2027 North American Bluebird Society Grants: Requests for Proposals (RFP)
NABS, Inc. is a non-profit education, conservation, and research organization.
Its mission is “to promote the recovery of bluebirds and other native
cavity nesting bird species of North America.” Accordingly, NABS
annually offers competitive grants to fund research, conservation, and education
projects that support this mission.
The NABS By-Laws mandate a Zeleny Fund, in which monies are set aside and used
only for the support of grants. The Society may award grants in three subject
areas: research, conservation, and education.
Requests for Proposals and guidance for preparing a grant application, can be
found at:
www.nabluebirdsociety.org/grants/
Available Grant Programs
Larry Zeleny Research Grants
Research Grants are competitive, and applications are invited through the annual
Request for Proposals, also published on the NABS website.
Research grant applications must be submitted by close of business October 31,
2026. Awardees will be notified by February 1, 2027.
NABS is interested in applied research grants, such as projects focused on
finding more effective ways of defeating nestbox predators or designing
nestboxes that better shield eggs and fledglings from higher nesting-season
temperatures.
Proposals addressing basic research questions are also appropriate. Examples
include the impacts of changing weather patterns on insect populations,
bluebird migration patterns, and breeding success.
The proposal must explain how the project addresses the NABS mission. Research
grants are scored by the NABS Grants Committee, which makes award
recommendations to the Board of Directors.
John Kujanik Education Grants
Education grants support the development of books, fact sheets, pamphlets,
DVDs or other video products, and other media that educate bluebirders and/or
the public about bluebirds, bluebirding, and other native cavity nesting
species.
Education grants may be submitted at any time. They are evaluated by the NABS
Education Committee, which recommends funding to the Board of Directors,
subject to available funds.
The proposal must explain how the project addresses the NABS mission. Education
grants are scored by the NABS Grants Committee, which gives award
recommendations to the Board of Directors.
Art Aylesworth Conservation Grants
Proposals that address broader-scale issues related to bluebird recovery may be
candidates for a NABS conservation grant.
For example, NABS recently participated in funding a three-year project to
reintroduce Western Bluebirds to an area of North America where they had been
extirpated. Another NABS conservation grant supported the development of
artificial nesting cavities for the western subspecies of the Purple Martin.
Conservation grants may be submitted at any time. They are evaluated by the
NABS Grants Committee, which recommends funding to the Board of Directors,
subject to available funds.
The proposal must explain how the project addresses the NABS mission.
Questions may be directed to:
Susan Lordi-Marker Challenge Grants
Susan Lordi-Marker, one of NABS’ longtime supporters, is generously offering a
special opportunity to conduct research and/or develop new conservation methods
for bluebirds.
Under this program, a NABS member or Affiliate may submit a proposal for a
research or conservation grant to help bluebirds, and Susan Lordi-Marker will
provide matching funds for the project.
To participate, the researcher submits a proposal using the same 10-page format
described below. By doing so, the applicant commits to being responsible for
half of the proposed budget. The other half would come from a Lordi-Marker
matching grant.
The number of Lordi-Marker grants depends on project budgets. A total of
$4,000 in matching funds is available for this grant season.
The proposal must directly show how it addresses the NABS mission. Research
grants are scored by the NABS Grants Committee, which gives award
recommendations to the Board of Directors.
Some Research Grant Ideas
NABS encourages research and data collection efforts that provide useful
information for NABS and for investigators working on the conservation of
bluebirds.
As environmental threats to bluebird survival continue to grow, there is an
increasing need to assemble and analyze data about bluebirds from
continent-wide avian monitoring programs.
Possible data sources include:
- Breeding Bird Survey
- eBird
- Climate Watch
- NestWatch
- Christmas Bird Count
These efforts could include assembling databases from these sources and
processing or formatting the data so it can be used to address NABS questions.
The article “Some Thoughts About the Environmental Stressors on Current
Bluebird Populations, and How NABS Might Focus its Resources on Programs to
Help” in Bluebird, Spring 2024, issue 24, number 2, discusses
this idea in more detail.
Individuals, including students with skills in data collection and database
management, are welcome to contact the NABS Grants Committee chair, Bernie
Daniel, with questions:
Preparation and Submission of NABS Grant Applications
Guidelines for all types of NABS grant programs are detailed below. Submission
deadlines depend on the type of grant being submitted.
Required Application Materials
- Cover letter or email
This item does not need to be included in the 10-page proposal limit. - Grant proposal, maximum 10 pages, including:
- Project Title
- Principal Investigator Information
Include name, phone, email, mailing address, and affiliation. Student applicants
should also include their faculty advisor or institute official. - Introduction
Provide background, supporting information, and justification for the proposal.
It is especially important to explain how the project or research addresses the
NABS mission. - Project Description
Describe the hypothesis or question(s) the project addresses. - Research Protocol
- The cavity nesting bird species of interest
- Methods, such as study design, quality assurance, power, and methods of analysis
- The study location(s)
- Permits, including assurance that required state or federal permits are in place
- Timeline, including start and finish dates for field or lab work, analysis, and anticipated final report dates
- Literature Cited
- Detailed budget, including the amount requested from NABS and other sources
- Letters of Support
- Two letters for student applications
- One letter for faculty applications
- Curriculum vitae for the principal investigator
Submission of Proposals
Research grant proposals must be submitted by close of business on
October 31 of the current year. Awards will be announced by
early February of the following year.
Education and conservation grants may be submitted at any time.
All grants should be submitted by email to:
All application items should ideally be combined into a single Adobe PDF
document. A single Microsoft Word document, either .doc or .docx, is also
acceptable. Microsoft Word can also save documents as PDFs.
The principal investigator’s last name should appear in a header at the top
right corner of each page, and each page should be numbered in the bottom
center.
of recommendation. Letters may be short and pithy.
Eligibility Notes
Projects to build, maintain, or upgrade a bluebird trail are not eligible for
NABS research grants unless they are established for research purposes.
For such trails, applicants must provide assurances that the trails will be
adopted by a trail monitor, taken down, or inactivated after the research
project has been completed.
Reporting Requirement
Grant recipients are expected to submit a report to NABS summarizing project
results within 90–120 days after completion of the project.
Additional Information
Additional details about the NABS mission and other facts about the Society are
available at:www.nabluebirdsociety.org