AZADV Education Grants
Purpose
The AZADV annual Education Grant helps create a unique, innovative program and/or activity by providing multiple smaller grants, up to a full $6,000 grant.
Objective
To foster creative educational program design promoting education about, and conservation of, wildlife and wild places; to assist zoos and aquariums with development, implementation and dissemination of creative, interactive educational programs and/or activities at AZADV member institutions; to provide monetary support for the creation of new programs/activities; and to allow grant recipients to share educational programs/activities with other AZADV institutions and with the AZADV membership-at-large during the national AZADV conference.
Monetary Award
Grants are first come, first served. There is a maximum of $6,000 awarded each calendar year; the window is closed until the next cycle begins. Awards are no longer differentiated based on zoo size and there is not a set dollar amount for each grant, which means three or more smaller grants, or one or two larger grants, may be awarded in any given year.
Eligibility
Any organizational member of AZADV that has been a member in good standing for three or more years. Organizational affiliates are ineligible to apply for or receive AZADV educational grants.
Deadline
Rolling submission
Restrictions
The grant fund monies are restricted to the development and implementation of programs and/or activities. These programs and/or activities are to be docent/volunteer led as opposed to staff led. No purchase of carts/fixtures, unless they are integral to the grant program should be recompensed or paid for from the grant funds. Nor should any salaries be recompensed or paid for from the grant funds.
AZADV Educational Grant Committee
A special committee, to be called the AZADV Educational Grant Committee (consisting of four [4] members and a chairperson) will be appointed annually by the AZADV Executive Board. No more than one person from any Zoo/Aquarium shall serve on the committee at any time. No person shall serve on the committee for more than a four-year period. There must be at least one new member on the committee each year. The executive board of AZADV will encourage membership on the committee to represent a diversity of zoos/aquariums. No zoo/aquarium may receive the grant during the time a docent/volunteer at their Zoo/Aquarium is serving as a member of the committee. The committee will be charged with evaluating the proposals and determining to whom the grant will be awarded.
Evaluation
The AZADV Educational Grant Committee evaluates proposals and selects grant winners. The AZADV Educational Grant Committee members will review each grant proposal and complete an evaluation sheet for each proposal. All evaluations are to be completed by and returned to the committee chairperson who tabulates/rates the grant evaluations to determine which proposal or proposals will be funded. Grant proposals will be divided into small, medium, and large zoos/aquariums. (The criteria for this division will be determined by annual attendance, institution budget, acreage, and number of educational volunteers.)
The decision of the committee will be final and not appealable to the AZADV executive board. Grants will be awarded by May 30 of each calendar year. If the committee determines that no application is worthy of a grant, no grant will be awarded for that year and the funds will accrue to the restricted fund to be expended during the next grant period.
Grants Awarded
The grants will be awarded by a date designated by the AZADV board each calendar year. If the committee determines that no application is worthy of a grant, no grant will be awarded for that year and the funds will accrue to the restricted fund to be expended during the next grant period.
Mandatory Presentation
The AZADV docent/volunteer representing the organizational member awarded the grant will present a paper, workshop or poster session to share the newly developed educational program/activity with the conference attendees at the annual conference following their receipt of the grant. One docent/volunteer conference registration per paper presented will be reimbursed. All conference speaker rules apply to grant papers/presenters. Past materials in members-only area.
How to Apply
The organizational member submitting an education grant proposal will submit the form electronically through the "Members Area" of the AZADV website. If you have questions, please contact the Education Grant Committee Chair at azadveducationgrants@gmail.com.