Jack Kimmel International Grant Program

The Jack Kimmel International Grant Program is administered by the Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund, with participation from the Canadian TREE Fund in the evaluation process. The program honors the late Jack Kimmel, former Director of Parks for the City of Toronto, who contributed 46 years of leadership to the International Society of Arboriculture and its Ontario chapter. The program provides funding to arboriculture and urban forestry researchers around the world and is specifically available to researchers whose work is primarily outside of the United States. The program is intended to support research of value to the arboriculture community. Projects supported through the Jack Kimmel International Grant Program are expected to be completed within one to two years. Individual grant awards are limited to a maximum of 10000 dollars, with actual award amounts varying according to the adjudged value of the proposed project relative to the needs of the arboriculture community. No project may receive more than one award from this program. The source does not state a minimum award amount, total program funding amount, required cost share, or matching contribution. Research proposals may come from a wide range of academic and technical disciplines and may use qualitative or quantitative approaches. The program does not fund grants to individuals, projects that are primarily municipal tree surveys or assessments, tree planting programs, studies focused on traditional forestry and timber production, agroforestry, or the ecology and conservation of forested and other natural areas. It also excludes product testing conducted primarily for the benefit of the company manufacturing the product. Letters of inquiry that do not address topics related to the applicable focus area are rejected from further consideration. The provided source does not further identify the focus area, so applicants must consult the linked application requirements for additional requirements that are not reproduced in the supplied material. The application process begins with a mandatory Letter of Intent. The 2026 Letter of Intent window opens August 1, 2026 and closes September 1, 2026. Applicants submit through TREE Funds online application portal. The Letter of Intent must clearly identify the Principal Investigator and the Institution that will be contracted for the work if the application is approved. TREE Fund evaluates whether the Letter of Intent concept satisfies its application criteria and has a reasonable possibility of success in light of the years research priorities. Decisions about whether a Letter of Intent satisfies the application criteria are final and not negotiable. Applicants whose Letters of Intent are approved are notified and given access to the full application beginning September 15, 2026. Only applicants with approved Letters of Intent may advance to this stage. Full submissions are due October 15, 2026. Recommendations for awards are presented by the Research Committee to the TREE Fund Board of Trustees for approval in December 2026, with selected recipients expected to be notified in mid to late December 2026. Grant recipients are notified in writing within one month of Trustee approval. The source provides specific dates for the 2026 cycle but does not explicitly state that the program recurs annually or provide a recurrence rule. Award notification includes a Grant Agreement containing the payment and reporting schedule. The agreement must be completed within one month of notification and returned to TREE Fund with all required supporting documentation. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the sample Grant Agreement with their employers financial or grant management offices before applying so that the agreement can be signed promptly if an award is made. TREE Fund indicates that potential difficulties with agreement terms identified during the application process may be considered and negotiated more favorably than issues first raised after the award process. TREE Fund seeks to have funded research findings made freely and widely available to parties that may benefit from the work while recognizing the importance of academic and professional journal publication. Grant recipients should notify TREE Fund when findings are published or presented at conferences and should acknowledge TREE Fund support in articles and presentations related to the funded project. Recipients are strongly encouraged to publish findings in relevant professional journals. The supplied source does not provide a named program contact, email address, or telephone number. It provides a general contact link, an online application portal, application requirements, instructional grant video resources, and grant recipient resources.

Ensure the proposed research directly addresses the applicable focus area because off topic Letters of Intent are rejected. Frame the concept to demonstrate a reasonable possibility of success in light of TREE Funds research priorities. Clearly identify the Principal Investigator and contracting Institution in the Letter of Intent. Review the sample Grant Agreement with the employers financial or grant management office before applying so potential agreement issues can be identified during the application process.