INTRODUCTION
The John Z. Duling and Evelyn Duling Endowment Fund Grant Program was established and funded by a bequest from the estate of John Z. Duling and Evelyn Duling of Indiana, a strong advocate of research who in 1972 proposed the establishment of the ISA Research Trust. The goal of this program is to provide start-up or seed funding to support innovative research and technology transfer projects that have the potential of benefiting the everyday work of arborists. Duling Grants may be used to support exploratory work in the early stages of untested, but potentially transformative, research ideas and approaches. Examples may include application of new approaches to research questions, or application of new expertise involving novel disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspectives.
APPLICATION PROCESS
| August 1, 2026 | Letter of Intent (LOI) open |
| September 1, 2026 | Letter of Intent (LOI) submission due |
| September 15, 2026 | Notification of proposals advancing to full submissions |
| October 15, 2026 | Full submissions due |
| Mid-to-late December 2026 | Notification of selected grant recipients |
TREE Fund will accept LOIs only between August 1 and September 1, 2026. To apply, fill out an application on our online portal – by clicking here.
Letters of Intent (LOI) need to be completed before September 1, 2026. Your LOI must clearly identify the Principal Investigator and Institution who will be contracted for the work should your application be approved.
TREE Fund will evaluate whether your LOI concept meets all of our application criteria and is deemed to have a reasonable possibility of success given the year’s research priorities. If and only if your LOI is approved, TREE Fund will send you a notification and open the application to you beginning September 15, 2026. TREE Fund determinations on whether an LOI meets the application criteria are final and not negotiable. Full submission is due October 15, 2026.
An instructional video on our Grants is available on our YouTube Page.
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
Application Requirements can be found here.
Projects are expected to be completed within one to three years with a maximum grant award of $15,000. No project may receive more than one award from this program.
TREE Fund does not fund the following types of projects, and will not accept applications for such work:
- Grants to individuals;
- Projects that are primarily municipal tree surveys or assessments;
- Tree planting programs;
- Studies focused on traditional forestry and timber production, agroforestry, and ecology and conservation of forested and other natural areas,
- Product testing primarily for the benefit of the company that manufactures the product.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
It is TREE Fund’s explicit desire that research findings eventually be freely and widely available to any and all parties who may benefit from the author’s work. At the same time, TREE Fund recognizes the importance of academic and professional journal publications and will work with grant recipients to ensure that findings are disseminated in a manner that is cognizant of all parties’ schedules and needs. Recipients should inform TREE Fund when funded research findings are published or presented at conferences so that these accomplishments can be widely publicized. Recipients should also recognize the support provided by TREE Fund in their articles or presentations related to the funded project. Recipients are strongly encouraged to publish findings to relevant professional journals, i.e. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Arboricultural Journal, Trees: Structure and Function, Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, Plant Pathology, HortScience, Horticultural Science, Sustainable Development, Landscape and Urban Planning, Journal of Urban Health, Environment and Urbanization, Urban Ecosystems, etc.
Past John Z. Duling and Evelyn Duling Endowment Fund Awards
2025 was awarded to Brett Fredericksen Jr, PhD with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on project, “Environmental indicators and intervention treatment for Horned Oak Gall outbreaks on the common street tree Quercus palustris”
2024 was awarded to Caleb Wilson with University of Kentucky for project, “Ability of ant exclusion via basal trunk insecticide sprays and insecticidal baits to sustainably manage soft scale insect infestations in urban landscape trees”
2023 was awarded to Dr. Thomas Whitney with Davey Institute on project, “Efficacy of Aphidoletes aphidimyza predator releases to control aphid populations on linden street trees.”
2022 was awarded to Dr. Darrell Murray with Tarleton State University on project, “Urban Ecosystem Regeneration by Increasing Stand and Genetic Diversity.”
2021 was awarded to Dr. Jose Delpiano with University of the Andes in Brazil on project, “Computer Vision for Hazard Tree Identification and Assessment.” See Research Report Here