Award Grants & Scholarships

Bat Conservation International (BCI) operates its Granting Programs in line with the ten (10) critical conservation strategies listed in the organization’s Strategic Plan. These strategies highlight the need to accelerate scientific research into priority issues, catalyze action to prevent the loss of species or critical habitat, develop innovative solutions to address serious threats, create new mechanisms to engage stakeholders at all levels and ensure sustainability, perfect emerging technologies for use in protecting bats, and support the work of promising students and young conservationists as they become the next generation of bat champions around the world.

Since its founding in 1982, BCI has supported hundreds of university students and aspiring conservationists in dozens of countries through its Granting Programs, traditionally called Student Research Scholarships and Global Grassroots Grants. If you are interested in applying for funding from BCI’s Granting Programs, please read the details below to determine if one of our open Requests for Proposals (RFPs) fits your project and to confirm your eligibility.

BCI is an equal opportunity organization and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBT applicants.

For general questions about BCI’s granting programs, email us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Available RFPs

Bat Conservation International
Granting Programs Request for Proposals (RFP)
October 2018

“Student Research Scholarships for Global Bat Conservation Priorities”

Bat Conservation International requests proposals through BCI’s online application system from exceptionally talented student researchers interested in seeking financial support for their bat conservation research projects.

The RFP is only open to students who are registered graduate students (Ph.D. or Masters) and in good standing with a recognized academic institution.. We anticipate granting 5-10 awards total, up to the amount of $3,000. These awards are not intended to cover the full cost of a project and BCI hopes these funds provide opportunities for matching grants from other funding sources. We are seeking proposals for research in the following categories:

Category #1: The project contributes to the understanding of the effects of human-caused environmental changes, such as land use and climate change, as threats to global bat biodiversity, including projects focusing on habitat destruction or degradation, wind energy development, pollution, impacts from drought or extreme weather, invasive species, etc.

Category #2: The project contributes to the understanding of bat/human conflicts, such as persecution, bush-meat hunting, disturbance, bats and disease, etc.

Category #3: The project will answer ecological or behavioral questions essential to the conservation of one or more bat species currently listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, or Data Deficient by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (http://www.iucnredlist.org/) or officially recognized on a national list of species of concern.

From the awardees, we will recognize outstanding students for the following special awards:

• Women in Conservation Science Honor –an honor to an outstanding woman student from a developing country (low-income and lower to middle income countries as defined by the World Bank; http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-groups#). This recognition comes with an additional $500 in support of the student’s professional development.

• Merlin D. Tuttle Bat Conservation Honor – an annual award to a student whose research addresses an important conservation issue. This recognition comes with an additional $500 in support of their project.
• Verne & Marion Read Bat Conservation Honor – an annual award to a student who inspires education and community action to protect bats around the world and address critical conservation needs. This recognition comes with an additional $500 in support of their project. 

The application system will accept new registrations and proposal submissions on October 22, 2018 and the system will close to applicants on November 19, 2018 at 11:59pm (Central Standard Time GMT-6).

Please see the FAQ sheet at www.batcon.org/rfpfaq which provides answers and guidance to help with your proposal and application. For further assistance, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The online application can be found at www.batcon.org/2018rfp.

2017 Student Research Scholarship for Global Bat Conservation Priorities Grantees

Recipient: Paula Iturralde-Polit
Project Title: The effect of climate change on insectivorous bats of Neotropical montane forests
Project Location: Costa Rica
Special Recognition: Women in Conservation Science Honor

Recipient: Babita Gurung
Project Title: Acoustics survey & diet analysis of bats involving citizen scientists at Manaslu Conservation Area Nepal
Project Location: Nepal
Special Recognition: Verne & Marion Read Family Honor

Recipient: Fernando Javier Montiel Reyes
Project Title: Insect suppression service by insectivorous bats on walnut crops of Chihuahua, Mexico
Project Location: Mexico
Special Recognition: Merlin Tuttle Bat Conservation Honor

Recipient: James Kemp
Project Title: Bats as agents of pest control on sugarcane farms in Malawi
Project Location: Malawi

Recipient: Varsha Rai
Project Title: Dialogues with local communities on ecosystem services by bats through direct evidences in Sailung, Nepal
Project Location: Nepal 

Recipient: Tijo K. Joy
Project Title: Effect of Anthropogenic Threats and Land Use-Change on Bat Diversity, Changing Behavior and Conservation Status. 
Project Location: India

Recipient: Patrick Jules Atagana
Project Title: Bat Community Response to Forest Loss and Habitat Conversion in Southern Cameroon
Project Location: Cameroon

Recipient: Helena Raposeira
Project Title: Effects of extreme wildfires and drought events on bats' Mediterranean ecosystems under climate change
Project Location: Portugal

Recipient: Evie Morris
Project Title: Investigating how agricultural and urban expansion affects the diet, microbiota and conservation of desert bats
Project Location: Israel