Colorado Mountain Club Foundation Fellowship Grant

The Colorado Mountain Club Foundation was established in 1973 by members of the Colorado Mountain Club and outdoor enthusiasts who were committed to seeing that the mission of the Club and other like-minded organizations would be carried-on in perpetuity so that future generations could access and responsibly enjoy the mountains and wild places of Colorado and beyond.
Today, the Foundation is overseen by volunteers who serve on a board of directors as well as on committees, and who share the commitment to ensuring Colorado’s mountains and wild places can be accessed and enjoyed safely and responsibly for years to come. The Foundation supports programs and organizations that provide education about mountains, including programs that teach individuals how to recreate responsibly and to honor such principles as ‘leave no trace.’
The Foundation also supports scholarships aimed at better understanding and preserving mountain ecosystems, including their unique flora, fauna and geography. The Foundation promotes access for all to Colorado’s wild places, while preserving the very nature of what makes places wild. With that, the Foundation supports stewardship programs such as trail building, erosion mitigation and land use education.
Fellowships
Since 1982 The Colorado Mountain Club Foundation has awarded fellowships for research consistent with the statement of purpose adopted by the founders of the Colorado Mountain Club in 1912:
"To unite the energy, interest and knowledge of the students, explorers, and lovers of the mountains of Colorado; to collect and disseminate information regarding the Rocky Mountains in behalf of science, literature, art and recreation; to stimulate public interest in the mountain area; to encourage the preservation of forests, flowers, fauna and natural scenery; and to render readily accessible the alpine attractions of this region."
The Foundation solicits applications from students enrolled in Colorado colleges and universities or students outside Colorado whose research is focused on the Rocky Mountain region.
The top outstanding applicants are awarded a named fellowship:
The Gehres Fellowship, in honor of Jim Gehres’s long service and support of the CMC, the CMCF, and the CMCF Fellowship and Grant Committee, as well as his establishment of the Gehres Fourteeners Fund (the Gehres fellowship supports research carried out in the high elevation of the Rocky Mountains); The Gerstle Fellowship, in honor of the late Dr. Kurt Gerstle, professor of engineering at the University of Colorado, a long-time member of CMC, and the founder of the Foundation’s Academic Fellowship program; Kindig Fellowship, in honor of the late Dr. Neal B. Kindig, a graduate of West Point and Stanford University and professor of electrical engineering at the University of Colorado, as well as an active member of The Colorado Mountain Club and The CMC Foundation; or The Ossinger Fellowship, in honor of Dr. Al Ossinger, a graduate of Stanford University, a long-time member of CMC and the Foundation, and retired chair of the Academic Fellowship Committee.

Eligibility

Students enrolled in Colorado colleges and universities or students outside Colorado whose research is focused on the Rocky Mountain region. Grants are made to individuals only, for research under the direction of a faculty member of an institution of higher learning. The faculty sponsor must submit a letter under separate cover in support of the student and the proposed research. Although fellowships are normally awarded to graduate students, undergraduates are also eligible as long as the research is carried out in the Rocky Mountain region and supports the CMC Statement of Purpose.The Foundation awards grants in disciplines such as biology, chemistry, environmental studies, forestry, geography, geology, history, and law.Previous one-time winners of CMCF fellowships or grants are welcome to apply; however, those who have received CMCF support two previous years or more are ineligible.