Assistance Listing 15.655
Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Department of the Interior
The verdict for a small nonprofit
Worth applying, even as a first-time applicant. 38% of awards go to organizations new to this program, and nonprofits win 50% of them.
Based on 58 new awards in FY2023–25. Organizations under $1M in revenue won 0% of the awards that went to nonprofits. The median award is $63,917. Expect about 61 days between posting and deadline.
- First-time winners
- 38%
- of new awards, last 3 FYs
- Nonprofit share
- 50%
- 33% higher ed · 4% gov't
- Under-$1M orgs
- 0%
- of nonprofit awards
- Median award
- $64K
- $34K – $78K middle half
- New awards, FY2025
- 11
- $1.3M committed to them
- Usually posts
- Dec
- irregular · 61-day window
Open right now under this program
Nothing open · from Grants.gov, checked every 10 minutes
Who won in FY2025
Largest recipients by dollars. From USAspending.
| Recipient | Type | State | Awards | Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, INC. | Nonprofit | NJ | 6 | $379,660 |
| University of Maine System | Higher ed | ME | 4 | $767,210 |
| American Bird Conservancy | Nonprofit | VA | 4 | $720,000 |
| Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory | Nonprofit | CO | 4 | $216,196 |
| Birds Canada | Nonprofit | 4 | $161,578 | |
| Biodiversity Research Institute | Nonprofit | ME | 3 | $863,346 |
| University of Georgia Research Foundation, INC. | Nonprofit | GA | 3 | $467,910 |
| University of Connecticut | Higher ed | CT | 3 | $433,321 |
| New Mexico State University | Higher ed | NM | 3 | $315,582 |
| Oregon State University | Government | OR | 3 | $228,531 |
New awards by fiscal year
Awards first made in each fiscal year; dollars are the total committed to that year's new awards over their life.
| FY | New awards | Committed | Median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | $3.2M | $57K | $28K – $140K |
| 2022 | 9 | $2.0M | $150K | $89K – $283K |
| 2023 | 21 | $2.7M | $50K | $25K – $90K |
| 2024 | 26 | $4.1M | $100K | $34K – $149K |
| 2025 | 11 | $1.3M | $64K | $34K – $78K |
Past rounds
Every announcement under this listing that Grants.gov still lists. Use it to plan next year.
| Posted | Closed | Window | Announcement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-12-14 | 2023-02-13 | 61 d | F23AS00117 · F23AS00117 Webless Migratory Game Bird Program 2023 |
| 2021-01-08 | 2021-03-10 | 61 d | F21AS00207 · Webless Migratory Gamebird Program Notice of Funding Opportunity - Fiscal Year 2021 |
| 2019-10-22 | 2019-10-28 | 6 d | F20AS00023 · Pacific Brant mid-winter ground survey in Mexico |
| 2019-09-20 | 2019-09-30 | 10 d | F19AS00403 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2019-09-04 | 2019-09-09 | 5 d | F19AS00368 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2019-08-26 | 2019-09-03 | 8 d | F19AS00352 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2019-08-05 | 2019-08-10 | 5 d | F19AS00329 · Outreach and Communication for Migratory Bird Conservation in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska |
| 2019-06-19 | 2019-06-26 | 7 d | F19AS00250 · Migratory Birds Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2019-06-06 | 2019-06-13 | 7 d | F19AS00234 · Tri-colored Blackbird Movements and Connectedness in the Kern River Valley, California |
| 2019-04-18 | 2019-04-26 | 8 d | F19AS00190 · Assessing abundance and migratory connectivity of boreal birds |
| 2019-03-21 | 2019-04-22 | 32 d | F19AS00155 · Webless Migratory Game Bird Program Request for Proposals 2019 |
| 2019-02-22 | 2019-03-01 | 7 d | F19AS00113 · Monitoring of the Clear Lake Aquifer for impacts from agricultural irrigation development and technician assistance |
| 2019-02-15 | 2019-02-22 | 7 d | F19AS00109 · Development of an Integrated Population Model for Baird's Sparrow |
| 2019-02-05 | 2019-02-12 | 7 d | F19AS00089 · Addressing factors limiting range production in the sagebrush ecosystems around Red Rock Lakes NWR |
| 2019-01-30 | 2019-02-11 | 12 d | F19AS00080 · FWS NFWF URBAN PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM 2019 |
