Description of the organization:
The purpose of the California Horticultural Society is to advance the knowledge and appreciation of ornamental horticulture in the state. It offers a means for the sharing of information and the development of the skills of its members as gardeners and plantspeople. The society promotes the introduction of new and lesser known plants for garden use and gives recognition to achievements in horticulture. Its aim is to serve inquiring plant enthusiasts whether they are recently recruited beginners or experienced professionals.

Membership is open and costs $40 for individuals, $50 for families and $25 for students. Membership is not a criterion for the award of grants and scholarships.

Type of support that may be provided:
Educational, research and plant introduction projects that will enhance horticulture.

Application information:
The grant proposal should contain the following information:
1. Title of project
2. Description of project. Outline, purpose, objectives, hypotheses, etc. Highlight aspects of the work you believe are particularly important or creative. Discuss how the project will advance the knowledge and appreciation of horticulture in California.
3. Estimated project completion date.
4. Description of the intended final product. This may be a thesis or dissertation, journal article, completed field survey, audio-visual program or something similar.
5. Budget for the project. Summarize the intended use of funds received from the California Horticultural Society.
6. Academic status of the applicant (though this is not of paramount importance). State if you are an enrolled student, researcher or interested non-academic.
7. Personal qualifications of the grant applicant, letters of recommendation or resumes should be appended to the proposal.

Deadlines
Proposals should be received [not postmarked] by the Grants Committee by November 1, 2007.

Review and Notification:
Proposals are reviewed by the members of the committee during July.
Proposals are evaluated using several criteria, including the following:
Completeness of the proposal.
Technical quality of the proposed work. The description of the approach and methods should be well thought out, demonstrating an understanding of constraints, opportunities, and applications.
Consistency with Society goals.
Intended use of funds.
Likelihood of successful completion. Proposals should demonstrate that the project’s goals are achievable and that the applicant has the abilities and resources needed to perform the work.
Applicants will be notified by December 15, 2007.

Grant amounts:
Amounts may be limited by restrictions outlined above, by the amounts available for disbursement, and by competition among requests under review.
Last year’s disbursement was $1800.

Obligations of the recipients:
The Society asks the following of the grant recipients.
1 Acknowledgment of the Society’s support in any reports, publications or programs resulting from the work we help fund.
2 Brief progress reports at the discretion of the committee and one copy of the final report, thesis, dissertation or journal article.
3 Contributing an article to the Society’s journal Pacific Horticulture.
Send completed application to: Grants Committee: Care of: Diana D. Ross, Box 60, Belmont CA 94002 email: lambeaux@pacbell.net