Grants

PSI grants are administered by a Grants Committee. Its current members are:

• Markus Varga, Austria, PSI Conservation Officer, Convener
• Deborah Austin, USA
• Sergio Lloreda, Colombia
• John MacDougal, USA
• John Vanderplank, UK

The Objectives of PSI grants

The grants are intended to further PSI’s stated mission, and in particular to

• support the conservation of Passiflora species, and
• help spread knowledge of the genus

What projects are eligible for funding

PSI will consider funding activities and equipment which further these objectives, such as:

• Expeditions
• Study trips
• Visits to herbaria
• Conference attendance
• Cultivation in country of origin
• Seed conservation and seed banks
• Investment in equipment
• Collaboration with local institutions

Members of the grants committee and PSI officers are not eligible for funding, nor are commercial activities such as collection for fruit produce.

How to apply

Applications will be considered in a two-stage process.

Stage 1: Pre-proposal

Well before the date when funding is required, a one-page pre-proposal should be submitted to the convener (conservation [at] passiflorasociety.org). The pre-proposal must include the following details of the activity/equipment for which funding is sought:

• its purpose
• expected dates
• approximate costs and amount of funding sought
• the name and relevant formal and informal qualifications of the leader and other persons involved
• a statement setting out how it will benefit the community and meet the objectives of PSI grants.

Each pre-proposal will be considered by the convener. If he deems it unsuitable, or no more funding is available at that time, he will notify the applicant as soon as possible. If he deems it suitable, the convener will ask the applicant to proceed to stage 2 and submit a full proposal.

Stage 2: Full proposal

Full proposals should be commensurate with the project (eg 4-5 pages for an expedition, 1-2 pages for conference attendance or herbarium visit), and must detail:

• The planned activity, e.g. travel routes, studied areas, targeted species, cooperation with local institutions, acquisition of equipment, etc.
• The expected costs and amount of funding sought
• The date funding is required, and the preferred currency (US$, EU€ or GB£)
• Other sources of funding
• How permits are to be acquired when necessary
• How conservation will be benefited
• Participation of local institutions
• Deliverables, e.g. the presence of species in a certain area, database of discovered species and locations, equipment used for conservation, presentation at a conference, and (mandatory) a report on the activity for the PSI journal
  • In the event that it proves impossible to substantively provide the expected deliverables, funding must be promptly returned to PSI, unless dispensation is granted
  • Any report, article or presentation based on a project supported by a PSI grant must include a suitably prominent acknowledgement of this support.

Priority will be given to proposals evidencing realistic conservation efforts in the study area, such as

• Letter from a local botanical garden expressing interest in receiving seeds or cuttings from any Passiflora collected, and promising to keep the seeds in optimum storage conditions or to plant the cuttings in a protected space
• Agreement with the owner or manager of a local Passiflora collection that they will germinate seeds collected and keep the resulting plants in cultivation

Expected budget and quantum of grants

The total amount available for grants will be announced by PSI at the beginning of each year. When it is used up, no further applications can be funded until the following year and the call for proposals will be closed. For 2024 the grants committee has an initial budget of US$2,000. It is hoped that it will be possible to increase this amount in years to come, but this will depend on the income and other commitments of PSI and the successfulness of grants given in prior years.

In general PSI grants will target small-scale projects where its funding can make a significant difference to their viability and will typically be in the range of US$500-1,000.

Additional donations

Details of proposals which PSI has recently agreed to fund in whole or part, along with proposals deemed worthy of funding but unable to be funded, will be published on this page so that, if appropriate, they can be topped up by additional donations from PSI members and the general public.

Notification of success and payment of grants

Applicants will be notified of the amount awarded, if any, as soon as practicable.

Payment of 75% of the amount awarded will normally be made to successful applicants not less than 2 weeks before the date funding is required, provided the applicant has submitted a satisfactory report on any previously funded project. This date can be adjusted in consultation with the Convener. The remaining 25% will normally be paid within 2 weeks of the receipt of a satisfactory report on this project.

The next meeting is planned for 6th July 2024

The following projects have recently been accepted by PSI. Those starred would welcome additional donations from PSI members and others:

[None at present]

If you are interested in any of the starred projects, and might be willing to make an additional donation, please contact the convener (conservation [at] passiflorasociety.org).

2023

$1,000 towards the cost of a one month field trip to Bolivia led by Yero Kuethe, with the goals of

• Rediscovery of lost Passiflora species, and their documentation, especially in Yero’s planned monograph on the genus
• Discovery of new species to be herbarized and catalogued for official publication
• Assessment of the conservation status of these species