CLARB Donates $500,000 to the ASLA Fund to Launch CLARB Exam Success Grants

The Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) today announced a $500,000 gift to the ASLA Fund to launch the CLARB Exam Success Grants. This new initiative will provide financial support to eligible Landscape Architect Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.) candidates who face economic challenges in pursuing licensure. Subject to program requirements, the grants will reimburse eligible exam costs and help reduce financial barriers on the path to becoming a licensed landscape architect. 

The program will be administered by the ASLA Fund, which champions global, social, and environmental change through landscape architecture, investing in research, education, and community outreach for a sustainable future. Through this new collaboration, CLARB and ALSA are fostering an inclusive community of qualified landscape architecture professionals.

"We know that the path to licensure looks different for every candidate,” said CLARB President Allison Fleury, PLA, CLARB, ASLA. “Some have robust financial support behind them, and others are making this journey largely on their own. This grant program reflects our belief that where you start should not determine how far you can go." 

“ASLA is incredibly grateful for CLARB’s support,” added ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA. “Because of this funding, more existing and aspiring landscape architects can receive the preparation and opportunity to pass the L.A.R.E. on the way to becoming licensed landscape architects to support the design and creation of healthy, safe, resilient communities.”

CLARB is a nonprofit committed to careful stewardship of its resources, an approach that empowers it to reinvest in the candidate and licensee community while reducing unnecessary barriers to licensure. Today’s contribution to the ASLA Fund is a result of that disciplined, mission-driven approach.

“CLARB's ability to launch this grant program reflects disciplined growth, careful stewardship of resources and a commitment to expanding opportunity within the profession,” said CLARB CEO Matt Miller. “By providing targeted support opportunities to candidates facing financial barriers, we can make the path to licensure more accessible while continuing to invest in the programs and examination systems that serve the entire profession.”

The CLARB Exam Success Grants are funded by CLARB and will be administered by the ASLA Fund over the next three years. 
 
"We believe that leading with vision means staying ahead of the needs of our community and acting with intention,” said Fleury. “We are proud to put our values into practice with this partnership at a moment when the profession is growing and the future is bright.”

The Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization that designs and promotes standards to ensure that the world’s people, places and environment are protected by landscape architecture. Our members are the licensure boards that regulate the practice of landscape architecture across the United States, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands and Canada. Together, we forge pathways that enable landscape architects to transform spaces into thriving places where every community benefits from safe, sustainable and inspired design.

Founded in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is the professional association for landscape architects in the United States, proudly representing more than 16,000 members. Landscape architects lead the planning, design, and stewardship of healthy, equitable, safe, and resilient environments.