CALS Grants Program

The California Lichen Society offers small grants to support research pertaining to the lichens of California. No geographical constraints are placed on grantees or their associated institutions, but grantees must be members in good standing of the California Lichen Society. The Grants Committee administers the grants program, with grants awarded to an individual only once during the duration of a project. Grant proposals should be brief and concise.

Please email submissions or questions to the Grants Committee Chair by November 1st of the current calendar year. 

Grant Applicants should submit a proposal containing the following information:

• Title of the project, applicant’s name, address, phone number, email address, and the date submitted.

• Estimated time frame for the project.

• Description of the project. Outline the purposes, objectives, hypotheses where appropriate, and methods of data collection and analysis. Highlight aspects of the work that you believe are particularly important and creative. Discuss how the project will advance knowledge of California lichens.

• Description of the final product. We ask you to submit an article to the Bulletin of the California Lichen Society, based on the results of your work.

• Budget. Summarize intended use of funds. If you received or expect to receive other grants or material support, show how these fit into the overall budget. The following list gives examples of the kinds of things for which grant funds may be used if appropriate to the objectives of the project: expendable supplies, transportation, equipment rental or purchase of inexpensive equipment, laboratory services, salaries, and living expenses. CALS does not approve grants for outright purchase of capital equipment or high-end items such as computers, software, machinery, or for clothing.

• Academic status (if any). State whether you are a graduate student or an undergraduate. CALS grants are also available to non-students conducting research on California lichens. CALS grants are available to individuals only and will not be issued to institutions.

• Two letters of support from sponsors, academic supervisors, major professors, professional associates or colleagues should be part of your application. These should be submitted directly from the author to the committee Chair.

• Your signature, as the person performing the project and the one responsible for dispersing the funds. All of the information related to your application may be submitted electronically.

Review: Members of the Grants Committee conduct anonymous evaluation of grant proposals once a year based on completeness, technical quality, consistency with CALS goals, intended use of funds, and likelihood of completion. Grant proposals received by November 1 each year will be considered for that year’s grant cycle. The Grants Committee brings its recommendations for funding to the Board of Directors of the California Lichen Society, which has final say regarding approval or denial.

Grant Amounts: CALS normally offers two grants of $750.00 and $1000.00 each year. Typically grants are awarded to two separate individuals, however depending on the quality of the applications and the amount of funding available, the committee maintains the option to disburse funds as appropriate. All grants are partially dependent on member contributions, therefore the amounts of these awards may vary from year to year.

Obligations of recipients: 1) Acknowledge the California Lichen Society in any reports, publications, or other products resulting from the work supported by CALS. 2) Submit an article to the Bulletin of the California Lichen Society. 3) Submit any relevant rare lichen data to California Natural Diversity Data Base using NDDB’s field survey forms.

How to submit an application: Please email submissions or questions to the committee Chair by November 1 of the current calendar year. The current Chair is Rikke Reese Næsborg.