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Bee Ready for the Next Apis Fund Competition

The Gund Institute Apis Fund supports research and conservation of vital bee pollinators.

The Apis Fund catalyzes projects that support wild and managed bee pollinators, which are essential for the world’s food supply – and Vermont agriculture – but experiencing steep declines from climate change, disease, pesticides, and habitat loss.

Proposals can address the ecology, economics, management or cultural importance of pollinators and pollination through research, conservation, training, collaboration or outreach.

Named after the scientific name for honeybees, the Apis Fund supports efforts by Vermont-based organizations in North America, Central America, and exchanges and collaborations between these regions.

About Apis Fund

Managed and wild pollinators are essential to natural ecosystems and to sustainable agriculture. Vermont is an emerging leader in pollinator research and conservation – its experts and citizens have provided important insights into the ecological, economic and cultural importance of bees, innovative management, conservation, and capacity building efforts. The Apis Fund supports this vibrant community working to understand and manage pollinators and their importance to local and regional communities. The fund awards small competitive grants to promising initiatives focused on wild or managed bees.

The fund was established with $500,000 anonymous gift to UVM’s Gund Institute for Environment, which has led internationally recognized research on bees and other pollinators, including the first map of U.S. bee declines, how bees improve crop yields, the impacts of climate change on bees, and the striking decline of Vermont bumblebees.

Mission and Scope

The Apis Fund’s mission is to advance knowledge necessary to sustain pollinators and the contributions they make to society. We do this by supporting research, conservation, training, collaboration, and outreach efforts that address the ecology, economics, management, and cultural importance of bees and pollination. We focus our support on organizations based in Vermont, and our scope includes North America, Central America, and exchanges and collaborations between these regions.

Funding and Deadlines

To be announced.

Eligibility and Requirements

Any non-profit entity based in Vermont, USA is eligible, including educational institutions (including UVM), research centers, and non-profit organizations. An individual may lead only one Apis Fund grant at a time.

Grants can support:

  • Costs of research, including materials, equipment, data, travel, or assistants
  • Fellowships for students or junior researchers
  • Costs of conservation interventions or field projects, including travel
  • Costs for workshops, including travel, food, housing and venue rental

Grants will not support:

  • Salary support for full-time employees
  • Perks for individuals
  • Overhead or indirect costs

Grantees are required to acknowledge the support from the Apis Fund in all reports, articles, and presentations about the work. The Gund Institute may invite grantees to present their work at UVM and to engage with students interested in the funded efforts.

Criteria and Review

Proposals will be scored on 4 criteria: relevance to Apis Fund mission and scope, strength and novelty of the overall project, potential for impact, and degree of leverage with other resources.

Successful proposals will describe the overall project or initiative and explain clearly the role that an Apis Fund grant would play in the success of the broader effort.

Proposals are reviewed by a committee of 3-5 experts in pollinator conservation, management, and research. Final award decisions will be made by the Director of the Gund Institute for Environment.

How to Apply

Proposals will be accepted through UVM’s InfoReady portal.

Required files to upload include:

  • Project proposal (see below)
  • Budget (use template in InfoReady)
  • Collaborators list (use template in InfoReady)
  • CV/resume for lead applicant (Principal Investigator)

Project proposal document should include the following sections (max 1000 words, excluding references):

  1. Abstract (max 200 of the 1000 total words)
  2. Introduction and problem statement
  3. Objectives of overall project and expected impacts
  4. Role of Apis Fund grant within the overall project
  5. Relevance to Apis Fund mission and scope
  6. Key people involved (max 5) and their qualifications
  7. References (optional; max 10)