What is NatureTech.Solutions?

NatureTech.Solutions is two things:

1. A new program to make an annual prize ($3,000) to stimulate technological innovations that improve the management of natural and cultural resources in the insular Caribbean – specifically, small islands with less than 10,000 square kilometers in land area, and less than one million inhabitants;
2. This web site to provide resources that encourage the development of applications for the NatureTech.Solutions award. The URL for this site is the unfamiliar, but legitimate http://NatureTech.Solutions.

How much is the NatureTech Award?

For the first cycle, the award will be US$3,000 (except in Cuba where, because of US Treasury restrictions, we are not able to make a grant — at least for the time being).

How do I get a NatureTech.Solutions Award?

Following the Interim Guidelines on this web site, send an application to the Community Foundation of the US Virgin Islands (CFVI) which will then distribute all complete applications to be judged by the Advisory Committee of the non-profit  NatureTech.Solutions Fund. The winning applicant will be notified by the CFVI and arrangements made for the most convenient delivery of the Award Certificate and the financial award.

When is the Application Due?

The application for the NatureTech.Solutions award for 2017 is due by Close-of-Business Friday, September 1st, 2017.

Is this a one-time award?

No. This will be an annual award process. The seed funds for the Fund came from grants from Island Resources Foundation and Kincey and Bruce Potter.

Who are the members of the Advisory Committee?

The current committee consists of:

• Nick Drayton, the director of the Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR), former director of the National Parks Trust in the BVI, BA (UWI/Cave Hill) and MSc (UNC/Wilmington);
• Judith  Anne Towle, founding Vice President and CFO (since 1972) of the now-subsetted Island Resources Foundation; and
• Bruce Potter, former IRF president .

We are seeking more members of the NatureTech.Solutions Advisory Committee. If you would like to nominate a possible member or to volunteer yourself to serve, write to Bruce Potter at <NatureTech@irf.org>.

More questions?

Send your general questions or suggestions about NatureTech to NatureTech@irf.org. For specific information about this year’s application process, write Dee Brown, Executive Director, dbrown@cfvi.net  or by postal mail to Community Foundation of the [US] Virgin Islands (CFVI), Post Office Box 11790, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands 00801.