Tom and Bruce Shinn Fund
The Shinn fund is named in honor of Tom and Bruce Shinn, native plant enthusiasts who developed and maintained a wildflower garden at their home near Asheville. They travelled throughout the Southeast searching for plants and kept careful records about propagation techniques. Tom Shinn’s detailed propagation records became the basis for a native plant propagation handbook, first published by the NCNPS in 1977.
About the fund
The Tom and Bruce Shinn Fund provides several grants each year to support undergraduate and graduate students that are researching North Carolina’s native plants and habitats. The fund is only open to students that are U.S. citizens and attending a North Carolina college or university. Grants are awarded up to $1000.
All applications must be received by March 1. Notification will be made to applicants by May 1st of each year.
Students must be working with an advisor and conducting basic or applied research in botanical or horticultural areas that fulfill the mission of NCNPS: “to promote the enjoyment and conservation of North Carolina’s native plants and their habitats through education, protection, cultivation, and advocacy.”
Shinn grant projects may include, but are not limited to:
• floristic inventories of local greenspaces or natural areas
• research to protect and preserve endangered or threatened species at risk within their native habitat
• horticultural research of native species not found in the nursery trade
• research on species population genetics, ecology, or range distribution
• restoration of native species or their habitats
• research and management of pest plant species
• community ecology of sensitive or threatened habitats
All applications must be received by March 1. Notification will be made to applicants by May 1st of each year.
Students must be working with an advisor and conducting basic or applied research in botanical or horticultural areas that fulfill the mission of NCNPS: “to promote the enjoyment and conservation of North Carolina’s native plants and their habitats through education, protection, cultivation, and advocacy.”
Shinn grant projects may include, but are not limited to:
• floristic inventories of local greenspaces or natural areas
• research to protect and preserve endangered or threatened species at risk within their native habitat
• horticultural research of native species not found in the nursery trade
• research on species population genetics, ecology, or range distribution
• restoration of native species or their habitats
• research and management of pest plant species
• community ecology of sensitive or threatened habitats
Application details
All applications must include the following:
• Project description
• Statement on how your work relates to the NCNPS mission
• Budget justification
• Letter of recommendation from your advisor
Your advisor should email the letter directly to GrantsScholarships@ncwildflower.org
More information and instructions for submitting can be found on the application form. Please be aware that you cannot save incomplete applications to finish later.
• Project description
• Statement on how your work relates to the NCNPS mission
• Budget justification
• Letter of recommendation from your advisor
Your advisor should email the letter directly to GrantsScholarships@ncwildflower.org
More information and instructions for submitting can be found on the application form. Please be aware that you cannot save incomplete applications to finish later.
Grant obligations
*Note obligations have changed starting in 2020, so please refer to the obligation statement in your award letter for your specific obligations.
Applicants whose proposals are funded agree to the following obligations as part of their acceptance of funds:
The grant recipient is encouraged to offer a field trip or present their work at a local chapter of NCNPS, if appropriate. Local Chapters are listed on the NCNPS website
Applicants whose proposals are funded agree to the following obligations as part of their acceptance of funds:
- Acknowledgement of the Tom and Bruce Shinn Fund of the North Carolina Native Plant Society, including the website https://www.ncwildflower.org, in publications or reports, as practicable.
- Submission of a short description of the project, written for a general audience, and photo(s) of the study site, study organism, and/or recipient, if possible, to be to be published in Native Plant News, the newsletter of the NCNPS, and on the NCNPS website.
- Submission of a grant report when the project is completed or one year after the grant award
The grant recipient is encouraged to offer a field trip or present their work at a local chapter of NCNPS, if appropriate. Local Chapters are listed on the NCNPS website
