive activists on topics from organizing in Republican districts to crowdsourcing to mobilizing for immigration reform. And Netroots Nation gives us a chance to hear directly from, and more importantly, to speak to and question national political leaders, like the Democratic presidential field in 2007 and Nancy Pelosi and Al Gore in 2008. Thanks to Democracy for America, I will be able to attend this year’s conference, as they will cover the registration fee and my accomodations. (I still have to pay for meals and arrange travel to the conference – I’m working on meeting some other bloggers on the train to Pittsburgh.)

I feel really honored to have been chosen from such a great pool of applicants, and I want to thank each of the judges for taking the time to read through each of the applications (and picking me, naturally.) Also I want to thank everyone who put their name down in support of my application.

Now, there’s one more round of 10 scholarships to be awarded. So if you would like to attend this year’s Netroots Nation and need a lot of help to get there, head on over to the Democracy for America website and put your hat in the ring. If you know someone who is deserving, nominate them now or cute, fuzzy puppies will die.

And even more importantly (yes, even more important than saving cute puppies,) throw a little scratch DFA’s way. Last year, they committed to funding 9 scholarships and were able to award more, due to the generosity of our community. This year, because we raised the bar, DFA put themselves on the hook for thirty (including mine.)

How awesome would it be if we could raise enough for more than thirty scholarships? If enough people put in $30 each, or even $20 or $10, we could add more scholarships to get even more deserving activists from the progressive blogosphere to Pittsburgh this August. So what do you say?

A final note. I want to thank DFA not only for giving me a scholarship, but also for giving me a start in electoral politics. The first campaign I got involved with was Howard Dean for America in the fall of 2003, and when I moved to Missouri in 2004, DFA gave me a place to connect with local progressives, including someone who helped me found Show Me Progress. So, again, thanks DFA.