Blake-Nuttall Fund Grants: 2023 Request for Proposals

The Nuttall Ornithological Club will soon be soliciting proposals for bird-related projects to be conducted in 2023–2024 under the direction of organizations meeting certain qualifications (see below). Selected projects are supported by grants from the Club's Blake-Nuttall Fund.

The Fund supports ornithological research, conservation, and education, with particular emphasis on the birds of New England and the Northeast.

The receipt deadline for applications is 1 September 2023. Awards will be announced by 30 September 2023 and funds will be distributed shortly thereafter.

(To download a copy of the 2023 Request for Proposals, click here)

Blake-Nuttall Fund Criteria

  1. Proposals are reviewed by the Blake-Nuttall Fund Committee and selected for awards based on the following merits:
    1. Contribution to the goals of the Nuttall Ornithological Club.
    2. Conservation, management, or educational significance.
    3. Scientific merit.
    4. Feasibility.
    5. Qualifications of investigator(s).
  2. Typically, Blake-Nuttall funds along with other Club funds (when available) are distributed in grants ranging from $1000 to $5000.
  3. Grant payments are made directly to the 501(c)(3) organizations. Given the modest amounts of Blake-Nuttall Fund grants, it is the policy of the Blake-Nuttall Fund not to support institutional overhead. Nuttall Ornithological Club retains no authority over use of paid grant funds. However, the Nuttall Ornithological Club requires that recipients prepare and submit a progress report on their work and use of grant money by 1 September of the year after the award is made.
  4. The report from each project will be posted on the Nuttall Ornithological Club website. See Please be sure to submit your project report in a format that can be posted electronically (e.g. pdf, PowerPoint, Word, txt, or rtf.) If you do not wish to have your project report posted publicly, state that explicitly to the Blake- Nuttall Fund Committee at the time of submission of the report, explain the reason for your objection to publication and the extent to which the objection will become moot after the passage of time (if the PI is planning to publish, for example).
  5. Any publication resulting, in whole or in part, from funding supplied from the Blake-Nuttall Fund must acknowledge the support of the Fund. A reprint of any such publications must be sent to the Chair of the Blake-Nuttall Fund Committee (Vice President of the Nuttall Ornithological Club).

Application Guidelines and Submission

Applying organizations must be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) or section 115 of the Internal Revenue Code and must not be private foundations under section 509(a). Applications from individuals cannot be considered.

Send an electronic copy of the proposal to the Blake-Nuttall Fund Committee Chair in the following format:

Title page: project title and brief abstract; name, address and phone number; proposed starting and completion dates; total amount requested from the Blake-Nuttall Fund.

Narrative of up to 5 pages including a) objectives, b) brief review of what is already known or has already been done, c) project methods, d) value of the project to ornithology, e) project timetable, including a submission date for the final report, f) specific address to which a check should be mailed if the project is funded, g) detailed budget, including funds applied for or expected from other sources.

Brief statement of investigator qualifications and a resume.

Documentary evidence of section 501(c)(3) or 115 tax-exempt status.

The release text must be included, with appropriate signature, in the body of the grant application.

The applicant hereby gives assurance that:

1. The activities and services for which assistance is sought will be administered by or under the supervision of the applicant.
2. Funds received under this application will be used only for the specific project shown, and a completion report will be submitted to the Blake-Nuttall Fund.
3. The filing of this request is in accordance with the policies of the requesting organization.
4. The requesting organization is currently recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt, non-profit organization and does not have an IRS 509 (a)(3) or private foundation status.

I attest that information contained in this application and in any attachments made as part of this application are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

 

__________________________________________________ ________________
Signature of Principal Investigator                            Date

 

______________________________________________________________________
Print Name and Title of Principal Investigator

Please Note:

Progress reports on work funded in whole or in part by Blake-Nuttall Fund awards in the past must have been received by the Blake-Nuttall Fund Committee Chair before new applications can be considered. Progress reports must indicate project name, dates, principal investigator, results narrative, and brief statement of funds expended. An electronic copy of the progress report may be submitted with a new application, but must be a separate document, not embedded in a new proposal.

Grants are awarded on an annual basis from total available funds. The total available money varies annually, but rarely is below $15,000 per year. Proposals may request up to that entire amount. Applications for projects expected to last more than one year are considered, but no commitment beyond the funds available in the present year is made.

Address grant proposals to:

Noah G. Perlut
Vice President, Nuttall Ornithological Club
Chair, Blake-Nuttall Fund Committee

E-mail: blake@nuttallclub.org
if you need to send hard-copy,
please ask for a mailing address