2005 Native Plant Conservation Initiative- National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is offering the 2005 Native Plant Conservation Initiative, which provides federal dollars to nonprofit organizations and government agencies to promote the conservation of native plants. There is a strong preference for "on-the-ground" projects that involve local communities and citizen volunteers in the restoration of native plant communities. Projects that include a pollinator conservation component are also encouraged.
Grants range from $5,000 to $40,000 with an average grant size of $15,000. It is expected that all grant funds will be matched by non-federal contributions from project partners.
The pre-proposal deadline is August 15, 2005. More Information: http://www.nfwf.org/programs/npci.htm
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Merck Family Fund
The Fund has two areas of priority to help achieve a healthy planet. The first is the protection of vital ecosystems in the eastern US. The second is supporting the shift towards environmentally sustainable economic systems, incentives, and behaviors.
Protecting and Restoring Vital Eastern Ecosystems
Urban sprawl, resource extraction, and poorly enforced environmental regulations place enormous pressures on the natural environment. At the same time, the remaining undeveloped areas are vital to many communities for economic and recreational purposes and essential to the survival of countless species of wildlife. The dynamic tensions result in the need for sustainable uses that are environmentally
sound, economically viable, and socially accountable.
Specifically, the Fund is interested in programs that:
recognize the need for and practice of sustainable forestry;
include the support and participation of people living in or
near the impacted area; and protect and preserve ecologically valuable land.
Ecosystem grants are restricted to the following geographic areas: The southern Appalachian spruce-fir and hardwood forests of Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia.
This Fund may be useful for conserving land around the watershed.
New requests for support to the Merck Family Fund should be made by a letter of inquiry rather than with a full proposal or a request for a personal meeting. Letters of inquiry may be submitted at any time. Hard copy format is preferred over fax or email transmission. But the deadline for full proposals is August 1, 2005!
More Information: http://www.merckff.org/grantguidelines.html
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Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grants
The FY 2006 RFA for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is now posted on our website at http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/rfas/sbir_rfa.html. The closing date for submitting Phase I grant applications is September 1, 2005. One of the biggest differences this year is that the agricultural part of Rural and Community Development has been split off as a new topic area that is called Small and Mid-Size Farms. This topic area will be focused on developing new technologies to promote the sustainability and profitability of small and mid-size farms and ranches. Grant proposals have to be submitted by for-profit small business firms but university personnel can participate as consultants or subcontractors. If you know anyone who might have an interest in the SBIR program please let them know about this opportunity.
We expect a budget next year of close to $20 million and we will fund about 90 projects in all areas of agricultural research. Questions about the program can be submitted to me or to one of the other SBIR NPLs, Peter Burfening, Bill Goldner, Richard Hegg or Suresh Sureshwaran.
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/rfas/sbir_rfa.html
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The Lawrence Foundation
The Lawrence Foundation is a private charitable foundation focused on making charitable contributions and grants to support educational,environmental, health and other causes. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or public schools and libraries are eligible for contributions or grants. This is a relatively new grantmaking foundation, so their priorities are very broad.
This is a good opportunity to educate more about the watersheds of Appalachia. The Lawrence Foundation does have a list of grants the foundation will not make, mostly for equipment.
Grants are awarded twice a year. There is a one or two step process 1) a letter of inquiry and in some cases 2) a request for a full proposal. Letters of inquiry are open to any organization that wishes to be considered for a grant that meets the grant guidelines. In many cases the letter of inquiry provides sufficient information to make a decision. In some cases we may ask for a full proposal to provide additional information to make a decision. If you do not receive an invitation to submit a full proposal that does not necessarily mean your letter or inquiry is not under consideration.
Deadline: August 1, 2005. More Information:
http://www.thelawrencefoundation.org/grant/guidelines.html
