AOU International Grants Program
AOU International Grants are designed to support infrastructure development and capacity building for western hemisphere professional ornithological societies.
As the largest, and one of the oldest, ornithological societies in the western hemisphere, the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) aspires to increase its role as advocate for the study and conservation of birds throughout the Americas. Therefore, the AOU has established an International Grants Program to support Western Hemisphere Professional Ornithological Societies through funding of activities to develop infrastructure, train ornithologists, and build strategic partnerships within the Western Hemisphere. Activities that will be considered for funding include, but are not restricted to, the following: costs of startup and growth of fledgling ornithological societies; web-based (or other) activities that link ornithological societies from different Western Hemisphere countries to achieve common, concrete objectives; and activities that provide international expertise to ornithological societies to provide training or solve a local problem (e.g., training through technical workshops on research design, field techniques, fund-raising, publishing, science-based conservation activities). This program aims in particular to fund the participation by representatives of non-North American ornithological organizations in meetings or workshops that are held in conjunction with a North American Ornithological Conference (NAOC) and whose specific purpose is to promote hemispheric ornithological initiatives. The purpose of this program is NOT to fund single events, but rather to invest in organizations and infrastructure that demonstrate the greatest promise to increase their impact on the study and conservation of birds.
Guidelines
A total of $5,000 is available in 2009, and proposals will be considered for grants in the amount of $1000-3000, for a period of one year. The due date of proposals is February 2, 2009. Proposals should be in the form of a narrative letter (English or Spanish) of no more than four pages, typewritten, double spaced; as well as a brief budget. The whole document should be sent in either Microsoft Word or, ideally in pdf format as an e-mail attachment, and submitted to the AOU Competitive Grants Program (Brent Burt, ). The narrative letter should describe as specifically as possible in the available space the nature of the organization, the proposed activities and use of the funds, and the intended impact of the activities. The review committee will consist of members of the AOU International Affairs Committee. Checks will be made out to an organization, not an individual. Important: you should receive an email confirming the receipt of your proposal. If you do not receive this confirmation within one week of sending the proposal contact Brent Burt at (936) 468-2482.
Review & Oversight
Successful grants carry the obligation of a report due 15 months after the issuance of the check. The report must contain a detailed itemization of how funds were spent (with a return of any unspent portion), including what funds were used for and what they accomplished. This information will be used to assist the AOU in targeting the most promising programs for future support.