Grand fund mission statement:
This fund provides grants for projects that encourage the study, appreciation, and preservation both of birds and their habitats. Grants are accepted to perform research, conduct educational initiatives, and encourage conservation of critical habitats. Priority in funding is first the metropolitan area of Denver, then the Front Range, fthen the rest of Colorado and the U.S. DFO grants generally are under $2,000.
After the submission deadline, grant proposals are reviewed in competitive fashion by the grant program committee and the DFO Board of Directors. Examples of recent projects that received grants include a study of Eastern Screech-Owl habitat, Flammulated Owl migration, the life cycle of the Black Swift, and the effect of grazing practices on bird breeding sites. Educational grant recipients have included an effort to promote beginning bird observation among young people via birding-camp scholarships and binocular and 2-way radio purchases for those camps. Recent conservation grants have been given for restoration work at Last Chance on Colorado's eastern plains and at Dodd Reservoir near Boulder.
See the Project History section for other examples of recently funded grants.
Grant program schedule, requirements and application process:
- Deadline for applications each year is February 1. Applications are submitted in the format below.
- Priority is given to grants that help fulfill the program mission statement, both in project content and geographical location of the grant work.
- Multiyear projects are welcome but are funded only one year at a time. Grants may not be used for overhead costs to institutions.
- Notification of approval will be made as soon as possible after DFO committee and board review. Grant awards will be announced on the DFO website and in DFO's The Lark Bunting newsletter.
- Grant recipients are required to report to the DFO membership about the their projects in any of three ways:
- Presentation at a monthly DFO meeting
- A field trip to the project site
- An article to be published in The Lark Bunting, and possibly on the DFO website. The newsletter article should not exceed 600 words, but longer articles with tables can be used for publication on the website.
Applications should be submitted in PDF format and include the following:
- Grant applicant's name, address, phone, and email address
- Applicant's affiliation with an institution, if any
- Names of co-investigators
- Project goals relevance to the DFO grant program mission
- Location(s) where project activities will take place
- Project timeline
- Research, education or conservation project methods to be used
- Detailed budget
- Letters of support / list of previous publications (optional)
If you have further questions, please contact DFO using the contact form on the DFO website home page.