The MSA Memorial Scholarship supports museum store professionals attending their first MSA Museum Retail Conference & Expo by helping offset related expenses. A dedicated Scholarship Committee thoroughly reviews all applications and selects recipients each year. Award amounts vary based on individual circumstances—including financial need, travel distance, and other relevant factors—to ensure support is directed where it’s needed most.

This year, MSA FORWARD 2026 is headed to Philadelphia, PA, from May 19-22, 2026.

The application process will open January 2026. Check back for updates.

All applicants will receive written notification of their selection or non-selection. Applicants who are not selected may be encouraged to apply the next year.

Scholarship award recipients must attend the full program on the date and location specified. If a recipient is unable to attend MSA FORWARD, the award must be returned. The applicant may reapply at any time to attend a future conference. The award is not transferable.

In order to be eligible to receive this year’s scholarship, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

• Must be a first-time attendee of the MSA FORWARD
• Must certify financial need
• Must be a MSA Institutional member in good standing

History:

Samuel Julius Greenberg was director of museum shops for the Smithsonian Institution from 1982-89. He felt MSA’s Museum Retail Conference and Expo was a golden opportunity to learn, shop and connect with museum retail professionals. As a speaker, he gave freely of his knowledge and expertise. As a delegate, he was fond of saying that he always learned something new from store managers of both large and small museums. When a member of Sam’s staff deserved recognition for an outstanding accomplishment, Sam presented him or her with a “Dragon Slayer” pin. In honor of Sam’s memory and to embrace his enthusiasm, MSA founded the Sam Greenberg Scholarship Fund, which helps bring museum store personnel to their first MSA Museum Retail Conference & Expo. In recent years the Sam Greenberg Scholarship Fund was renamed the MSA Memorial Scholarship in order to commemorate additional nonprofit retail professionals who served MSA for many years.

The purpose of this scholarship is to afford the opportunity to an individual who self-identifies as having a background(s) currently underrepresented in the membership of the Museum Store Association to further their career goals in the non-profit retail field.

The application process will open in January 2026. Check back for updates. Stay tuned for a MSA email announcement with related links.

Eligibility:

• This award is open to Museum Store Association non-members and current members who are employed at a nonprofit institution in the retail and/or visitor services field.
• Must certify financial need. Financial need is defined as but not limited to institutional budget cuts or a lack of support towards professional development/travel.

Self-identifies as at least one of the following underrepresented backgrounds listed below:

• Individuals from racial/ethnic groups underrepresented in Museum Store Association, including but not limited to African American/Black, American Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African (AMENA), Asian/Asian American, Asian Pacific Islander (API), BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, person of color), Hispanic, Latin(a/o), Latinx
• Individuals with disabilities, who are defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities
  LGBTQIA+

This award includes the following:

• A one-year institutional membership for the Museum Store Association ($215 Value)
• A stipend to cover travel and other expenses associated with the conference is to be determined based on the recipient’s proximity to the MSA FORWARD location and need.

Requirements Associated with Scholarship:

• Scholarship Award recipients must attend the entire program on the specified date and location. The award must be returned if a recipient cannot attend the Conference and expo. The award is not transferable.
• Full participation in MSA FORWARD 2026 includes attending the newcomer’s orientation, their chapter meeting, educational sessions, and the expo. The recipient must also volunteer.
• All scholarship awardees must volunteer at MSA Forward 2026 and/or with their local chapter.

The MSA Board of Directors has created a new fund to assist Institution attendees who have attended MSA FORWARD in the past but need more funding to do so.  The fund will assist with travel expenses for MSA FORWARD 2026.  Funding amounts will depend on the number of applicants and the funding needed.

This year, MSA FORWARD 2026 is headed to Philadelphia, PA, on May 19 – 22, 2026.

To be eligible to receive this year’s scholarship, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

• Must certify financial need
• Must be an MSA Institution member in good standing

MSA Staff and the Board of Directors determine the total award amount for each year. The MSA Memorial Scholarship Committee reviews applications and chooses the recipients. The committee determines what portion of this award will be given to each recipient—the amount of each award may vary based on financial need, distance traveled by the recipient, etc.

The MSA scholarship application process will open in January 2026.

Requirements Associated with Scholarship:

• Scholarship Award recipients must attend the entire program on the specified date and location. The award must be returned if a recipient cannot attend the Conference and expo. The award is not transferable.
• Full participation in MSA FORWARD 2026 includes attending the newcomer’s orientation, their chapter meeting, educational sessions, and the expo. The recipient must also volunteer.
• All scholarship awardees must volunteer at MSA Forward 2026 and/or with their local chapter.