Through the kind generosity of the California Institute for Biodiversity and the State of California, the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) has approximately US$300K to award in support of saving at-risk collections relating to the geographical area of California. In this time of rapid environmental change and declining wild biodiversity, it is essential that collections be secured and maintained for the future.
The funding is available to rescue specimens and samples, process backlogs and accession specimens, repair collections infrastructure, and otherwise secure biodiversity specimens and associated materials/data.
Project Details
- Provides funding for larger (e.g. >$10,000) efforts to support costs incurred rescuing collections, addressing collection backlogs, or otherwise securing biodiversity specimens and associated materials/data.
- Funds may be used to purchase supplies and storage equipment, support interns or personnel, conduct pest management, and related activities. Digitizing or species descriptions can be included only as a small portion of the overall project.
- All taxa and disciplines are eligible. Priority is given to specimens collected in California or adjacent geographies, and collections must have a significant California focus: funds may secure non-California specimens in California collections, or California specimens in non-California institutions.
- Project awards must be made to eligible organizations: typically universities, museums, non-profits, or public institutions. Interested individuals are encouraged to work with a fiscal sponsor who can receive funds.
- Priority is to be given to efforts that secure a large number of high-quality specimens and associated metadata. However, even lower-quality specimens or those with incomplete data should be preserved.
- Priority is given to efforts that center representation and meaningful participation of underserved communities, or otherwise advance inclusion of populations that have not had recent access to funding.
- Priority is to be given to current SPNHC members. If you are not a current member you can join here. Grant recipients are encouraged to publish or present on the completion of their projects at the annual SPNHC Conference or in the Collection Forum journal.
Grant monies available are listed below, applications should include one or more category:
- Student placements to a maximum of $10K per individual
- Capital grant support* to a maximum of $30K per application.
- Equipment/supplies grant to a maximum of $10K per application
- Training and travel support to a maximum of $5K per application
Depending on the number of applications we receive and the amount of funding requested by each organization, we hope to award between 5 – 10 grants.
* The Capital Grant support is intended to support more substantive elements of a project such as cabinets or building infrastructure, but equally, it can support salary costs under short-term contracts / freelance work/consultancy.
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: Friday 28th March 2025 (11:59 PM California time)
- Review period: 29th March – 30th April 2025
- Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the application, and funds will be disbursed to successful applicants by May 2025.
- Projects must be completed and all funds spent by the 10th January 2026
- Grant recipients must submit a progress report on their projects and spending to SPNHC by 1st September 2025 and a final report on completion of the project by 1st March 2026.
Application Details
Grants should be submitted through the Common Grants Application Portal (https://www.commongrantapplication.com/register.php?refOrgId=154177&refProgId=929&refProgType=all). Please contact cclassi@spnhc.org if you plan to submit multiple applications.
The following information is required to submit a grant application:
- Applicant Information: Contact Information: organization name; primary contact: name and title; address, phone number, and email address.
- Project Information: Title of Project; other researchers and institutions involved in the project (if any); proposed start and end dates. Note: all projects and spending must be completed by 10th January 2026.
- Describe the collection that the funding will support (Max. Characters: 5000). Please describe the history of the collection, scientific significance, and other important details (e.g. number of specimens/samples, condition, geographic or topical focus, taxonomic composition). Are there type specimens or undescribed taxa? Describe any associated metadata, notebooks or field notes, imagery, and data.
- Describe the physical location of the collection. (Max. Characters: 5000). Where is the collection at this time? Where will the collection reside after it is secured? Who will be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the collection?
- Describe a summary of planned activities, participants, and how the funding will be used (Max. Characters: 5000). What actions are planned for the collection? What actions are planned to secure metadata, notebooks or field notes, imagery, data, sequences, or other “extended specimen” assets associated with the collection? Will there be access to the collection or data? Specify which practices or systems you intend to use.
- Workforce, Training, Student Support, Equity and Inclusion (Max. Characters: 2500) Describe how the project supports students, workforce development, and job training. What actions and measures are planned to advance equity and opportunity, ensure representation and meaningful participation, and engage and serve disinvested communities?
- Budget: Please download and complete the Collection Project Grant Budget Spreadsheet and provide a narrative budget justification.
- Details of any other funding the project is receiving (if applicable)
For additional information or grant proposal questions, please contact cclassi@spnhc.org. For technical questions using the platform, please contact info@commongrantapplication.com.