Renewable Natural Resources Foundation Grants Available to SETAC Members

Tamar Schlekat, SETAC North America Executive Director 

SETAC, in partnership with the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation (RNRF), is proud to announce the 2025 Grant Program recipient from the SETAC community and invites members to apply to the 2026 RNRF Grant Program, with a 15 May deadline for letters of inquiry.

2025 Grant Recipient Spotlight

In its inaugural year, the RNRF Grant Program selected a Michigan State University project titled “Planning a Collaborative Project for Lake Sturgeon on Michigan’s Inland Waterway System,” led by SETAC member Scott Colborne as lead investigator.

Colborne explains that Michigan’s inland waterways have relied heavily on stocking Lake Sturgeon with mixed results. He notes that while Black Lake now supports a stable and growing adult Sturgeon population, stocking in neighboring Mullett and Burt Lakes has produced more limited evidence of juvenile survival. The team plans to bring together state, Tribal, academic, NGO and community partners to design a collaborative acoustic telemetry project that addresses knowledge gaps related to post-release movement, habitat use and survival across this interconnected system of lakes and rivers. They plan to host facilitated in-person and virtual stakeholder workshops while conducting pilot range testing of acoustic receivers in the waterways to evaluate performance across depths, habitats and seasons. The team hopes to generate the technical and social foundations needed to launch a multi-phase adaptive management telemetry project for Lake Sturgeon and other fishes in northern Michigan.

As part of the award, RNRF will also sponsor the award recipients to attend the SETAC North America Annual Meeting to present an update from the project, and we look forward to learning of their progress at SETAC Montreal!

2026 Grant Program Call for Proposals

SETAC invites members to participate in the 2026 RNRF Grant Program, and the call is open until 15 May. Now entering its second year, the program supports projects that translate evidence-based research into real-world application—strengthening communities, advancing science and accelerating meaningful, on-the-ground impact aligned with RNRF’s mission.

As a member organization of RNRF, SETAC is excited to bring this exceptional funding opportunity to its members. Whether launching a multidisciplinary pilot project, responding to urgent environmental challenges, or scaling up collaborative efforts, this grant program supports projects that drive meaningful action.

Types of Grants

RNRF offers two types of grants to support collaborations from planning through implementation:

1. Planning and Small Grants: These grants provide up to $50,000 and are available to support potential collaborators to carry out the initial discussion and investigation to conceptualize a collaborative project and the methods needed to implement. Small grants support targeted projects that are limited in scope and budget.
2. Implementation and Collaboration Grants: These grants offer up to $200,000 for projects spanning up to three years. They are designed to support collaborative, multidisciplinary projects that apply current research to real-world scenarios. Examples include applying new research within a community, pilot studies for real-world applications, and evaluations to improve or replicate previous projects.

Eligibility and Requirements

Details about eligibility and requirements are listed in the RFP. The primary applicant must be a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in the United States. We are seeking projects that demonstrate multidisciplinary collaboration, bringing together expertise from different fields to address challenges in renewable resources.

The proposed project must align with the missions of RNRF and one or more RNRF member organizations. It must also align with one or more of the guiding principles and focus areas outlined by RNRF in the RFP. At least one project or partner lead must be a member of an RNRF member organization, such as SETAC, and must be the lead or co-lead of the project.

The RNRF 2026 Grant Program follows a two-step process. The first step is a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), due on 15 May. Based on information supplied in the LOI, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal. Please refer to the RFP for details.

To see how this funding supports real-world impact, we encourage you to explore the 2025 RNRF Grant Recipients, whose projects reflect the range of multidisciplinary collaboration and applied research the program is designed to advance. Reviewing recent awardees may help applicants understand the types of projects funded and provide inspiration and guidance.

This is a fantastic opportunity for organizations to contribute to the advancement of renewable natural resources and make a lasting impact. For more information, please visit the RNRF website.

Author contact: [email protected]