At the end of 2019, we established the NASW Community Fund to help colleagues-in-need attend our ScienceWriters annual meetings and other professional development opportunities. Our Community Fund creates an additional way for NASW members to give to our community goals. By growing our funding base, we can further sustain the grant programs necessary to meet ongoing and new areas of encouragement. Little did we know that 2020 would bring new and additional challenges for many.
Throughout the course of that difficult year, more than 140 contributors donated $6,330 to the new Community Fund. With your help, we were able to fund a record 36 grant requests for support to attend the virtual ScienceWriters2020 conference including registration fees, funds to offset caregiving costs, and subsidies for equipment purchase.
Since then, NASW members and conference attendees have continued to support the Fund, with an additional $5,950 contributed in 2021. In 2022 thus far, the fund has received $3,345 from 70 contributors, enabling additional funding to support those in need as we return to in-person conferences and continue to support the needs of those participating virtually.
Thank you to our members, conference attendees, and supporters for nurturing a vibrant, diverse community of science writers.
Inspired? Consider making a gift to our NASW Community Fund to support future needs.
Thank you to these colleagues contributing since 2019
- Alan S Brown
- Angeline Ochieng
- Ann Finkbeiner
- Ann Gibbons
- Ann Parker
- Anthony Van Witsen*
- Anntoinette "Toni" Moore
- Ashley Braun
- Ben Young Landis*
- Carina Storrs
- Cassandra Willyard
- Catherine Dold*
- Chanapa Tantibanchachai
- Chelsea Wald*
- Cheryl Pellerin
- Cristine Russell*
- Dr. Chris Berrie
- Clay Farris Naff
- Cynthia Graber
- David Ehrenstein*
- Dan Ferber
- Dan Keller*
- Elizabeth Culotta
- Elizabeth Ladyzhets
- Ellen Kuwana
- Emily Caldwell
- Emily Sohn
- Emily Underwood
- Foster Medical Editorial, Inc.
- Francesco Fiondella
- Francisco Martinezcuello
- Fred Guterl
- From a slug
- Glennda Chui
- Greg Rienzi
- Intellectual Ventures
- Jacqueline Mitchell
- Janet D. Stemwedel
- Jeff MacGregor
- Jennifer Cox
- Jeremy Rumsey
- Jill U. Adams*
- JoAnn Greco
- Judith Randal
- Judy Cantrell
- Juliet M. Beverly*
- Kathryn Jepsen*
- Kathy Sawyer
- Keith Eric Grant
- Kendall Powell*
- Kurt Riesselmann
- Laura Helmuth*
- Laura Stephenson Carter
- Leila Belkora
- Lila Guterman*
- Lisa M.P. Munoz, SciComm*
- Lydia Denworth
- Lynne Lamberg*
- Madeline Bodin
- Mari N. Jensen
- Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole
- Matt Bille
- Mel Berkowitz
- Melissae Fellet
- Michael A. Fortune
- Michael and Jennifer Cox*
- Neil Savage
- Nicole Kilian
- Patricia Koning
- Patty Dineen*
- Richard Sima
- Robert Irion*
- Robin Mejia
- Ron Winslow
- Sarah Webb
- Sarah Zielinski
- SciCommDiversity
- Seth Mnookin*
- Shaile Bhattacharya
- Sharon Simpson
- Shraddha Chakradhar
- Siri Carpenter*
- Steve Sapienza
- Thomas Ulrich
- Tinsley Davis*
- Todd B. Bates/NH EnviroGuy blogger
- Whitman College
and 161 generous contributors who chose to remain anonymous.
Thank you contributors and honorees
- In honor of AJ Hostetler*
- In honor of Alexandra Witze
- In honor of A'ndrea Elyse Messer
- In honor of caregivers everywhere juggling caretaking and work during COVID
- In honor of Chanda Jog and Aloke Jain**
- In honor of Charli Mills
- In honor of Czerne Reid and Ashley Yeager for their leadership in supporting young science writers' growth and development
- In honor of Dan Fagin
- In honor of Dave Perlman**
- In honor of David Bricker
- In memory of David Bricker**
- In honor of Donald John Blacklock
- In honor of Earle Holland*
- In honor of Estrella Burgos
- In honor of James Spaulding, excellent teacher of science writers at UC Berkeley School of Journalism
- In the memory of Jeff Davis, English teacher extraordinaire
- In honor of Jennifer O'Brien*
- In honor of Nancy Davis
- In honor of NASW President Jill Adams
- In honor of the many wonderful NASW volunteers
- In honor of Peter Calamai
- In honor of Sharon Dunwoody
- In honor of Siri Carpenter
- In honor of Siri Carpenter's amazing leadership
- In honor of Sharon Begley**
- In honor of Terry Devitt
- In honor of Tinsley Davis
- In honor of Tinsley Davis, for general awesomeness
- In honor of the science writers and editors who introduced me to science writing
- Jennifer Cutraro in memory of David Bricker**
* Multiple contributions since 2019.
** Multiple contributions with this designation
NASW is a 501(c)(6) organization. As such, gifts are not tax-deductible. All gifts are designated in full for grant disbursement, with no fraction diverted to overhead. Gifts are not matched between specific donors and recipients; all gifts are aggregated within each fund and all grants are disbursed by NASW as issuer. The selection criteria, solicitation, applicant review, and award decisions for each grant are governed by the NASW committee(s) with responsibility for that fund (e.g. NASW Education Committee, NASW Diversity Committee). NASW committees are led by and entirely comprised of dues-paying NASW members in good standing. Committee members serve on a volunteer basis and are not compensated.
The objective of the Community Fund is to increase the overall fiscal capacity of NASW to offer professional development travel assistance, which would otherwise draw solely from the NASW general budget. Gifts to the Community Fund may be disbursed to any existing NASW travel program, including Undergraduate Travel Fellowships, Graduate Travel Fellowships, Professional Travel Fellowships, and Diversity Fellowships. Disbursements from the Community Fund will be made to the grant programs of the greatest need, as assigned by the NASW Board of Directors.
Other need-specific NASW funds may be created in the future. We welcome member input and committee volunteer service in developing these and other programmatic solutions to nurture our science writing profession.
Hero image by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash.
.png)