| 2019-01-30 | 2019-02-13 | 14 d | F19AS00082 · Population Trends and Reproductive Success of Piping Plovers and other Beach Nesting Birds at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (2019) |
| 2018-12-03 | 2018-12-07 | 4 d | F19AS00059 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2018-11-20 | 2018-11-27 | 7 d | F19AS00048 · Characterizing pasture-scale habitat quality for priority grassland songbirds |
| 2018-10-15 | 2018-10-22 | 7 d | F19AS00013 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2018-09-20 | — | — | F18AS00371 · Operational Support for the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture |
| 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-14 | 7 d | F18AS00341 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2018-09-04 | 2018-09-10 | 6 d | F18AS00333 · Southwest Region Migratory Bird Program |
| 2018-08-31 | 2018-09-07 | 7 d | F18AS00331 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2018-08-22 | 2018-08-31 | 9 d | F18AS00320 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2018-07-25 | 2018-08-05 | 11 d | F18AS00267 · Migratory Bird Monitoring Assessment and Conservation |
| 2018-06-22 | 2018-06-29 | 7 d | F18AS00189 · Assessment of population status and habitat requirements of Pinyon Jays in Utah |
| 2018-05-30 | 2018-06-06 | 7 d | F18AS00155 · EB Forsythe NWR; Piping Plover Population and Reproduction Trends |
| 2018-03-27 | 2018-05-26 | 60 d | F18AS00088 · Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) Administration Assistance |
| 2017-12-01 | 2017-12-08 | 7 d | F18AS00047 · FWS-NWFW Urban Partnership Program 2018 |
| 2017-09-19 | — | — | F17AS00424 · FWS-NFWF Urban Refuge Partnership Program 2017-2020 |
| 2017-09-11 | 2017-09-15 | 4 d | F17AS00453 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2017-08-11 | 2017-08-17 | 6 d | F17AS00390 · Migratory Bird Monitoring Assessment and Conservation |
| 2017-08-01 | 2017-08-07 | 6 d | F17AS00356 · Migratory Bird Monitoring Assessment and Conservation |
| 2017-07-31 | 2017-08-04 | 4 d | F17AS00353 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2017-07-21 | 2017-07-27 | 6 d | F17AS00328 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2017-06-06 | 2017-06-12 | 6 d | F17AS00238 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2017-04-20 | 2017-04-27 | 7 d | F17AS00202 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2017-03-24 | 2017-03-31 | 7 d | F17AS00071 · Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation |
| 2017-03-03 | — | — | F17AS00143 · Biological Monitoring and Management of Federally Threatened and State Endangered Beach Nesting Birds on E.B. Forsythe NWR |
| 2017-02-24 | 2017-03-03 | 7 d | F17AS00129 · Migratory Bird Monitoring Assessment and Conservation |
Common questions
How hard is it to win a grant under 15.655?
Worth applying, even as a first-time applicant. 38% of awards go to organizations new to this program, and nonprofits win 50% of them. Based on 58 new awards in FY2023–25. Organizations under $1M in revenue won 0% of the awards that went to nonprofits. The median award is $63,917. Expect about 61 days between posting and deadline.
How much does Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation award?
In FY2025 the median new award was $64K; the middle half ran from $34K to $78K. 11 new awards were made, with $1.3M committed to them.
When does 15.655 usually post?
Over the last several years, new rounds most often posted in Dec with about 61 days to apply. The most recent round posted Dec 14, 2022.
Who runs this program?
Department of the Interior (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Assistance Listing 15.655 on SAM.gov describes the authorizing statute and standard terms.
Sources: USAspending FY2021–25 award archive (2026-10-06); Grants.gov Search2 (fetched 2026-10-28); IRS EO BMF (fetched 2026-10-28). Award counts are new awards by fiscal year of first action. Shares are computed from award counts, not dollars; the under-$1M share covers the 79% of nonprofit awards that matched an IRS revenue record. Recipient type comes from the award record's business-type codes. Always confirm details in the official announcement.