MOBCI Fiscal Year 2021 Grants :: Call for Proposals

MOBCI Fiscal Year 2021 Grants :: Call for Proposals

Proposals due September 28, 2019 • Work Period July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021

Click here for a printable version of the 2021 Call for Proposals and Sample Grant Proposal (Adobe PDF)

The Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative (MoBCI) serves as a conduit in providing financial support to private and public organizations or to individuals who have partnerships that carry out bird habitat conservation projects in Missouri.  Eligible activities include projects that protect, enhance or restore bird habitats on any lands in Missouri.  All projects should be habitat based and not strictly designed for monitoring; however, monitoring can be a component of the project (<10%); some component of effectiveness monitoring is recommended.  MoBCI grant funds cannot assist applicants with administrative overhead costs and cannot be used to purchase equipment.  Applicants can include their administrative overhead as match provided that it is directly related to the bird habitat improvement project or monitoring of that project being proposed through this current Call for Proposals.  Key:  MoBCI dollars are specifically directed to bird habitat improvement goals that meet the needs of birds that utilize native habitats in Missouri and must address the bird conservation initiatives below.

MoBCI grant projects must be relevant to the goals and objectives of one or more of the major national and international bird conservation initiatives, including the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plans applicable to Missouri, North American Waterbird Conservation Plan, U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan, and the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative.  If you do not have ready access to these plans you can find them at the following web addresses:

In addition, priority will be given to projects that address priority habitats which benefit priority bird species identified in any of the State Wildlife Action Plan’s Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs), see page 31. Names of individual COAs can be found in the chapters relating to the primary habitat type for that COA. The 2015 State Wildlife Action Plan can be found at https://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/downloads/SWAPopt.pdf. If your project occurs within a Priority Conservation Geography or other COA, please include the name of that geography within your proposal. COAs are named at the beginning of each habitat chapter in the State Wildlife Action Plan. For examples of funded proposals, Click here for or an example of a funded proposal to serve as a guide in preparation of FY2021 proposals. A map of Missouri’s Important Bird Areas can be found at http://mo.audubon.org/important-bird-areas-5.

Projects should benefit an array of species (e.g., grassland, forest, wetland, or glade birds). An acceptable project may target one or more high priority bird species, but should include benefits to other species, involve habitat and ecosystem level planning and management, and engage partners with shared goals and objectives.

Grant awards

The Missouri Department of Conservation (Grantor) will consider all selected projects during its FY20 budget process. There will be no total minimum or maximum amount of funding provided to MoBCI. Individual grant awards are available for a minimum award of $1,000 to a maximum award of $25,000 annually. MoBCI grants require a one-to-one match of [local, state, or federal] funds that DO NOT originate from the Missouri Department of Conservation (including Wildlife Diversity Funds, Habitat Challenge match, or any other Department sources). The match may include acquired realty, partner financial contributions, monitoring and evaluation costs, stewardship costs, volunteer time, etc. Projects which include a significant amount of overhead as match (i.e., indirect administrative expenses) are strongly discouraged.

Donated or acquired property or easements may be included as part of the project match for a maximum of 5 years as long as the following conditions are met:

  • A copy of the appraisal is included (not included in the page length limit) to document the valuation (must be provided from a non-recipient of the property or easement);
  • A table documenting each year and value that the property/easement has been used as match toward MoBCI funding, the cumulative value already used as match toward MoBCI funding, and the current year’s requested match provided by the property/easement to document the total use of the property/easement as match and relation to its total value (see example below).
  • The property/easement may not be used as match if the cumulative value of the match claimed toward MoBCI projects exceeds the value of the property/easement.
  • At least 50% of the MoBCI funding request should be from sources other than donated or acquired property or easements.

Example spend-down table for the Smith Easement valued at $62,500 used as match over 5 years.

Match Plan Partner Proposal I Proposal II Proposal III Proposal IV Proposal V Total $
Smith Easement $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $62,500
Totals $62,500 $50,000 $37,500 $25,000 $12,500 $0

Grantees will be required to submit a semi-annual progress report that includes both a financial and narrative summary and complete a cooperative agreement with the funding agency (i.e., Missouri Department of Conservation).

Application and Review Process

Grant applications must follow the format listed in the “General Requirements” section below.

The MoBCI Grant Subcommittee will review, score (based on the ranking criteria below), and provide funding recommendations to the MoBCI Steering Committee.  The MoBCI Steering Committee will make recommendations for final approval to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MoBCI grant administrator).

Ranking Criteria:

Proposals will be ranked by the MoBCI Grant Subcommittee based on the following:

  • Priority bird species addressed (15 points)
  • Priority habitats conserved (i.e., Priority Geography, Important Bird Areas, COA) (15 points)
  • Bird initiative plan goals and objectives addressed (15 points)
  • Partnerships developed (20 points)
  • Use of project as a model for other projects (10 points)
  • Capacity of the organization(s)/individual to accomplish the project (10 points)
  • Budget (15 points)
  • Bonus for first-time MoBCI proposal from organization – (5 points).

General Requirements:  failure to follow these requirements or to include any of these elements may result in your proposal being deemed disqualified.

  • Maximum length 6 pages for entire proposal, including maps, etc.
  • Grant Title
  • Purpose of Grant (Clearly define goals, objectives, or activities to be achieved with applicable time lines.)
  • Project Location (include map)
  • Is this the first time you have submitted a MoBCI Grant Proposal? Yes or No
  • Project Description including narrative and any pertinent tabular information
  • Project Calendar (work period is July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021)
  • Measurable Outcomes (Identify specific and measurable outcomes that will be used for tracking progress.)
  • Measurable Deliverables (Describe products or services that will be provided by the grantee. Note: Mandatory deliverables will include 3-5 good quality digital photographs of people conducting project actions and 1-2 photos clearly illustrating habitat improvements.)
  • Budget Table including Grant Request Amount (see example grant proposal), should include a detailed description of how the funding will be used, including a column for funds requested from MoBCI and funds provided as matching
  • Reporting and monitoring plan (Describe process for monitoring and reporting progress and identify a point-of-contact with e-mail address.)
  • Lead organization, point-of-contact, and their capacities (Provide names, titles, addresses, electronic addresses and phone numbers of parties who can answer questions relating to the agreement; if applicable, include a list of NGO Board members and officers.)
  • List of partners involved in the project and point-of-contact for those other partners (same as above for Lead Organization)
  • Fiscal Responsibility/Management (Describe fiscal management and identify grantee fiscal agent.)
  • Habitat types, birds, and other wildlife benefited

Deadlines

All grant proposals must be received by Linda Tossing at lindatossing@charter.net no later than 5:00 p.m. September 28, 2019Only electronic applications in pdf format will be accepted. Please put “MOBCI GRANT PROPOSAL (Your organization’s name)” in the subject line of your submission email. The MoBCI Grants Subcommittee will notify applicants of their status within three months of submission date and indicate reasons for rejection and/or suggestions for making the proposal more competitive.

Click here for or an example of a funded proposal to serve as a guide in preparation of FY2021 proposals

For Assistance Contact

Norman Murray
Missouri Department of Conservation
P.O. Box 180
Jefferson City, Missouri  65102
Phone: 573-522-4115 ext. 3353
E-mail: Norman.Murray@mdc.mo.gov

Allison Vaughn, Chair
Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative
1659 E. Elm Street
Jefferson City, MO  65101
Phone:  573-522-3260
E-mail:  allison.vaughn@dnr.mo.gov