Morris Animal Foundation Betty White Wildlife Rapid Response Fund

Morris Animal Foundation established the Betty White Wildlife Rapid Response Fund in March 2010 to give wildlife researchers timely monetary aid to respond to unexpected events—such as natural disasters and emerging diseases—that result in the immediate need for animal health research. These grants, in amounts between $5,000 and $20,000 (exceptional projects will be considered up to $50,000), enable wildlife researchers and veterinarians worldwide to respond quickly to disease outbreaks and other events that result in wildlife health issues.

Submitting Proposals
Unlike traditional Morris Animal Foundation research grants, there is no deadline for submission—a grant application can be submitted at any time during the year. Lengthy, detailed proposals are not required. The proposal should include background information on the crisis and describe the need for urgent funds and the expected benefits.

See specific Betty White Wildlife Rapid Response Fund Application and Proposal Guidelines at click here.

Proposal Review Process
Proposals will be reviewed by the Foundation’s Wildlife Scientific Advisory Board (WSAB), and applicants will be notified of funding decisions.

Grant Criteria
Grants will be awarded based on health research and conservation relevance in alignment with the Foundation's mission, immediacy of need and likelihood of applicable results. All proposals must adhere to existing Foundation policies, including the Health Study Policy for Animals Involved in Research click here. Additional evaluation criteria include the following:

• The proposal must be consistent with Morris Animal Foundation’s mission to advance animal health and welfare
• The study must be scientifically meritorious, hypothesis-driven research that is highly relevant to wildlife health
• There must be strong evidence that the event is unusual, is associated with significant morbidity/mortality and demands immediate response (i.e., an unexpected emergency that cannot be addressed during the regular grant process)
• The study must have high likelihood of providing new and immediately applicable information to address a wildlife health crisis (i.e., projects that propose sampling,  surveying, or monitoring without immediate applicability to a wildlife health crisis will not likely be competitive)
• The researchers, organizations and facilities must be experts in the research field and show a good probability of success
• The project cannot be a rescue effort