RFPs: Wildlife Fellowship Training Grant

Deadline Date: August 14, 2024

Donor Name: Morris Animal Foundation

Grant Size: $100,000 to $500,000     

The Morris Animal Foundation requests for proposals to bridge science and resources to advance the health of animals.

To achieve this aim, they fund hypothesis-driven, humane research projects with high scientific merit and the potential for significant impact. They are a nonprofit organization that is funded by public support from individuals, corporations, clubs and foundations, and earnings from their endowed funds. Their donors are interested in funding research that results in impactful animal health achievements and benefits both scientific and non-scientific stakeholders including veterinarians, wildlife researchers, and communities. Fellowship Training Grants are designed to assist new investigators in launching a successful research career by providing salary support in a quality mentoring environment.

Proposals should advance the health and overall welfare of wildlife. While conservation is a priority, any conservation focused proposals must be through an animal health lens. Animals in managed care settings can be a valuable proxy for wild counterparts, but all submitted proposals must have direct translational value to free living wildlife populations. This must be explained in the Animal Health Impact Statement of the proposal. 

This year, they have additional funding for applicants from historically marginalized groups through their Donor-Inspired Study program. These minority fellowships are being funded by Sally R. McIntosh, who has supported Morris Animal Foundation for nearly 14 years. By creating these fellowship positions, Sally hopes to make a tiny dent in diversifying the animal health research community.

Funding Information

• The maximum duration of a Fellowship Training Grant is 24 months, and the total budget cannot exceed $145,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must hold a veterinary degree (such as DVM) or a PhD at the time of the grant award. Awardees must devote at least 75% of their time to the research project. Clinical residents and those with clinical service requirements greater than 25% time are not eligible. 
• Applicants with a PhD must have earned the PhD within 4 years of the grant application date. Candidates who have held a PhD more than 4 years and other candidates in permanent salaried positions at the time of application are not eligible for a Morris Animal Foundation Fellowship. These researchers may wish to pursue a non-Fellowship Grant under the First Award mechanism. 
• Applicants applying for consideration for funds specifically available to historically marginalized groups should explain this in their required letter of intent. It is also useful for this to be addressed in the mentor’s letter, if appropriate. Such groups include, but are not limited to Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), Latinx, LGBTQ+, and intersectionalities. 
• All applicants must convince the scientific and animal welfare reviewers that they clearly understand the health problem, have sufficient expertise to conduct the study, are using a scientifically sound approach, and have given appropriate consideration to the overall environmental and animal welfare impact of their research. A maximum of one application as PI is permitted in response to this RFP.

For more information, visit Morris Animal Foundation.