RFP FROM THE MARGOT MARSH BIODIVERSITY FOUNDATION

Project Guidelines and Grant Application Format
Project Guidelines
The mission of the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation is to contribute to
global biodiversity conservation by providing strategically targeted,
catalytic support for the conservation of endangered nonhuman primates and
their natural habitats. Projects submitted to the foundation should have
one or more of the following characteristics:

1. projects focusing on critically endangered and endangered nonhuman
primates living in their natural habitats;
2. primate projects being conducted in areas of high overall biodiversity
and under great threat (e.g., “threatened hotspots”, “megadiversity”
countries) - to ensure maximum multiplier effect for each project;
3. projects being carried out by nationals from the tropical countries to
increase local capacity for implementing biodiversity conservation;
4. projects that strengthen international networks of field-based primate
specialists and enhance their capacity to be successful conservationists;
and
5. projects that result in publication of information on endangered primate
species in a format that is useful both to experts and the general public.

Projects should contribute to at least one, and preferably more, of the
following themes:
1. enhancement of scientific understanding/knowledge of the target
species/ecosystem;
2. improved protection of a key species, habitat, or reserved area;
3. demonstration of economic benefit achieved through conservation of a
species and its habitat, as compared to loss thereof;
4. increased public awareness or educational impact resulting from the
project in question;
5. improved local capacity to carry out future conservation efforts through
training or practical experience obtained through project participation; and
6. modification of inappropriate policies or legislation that previously led
t species or habitat decline.

Grant Application Format
The foundation will accept grant applications only from qualified tax-exempt
organizations. All proposals for grant support should include verification
that the organization requesting the grant is at present an organization
exempt from taxation under the United States of America's Internal Revenue
Code Sections 501(c)(3) or 509(a). Copies of the determination letter from
the Internal Revenue Service must accompany the grant request. If you are
not based in the United States, please indicate the U.S.-based institution
that has tax-exempt status and will act as the sponsor of your project, with
full fiscal responsibility for the grant. A letter from the U.S.-based
tax-exempt organization indicating their willingness to serve in this way
should accompany the proposal. Failure to include such information will
result in return of the grant proposal.

The following format should be used for your grant application, which
should not exceed five (5) double-spaced typed pages of main text (not
including attachments):

1. Title of project. Include a descriptive title that includes the name(s)
of the target species and the geographic location of the project (e.g.,
“Conservation of the muriqui, Brachyteles arachnoides, in the state of Minas
Gerais, Brazil”).
2. Abstract of the project. Include an abstract of not more than one
paragraph summarizing the principal objectives of the project.
3. Project personnel and institutional affiliations. Provide information on
the principal investigator with curriculum vitae, plus mention all other
major collaborators, and their institutional affiliations. (Do not include
curricula for everyone, only the principal investigator).
4. Objectives of project. Describe the main objectives of the project, its
specific activities, how they will contribute to conservation of the target
species and ecosystems, and how these are consistent with the Foundation's
mission. This should be the main body of the application and should be
specific, while at the same time not exceeding five double-spaced pages.
Include a map of the project area and any other relevant supporting
information.
5. Time frame of the project. Describe the time frame of the project,
expected starting date and duration. Note that a progress report is
required six months after receipt of the grant, and a final report upon
termination.
6. Expected project outputs. Describe the specific outputs of the project,
e.g., expected scientific publications, popular articles, conservation
action plans, management plans, etc. Presumably each project will have one
or more outputs of this kind as one of its objectives. If this is not the
case, please explain why and what other impacts the project is likely to
have.
7. Collaborating institutions in the project country. Please describe the
collaborating institutions with which you will be working in the project
country, and include letters of support from them if at all possible. This
is especially important for applicants who are not nationals from the
country in which the work is to be conducted.
8. Professional references. Please list three references that the
Foundation can contact about your project should it choose to do so. The
list of references should include mailing addresses, phones, fax numbers,
and e-mail addresses if available.
9. Budget of the project. Please give as detailed a budget as you can for
the project, including support (if any) from other sources. Amounts should
be given in U.S. dollars, not in other currencies. Note also that the
Foundation does not pay overheads, only direct project expenses.

Please note that you will be responsible for providing the Foundation with
the following materials during and at the end of the project:
1. A progress report six months after receipt of the grant.
2. A final report upon termination of the project.
3. Full financial accounting of the project.
4. Five copies each of any scientific or popular publications, newspaper or
magazine articles, or reports, action plans, etc., resulting from the
project. Grant recipients are encouraged to publish at least some of their
findings in the newsletters and journal of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist
Group (i.e., Primate Conservation, Asian Primates, African Primates,
Neotropical Primates and Lemur News).

Please submit your application in duplicate. If you want to send a
preliminary version by fax or e-mail, please do so, but a hard copy will be
required for formal consideration of the project. Do not submit computer
disks of your project, but rather paper copies.

Please note that applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis,
but are considered for funding at semi-annual meetings of the Board of the
Foundation. Notification of awards will take place within one month after
each Board meeting date. All grant applications should be sent to:

Dr. William R. Konstant
Conservation International
1919 M Street NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
USA
E-mail: bkonstant@houstonzoo.org

Source: MARINET

I hope this is of your interest. Regards,

Jorge Brenner