American Ornithological Society (AOS) - Research Grants

Official program page for the American Ornithological Society (AOS) Kessel Fellowships, providing research funding for early-career ornithologists.

Add to watchlist Official homepage

Deadline15 May 2026; 2026-03-13: Announcement of awards; 2025-12-15: Self-nomination deadline; 1 May: Notification of application outcome; 2026-02-04: Optional grant preparation workshop; 2026-02-04: Optional virtual preparation workshop

Award amountHonorarium; Certificate; up to $4,000; Up to $5,000 USD; $1,500 honorarium; Framed certificate; $5,000 to ~$35,000; $500–$1,000 honorarium

Last checkedJun 24, 2026

Other source

American Ornithological Society (AOS) - Bridge/Completion Grants

Information and application guidelines for AOS bridge funding designed to support researchers who have lost previously awarded funding due to federal funding landscape changes in 2025 and 2026.

Official source Source page

Deadline

2026-05-15

Award amount

$5,000 to ~$35,000

Eligibility

Principal investigators (PI) employed by or affiliated with Institutions of Higher Education; Principal investigators (PI) employed by or affiliated with nonprofit, non-academic organizations (museums, research labs, NGOs, state/federal agencies); Must be a member of the American Ornithological Society at time of submission; Limit of one proposal per granting cycle per PI; Actively enrolled students may not serve as principal investigators

Requirements

Must document loss of previously awarded funding (e.g., letter/notice from funding agency); Must identify elements of lost funding that could be supported by AOS; Must provide a detailed budget and budget justification; Must include original Project Narrative and original Budget Justification; Must include a list of all currently funded projects and pending grant applications

Application materials

Statement of Lost Funding (max 1 page); Proposed Budget and Budget Justification (max 1 page); Original Project Narrative; Original Budget Justification; Current and Pending Funding list

How to apply

Submit proposal as a single PDF document in the specified order; Submit through the AOS Member Portal

Important dates

Submission deadline: 15 May 2026; Funding decisions anticipated: 2–4 weeks after deadline; Progress report due: 31 December in the year of receipt

Contact

Andrea Townsend (Committee Chair): aktownse@hamilton.edu

Recent changes on this page

Plain-English summaries of meaningful source-page updates.

No meaningful updates have been recorded yet.