Grants

Blue Ridge Bird Observatory (BRBO) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization funded primarily through grants and private donations. Work is conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and the U.S. Bird Banding Lab.

Grants

The autumn 2021 Big Bald Mountain Bird Migration Project is generously funded though a grant from the  Appalachian Trail Conservancy (North Carolina License Plate Grant Program) for the tenth consecutive year.

In 2021, BRBO continues to partner with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians Cherokee Natural Resources Fish and Wildlife Management program.  This contract supports the  MAPS projects at Cowee Mound and Kituah Mound, including education programming for local school students.

We are pleased to partner with the Highlands Biological Station to open our newest MAPS station in Highlands, NC.  Generous funding support for this bird monitoring effort comes from Highland Biological Foundation.

Financial support from generous private donations helps to provide opportunities to more than 350 students and teachers from area schools to learn about regional bird ecology at the Big Bald Mountain Bird Migration Project and will also help fund summer camp scholarships for Vacation Bird School, operated by SARR each July.

                    Student volunteers at                     Big Bald Hawkwatch

SARR appreciates the grants and foundation support over the past 10 years from the following organizations:

  • Highlands Biological Foundation
  • Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
  • The Appalachian Trail Conservancy
  • The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina
  • The Hughes-Cunningham Fund
  • The Tennessee Ornithological Society
  • Mainspring Conservation Trust
  • Balsam Mountain Trust
  • Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • The Charles and Betti Saunders Foundation
  • The Franklin Bird Club
  • Madison Rotary Club, Madison County, NC,