The next deadline for applications is March 15, 2013
$4000 total will be available for funding.
PASADENA AUDUBON SOCIETY GRANTS, DONATIONS, AND SCHOLARSHIPS POLICY
Pasadena Audubon Society (PAS) is a non-profit corporation whose mission is "to bring the excitement of birds to our community through birding, education and conservation" To help accomplish this goal PAS awards grants, scholarships and makes donations to other organizations, groups and individuals. The purpose of this document is to outline the policies and procedures PAS will follow in making both unsolicited donations and handling request for donations to support various facilities, organizations or causes. The procedure below is designed to make this process fair and accountable to the membership and clearly defined. The PAS will carry out a yearly review of this grant program and vote each year on whether or not to renew the program for the following year.
Three categories of requests for funds will be considered by PAS
SCHOLARSHIPS TO HELP SUPPORT PASADENA AREA BIRDERS, TEACHERS, AND OTHERS TO ATTEND CONFERENCES, CLASSES, WORKSHOPS OR TO STUDY ORNITHOLOGY.
RESEARCH GRANTS FOR COLLECTING DATA ON BIRDS, BIRDING, HABITAT CONSERVATION, AND EDUCATION. PREFERENCE WILL BE GIVEN TO PROJECTS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BUT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES WILL ALSO BE CONSIDERED.
GRANTS FOR SPECIFIC PROJECTS OR UNRESTRICTED DONATIONS FOR GENERAL SUPPORT TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE MISSIONS SIMILAR TO THOSE OF PAS.
Application process
Applications for Scholarships, Research Grants, or Grants to Organizations must be submitted to the PAS Board by email to the Chair of Grant Committee at grants@pasadenaaudubon.org.
The PAS will announce the availability of funds at the September and February General meetings and in the Sept./Oct and Jan./Feb Wrentit issues and by posting a notice on the Pasadena Audubon Society Website. The total amount of money available will be specified in these announcements.
There will be two review periods each year and applications are due on October 15th and March 15th. PAS will notify the applicants about the Board's decision within two months from the date applications are due.
Each application must contain the following information:
A very brief statement (less than 200 words) of the proposed request.
A detailed description of the request. This must include each of the following items:
Why the project was chosen and its significance (1 page limit)
A description of what the applicant has already achieved toward this goal, if anything (1 page limit)
The specific request (2 page limit)
A budget statement indicating how the funds would be spent and a justification of these expenditures. (2 page limit)
A resume of the individual applicant or applicant organization clearly indicating the specific individual that is to be held accountable for the proper expenditure of the funds. (1 page limit)
An appendix for other relevant materials that may or may not be considered by the Board
Review of requests
The Chair will send an electronic copy to the members of the grants committee. The committee (composed of at least two Board members with the option of sending out confidential copies of this request to obtain an expert opinion if necessary) will render a recommendation in enough time so that one week prior to the upcoming Board meeting the committee chair will email its decision the Board. At the Board meeting a representative of the committee will present the request to the board at which time the Board will vote on the request. Requests will either be approved for the amount of funds requested, approved but at a different level of funding, deferred if additional information is required to reach a decision, or not approved. All votes will require a quorum of Board members and the final decision will be based on a majority vote
Conflicts of interets in reviewing requests
All stages of the grant review process will be conducted under the conflict of interest rules described below.
There are several bases for a conflict of interest: employment, financial benefit, personal relationships, professional relationships, or other interests. Any one condition will serve to disqualify a Board member or any other individual from being present during the review of an application or proposal. A conflict of interest may be real or apparent; however the appearance of a conflict is sufficient for any individual to be disqualified from participating in the review process. If a Board member or any other person wishes to make her/his feelings known about a particular project but there is a potential conflict then a letter addressed to the Board will be considered during the review meeting. All reviewing Board members must maintain the confidentiality of the proceedings and associated materials and not disclose to any other individual any matter or information related to the review proceedings.
Dispersal of funds
Upon approval, funding will be made according to the requirements of the particular project and availability of funds.
Grantee's reporting requirements
All funding recipients must complete a final written report. A maximum of three pages will be accepted. Some projects may be funded in installments. If this is the case an interim report must be filed to obtain the next installment. We will consider only one grant to any person/group at a time.
