NYSWRC Scholarships and Grants

The New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (NYSWRC) offers its members financial awards to help support their work as licensed wildlife rehabilitators. These awards fall into two general categories:

(1) Scholarships to help defray the cost of attending our Annual Conference.

(2) Grants to help support the field work of wildlife rehabilitators.

NYSWRC SCHOLARSHIP INSTRUCTIONS

• Scholarship applicants must be a current member of NYSWRC in good standing and either be currently licensed as a NYS wildlife rehabilitator or working as a licensed assistant to a Class II licensed NYS wildlife rehabilitator. In general, applicants must be members for at least one year before applying. However, a newly licensed wildlife rehabilitator in the current year attending our conference for the first time may also apply for the Joanne Dreeben Memorial Scholarship.

• Applications must be submitted online at the NYSWRC website. In addition to general information about yourself and your rehabilitation experience you will be asked to provide your wildlife rehabilitation license number and a statement explaining how you anticipate that the conference will help you with your rehabilitation work.

• Applications for conference Scholarships are accepted from September 1 st through October 15 th of each year. Applications must be complete by Oct. 15 th so that awards may be announced soon afterwards. Therefore, you are encouraged to submit your application well in advance of the deadline so that any gaps or questions identified in an initial screening may be addressed in time for the final assessment at the deadline.

• Scholarship awards are $200. This is intended to cover the cost of your registration (which include one year’s membership dues), and any additional lab fees for our conference labs that you might register for. The remainder of the award may be used for any extra expenses you might incur attending the conference.

• Scholarship awards will be distributed at the end of the conference. Recipients must come to the registration table on Sunday so that their attendance can be confirmed, and their award check issued to them. You must attend all 3 days of the conference to be eligible to receive a scholarship. NYSWRC reserves the right to withhold disbursement of the award if the attendance requirement is not fulfilled.

• Preference is given to applicants who have not received an award in the previous two years.

• Scholarship winners will be required to write 1-2 paragraphs for our newsletter RELEASE describing the benefits of attending the conference for both themselves and the wildlife they care for. This will be due by the end of January following the conference.

Scholarships to Attend the Annual Conference

Any scholarships awarded are reimbursed at the end of the conference. Recipients must come to the registration table when they are leaving so that their attendance can be confirmed and the amount of their scholarship can be processed. 

The Joanne Dreeben Memorial Scholarship
Joanne Dreeben of Yonkers, NY was a long-time licensed wildlife rehabilitator and member of NYSWRC. She specialized in the care of small mammals, songbirds, and raptors. Over the years Joanne helped numerous new rehabilitators find their way and also provided emotional support and advice for more advanced rehabilitators based on her own wealth of experience. In addition, Joanne was very engaged in educating the public about wildlife rehabilitation in the hope of recruiting more licensed rehabbers into the fold. The Joanne Dreeben Memorial Scholarship is given to support and enhance the training and education of new wildlife rehabilitators.

The Connie Feissner Memorial Scholarship
Connie Feissner was a NYS licensed wildlife rehabber who worked from her home in Cortland, NY for many years. She specialized in squirrels, rabbits and opossums with particular attention paid to raising newborns until they could be released. She got involved with NYSWRC shortly after beginning her rehab career and attended seminars and Conferences religiously as she expanded her knowledge and skills – including becoming a licensed euthanasia technician. Her dedication even led her to serve on the NYSWRC Board as its Treasurer, to work for the local SPCA, and even to form such a close working relationship with the nearby Cornell University’s Wild Animal Clinic that they would occasionally call her for advice!

The Connie Feissner Scholarship is funded by generous donations from her husband, George, who honors her memory and love for wildlife rehabilitation work and the animals that she was always there to help.

Grants to Help Wildlife Rehabilitators with Their Field Work

The New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, (NYSWRC) offers its members financial awards to help support their work as licensed wildlife rehabilitators. Grants will be awarded to current (one year minimum) NYSWRC members who are independent NYS licensed wildlife rehabilitators working out of their homes. Any projects for which support is sought must be conducted within NY State and any facility or caging to be constructed with grant funds must be located on property that the applicant owns or holds title to.

These grants fall into four categories.

• Building or updating facilities. [typical awards up to $1,500.]

• Caging for housing wildlife being rehabilitated. [typical awards up to $1,500.]

• Equipment used solely for wildlife rehabilitation purposes – for example, freezers, refrigerators, scales, incubators, microscopes, or other applicable equipment. [typical awards up to $500.]

• Emergency provisions for wildlife during extraordinary circumstances. Examples of emergency provisions for wildlife might be procurement of mealworms for bats affected by the Covid crisis or fish for waterfowl during a severe winter freeze-over. [typical awards up to $500.]

NYSWRC GRANT APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

• Grant applicants must be a current member in good standing of NYSWRC and either be currently licensed as a NYS wildlife rehabilitator or working as a licensed assistant to a Class II licensed NYS wildlife rehabilitator.

• Applicants must be members of NYSWRC for at least one year before being eligible to apply for a grant.

• Applications must be submitted online at the NYSWRC website. (See below) In addition to general information about yourself and your rehabilitation experience, you will be asked to provide your wildlife rehabilitator’s license number and, if you are an assistant, the name and license number of the licensed rehabilitator you work with.

• Applications for NYSWRC Facilities, Caging and Equipment grants are accepted from June 15th through October 15th each year.

• Applications for grants requesting support for emergency provisions are accepted at any time during the year.

• In addition to the basic application information, applicants for a Facilities, Caging or Equipment grant must also submit the following:

  • A detailed description of the planned project or equipment purchase. If applicable, schematics of construction or renovation plans should be included.

    o An estimate of the total cost of the planned project or purchase and a detailed breakdown of how the requested funds will be used. If the total cost is more than the Grant funds requested from NYSWRC, the applicant must also explain how the remainder of the project will be funded.

    o An explanation of how the project or equipment will help you in your rehabilitation efforts.

• Funds are allocated on an annual basis and may be limited based on the number of requests received during the year. Awardees will be notified by January 1st of the following year, or as soon as possible in the case of emergency provisions requests.

• Please note that grant awards are made as reimbursable funds upon proof of appropriate expenditures.

• Grant recipients will be asked to submit a follow-up report during the project and another upon its completion, along with 2-3 paragraphs describing the benefit to them of receiving the award.

Any questions? Please contact us at scholarships@nyswrc.org.