Scholarships for Working Baristas
Making education more accessible, one ticket at a time.
We believe coffee education should be community-driven, culturally relevant, and financially accessible. That’s why we’ve created a scholarship program for Level Up 2025, focused on supporting baristas who are often excluded from traditional industry events.
Application TIMING & Review
Applications are open through midnight Pacific Time on Thursday, August 7th.
Recipients will be notified by August 12th and will have until August 15th to accept or decline.
If a spot opens up, we will reach out to folks on the waitlist.
The 2025 scholarship cohort will be selected by the Raise the Bar founders (Rachel Apple, Ivana Chan, Sandra Loofbourow) and our scholarship committee (Eric Grimm, Bartholomew Jones, Seidy Selivanow).
what scholarships Include
Each scholarship covers the full weekend ticket to Level Up, including workshops, meals, and local transportation. Lodging and travel are not included this year. We hope to expand the program in the future to include travel stipends, but as this is our first year, we are still actively fundraising to pay educators, cover operational costs, and sustain the event.
It costs us $1,125 to host one barista for the weekend, not including lodging. Thanks to our sponsors, we’ve been able to lower the cost for paid attendees to just $300, and offer many full scholarships to those who need them most.
If this event feels like it’s for you, we want you to apply. If you know someone who should be there with you, send them the link. Whether you arrive by yourself or with someone you know, you’ll leave part of a community.
(Left to right: Bartholomew Jones, Seidy Selivanow, and Eric J. Grimm)
Bartholomew Jones is co-founder of Memphis’s Cxffeeblack and the Anti-Gentrification Coffee Club. He works to build a Black-owned coffee supply chain from Ethiopia to Memphis, aiming to reclaim coffee’s African roots and create community wealth. A multi-hyphenate creative, Jones is also a TEDx speaker and 2024 Sprudge 20 honoree for his work in cultural storytelling and equity. Don’t sleep on his music either 👀
Seidy Selivanow is a barista competitor, educator, and co-owner at Kafiex Roasters in Vancouver, WA. Over the past three years, she has consistently placed among the top competitors at U.S. Barista Championship Nationals. She teaches community cupping classes, speaks at Coffee Fest, and is known for her storytelling-based routines showcasing her Mexican heritage, and mentorship in the coffee community.
Eric J. Grimm is the founder of The Coffee Human Resource and a 16-year veteran of specialty coffee, specializing in human resources, mobile events, and community building. They co-founded Ghost Town Oats, a barista- and queer-owned oat milk company that sold over a million cartons in its first year, and support diversity through events, competitions, and HR consulting.
