*We Are *Prairie Biotic Research (PBR) is an all-volunteer, scientific public charity established in 2000 to foster basic biotic research in prairies and savannas. One way we do this is through a competitive Small Grants Program that funds grants up to $1000 to *individuals* for the study of any grassland taxon anywhere in the USA. We support both natural history and experimental science. We are especially eager to support independent researchers (those lacking institutional support), but anyone having a U.S. Social Security number may apply. *Since 2002, we’ve awarded 242 grants worth $232,076 to people in 36 states* to study insects, plants, mammals, reptiles, slime molds, mycorrhizal fungi, spiders, snails, amphibians, birds, fish, invasive species, effects of management, and the human dimensions of conservation. Many of these grants supported graduate student research. We believe in the importance of collecting voucher specimens that will be carefully curated as information-rich specimens and donated to a public institution; we are not categorically against collecting specimens, as some citizen science groups are. In 2017, we expect to fund at least 18 grants of up to $1000 each with the donations we have received, including some restricted by donors for work in IA or WI.
*To Apply for a Grant *Visit our website (prairiebioticresearch.org) to learn more, to find our proposal form, instructions, and a sample researcher agreement form that winners of this competition must sign. Check out the history and overview files in the Small Grants section of the website to see what sorts of proposals have won funding in the past. Several winning proposals from past years are available as models on our website. Review the reports submitted by researchers of past years. Those who won funding in 2016 are ineligible for this funding in 2017, but those who won funding longer ago are welcome to submit proposals to further that same work or to support a new project. Please submit your proposal electronically as a pdf file attached to an email. *We must receive your proposal via email by December 20, 2016*. *Become a Supporter *Please make a donation to support our work; you can now do so using Visa or Mastercard through PayPal on our website. We cannot give away money that we don’t have. Any amount is welcome. PBR is volunteer-run so our overhead is very low. You may specify that your entire tax-deductible donation be given to researchers through our Small Grants Program, or to expand our research endowment that produces income we give away annually through this program. Please help us to help others! *We Foster Curiosity!* *Andrew Williams, President*
