Four grant opportunities, one deadline

Four different grant opportunities are available right now with an application deadline of Nov. 30.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — If your club or chapter needs funds, this is the time to plan for it. Four different grant opportunities are available right now with an application deadline of Nov. 30. All four will be awarded at the 2015 Bassmaster Classic in February 2015.

Don’t miss these opportunities to fund useful projects. If you have questions about any of them, contact Gene Gilliland, B.A.S.S. conservation director, at ggilliland@bassmaster.com.

AERF-APMS/B.A.S.S. Conservation Aquatic Vegetation Management Award

This $1,500 award goes to a club that participated in a project during 2014 that has either helped control invasive aquatic plants or helped native vegetation thrive.

In February 2014, the Lake Oconee Bassmasters of Georgia won the award for their project to set up a water willow nursery facility and introduce the plants they grew into their namesake reservoir to help restore shallow water cover for bass and forage fish.

The project must be a multi-year project with an overarching long-term goal and short-term, measureable, objectives. The project must include a monitoring plan to show how objectives were met and how long-term success will be demonstrated.

The B.A.S.S. Nation Club must demonstrate that they have worked cooperatively with the state fisheries and/or wildlife resource agency, a municipality or project administrator (e.g., Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, etc.) and the project must be on public waters.

If youth workers such as a junior bass club, high school or college team members were involved, the project will have a competitive edge.

The project submission must include a brief narrative (no more than two pages, double spaced) of the project’s goals and objectives, methods used and if objectives were met. Also, include photographs depicting a timeline of before, during and after implementation.

The narrative should be emailed as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF file to Gene Gilliland, with photos as attached files (not embedded in the Word or PDF file). Photographs may be reduced in size for e-mailing but high resolution (600 dpi) images for publication purposes may be required later if your submission is selected to receive the award.

FishAmerica Foundation/B.A.S.S. Nation Conservation Fund

B.A.S.S. Nation clubs can apply for funding for activities, projects and programs related to fisheries and aquatic resource conservation and research by mailing this application to FAF/B.A.S.S. Nation RFP — Grant Applications, FishAmerica Foundation, 1001 N. Fairfax Street, Suite 501, Alexandria, VA 22314. Funding requests from $500 to $5,000 will be considered.

The fund will support grants for local efforts to accomplish fisheries management projects that include participation in research, as well as on-the-ground restoration of lake and river habitats, important to fish and aquatic ecosystems. The emphasis is on using grass-roots approaches to restore fisheries resources and habitat across America, including the Great Lakes region and Ontario.

A 2013 donation from Simms Fishing Products provided the seed money for this program. Those funds were awarded in February 2014 at the Bassmaster Classic Conservation Summit to the New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Nation for a project studying the movement of bass near a popular weigh-in location using radio telemetry.

In 2014, Nationwide Insurance made a donation to the account that will be the source of funds for the award(s) to be presented at the 2015 Classic.

“This partnership with FishAmerica Foundation provides B.A.S.S. with the chance to expand our reach in on-the-ground conservation opportunities,” said Gene Gilliland, B.A.S.S. Conservation Director. “And we really appreciate the donation from Nationwide that has allowed us to continue this grant program for a second year.”

Under the program, grants will be provided on a one-to-one matching ratio. Clubs must match the grant funds with an equivalent value in money, materials or in-kind services. Interim and final reports will be required of grant recipients to show B.A.S.S., FAF and donors that progress is being made and the funds are being used as planned.

Berkley Conservation Institute Awards

The Berkley Conservation Institute (BCI) awards $2,000 cash for the best Conservation Project, and $1,500 in Pure Fishing merchandise for the best Angler Recruitment/Retention Project completed during the 2014 calendar year.

To apply, email your submission as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) with photographs as attachment(s) to Gene Gilliland. The entire submission packet should not exceed 12MB in size. The submission should be no longer than two pages (double spaced, 12-point font) and include the following:

Scope of project: How significant is this project? Will it affect many people and/or communities? Will it have long or short-term benefits? Will it set an example that will be picked up by others? Projects with the most reach and longevity will be judged more significant.

Partners: Was this project a partnership with other key organizations or was it done by a few B.A.S.S. club members? Winners involve local communities and businesses, state natural resource agencies, local schools/universities, other fishing clubs and conservation organizations such as the FishAmerica Foundation, Friends of Reservoirs, etc. More partners allow projects to have more significance than those that are done in the short term with just a few people.

Creativity: Is this a new concept? Even boat ramp and streamside cleanups can be creative. Creativity gets extra credit for setting examples that can be picked up by others, particularly when publicized in B.A.S.S. Times and on Bassmaster.com. An entry should inspire others to pick up more challenging and creative projects of more significance.

Timing:The project will be judged based on what was done in 2014. However, some projects are multi-year projects and have significance beyond a single year. Therefore, if you submitted a project for 2013 and it has significant carryover/differences/additions, you can re-submit for 2014. Projects that demonstrate ongoing benefits rank higher than short-term, one-time efforts.

Images: Attach a few carefully selected photographs to the e-mail that are descriptive and tell your story. Photos showing members at work on the project are best. Before, during and after shots if appropriate. High resolution photos that can be used in B.A.S.S. Times or on Bassmaster.com are preferred.

Shimano/B.A.S.S. Youth Conservation Initiative Grant

This award, varying from $500 to several thousand dollars, will be awarded to projects that will make a difference in conserving our fishing resources and also involves members of Junior Bassmaster, high school or college fishing teams. One B.A.S.S. Nation chapter or club in each of the six divisions is eligible to win.

Complete instructions are here, and the application is here.

Note: The deadline for this grant application has been extended to Jan. 15, 2015.

For all four awards, contact Gene Gilliland before Nov. 30.