The Cullman Grant

The generosity of the Cullman Foundation continues to allow Northern New York Audubon to distribute monies to fund projects occurring in the Adirondack, Champlain, or St. Lawrence region of Northern New York or be beneficial to bird species that occur in that region. Eligibility includes, but is not limited to, environmental organizations, teachers, graduate students, and research project managers.

 

Who Are Joseph and Joan Cullman? 

Joseph and Joan Cullman owned the Kildare Club just north of Tupper Lake and loved the Adirondacks with a respect bordering on reverence. The chairman of Phillip Morris, Inc. from 1957-1970, Joseph F. Cullman 3rd believed that a capitalistic, democratic society depends in many ways on its citizens’ dedication to philanthropy. An admirer of Teddy Roosevelt, Joseph Cullman took great pride in his work as a conservationist.

The range and magnitude of his generosity to conservation causes boggles the mind. He helped start the World Wildlife Fund and The Atlantic Salmon Federation. A hunter who went on an African safari nearly every year, he co-founded Conservation Force, an organization in Tanzania that has built 26 schools, 6 medical dispensaries and operates anti-poaching teams to protect elephants and other wildlife. He endowed the Joseph F. Cullman Library of Natural History at the Smithsonian as well as the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Professorship in Wildlife, Ecology and Biodiversity at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He contributed handsomely to The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of Art, The Jewish Museum, American Public Television, New York City Council on the Environment, The Committee to Protect Journalists, Women’s’ Sports Foundation, New York City Audubon Society, The Neurosciences Institute at Rockefeller University, the New York Restoration, The New 42nd Street — the list goes on and on.

2026 Northern New York Audubon Cullman Grant Program
Request for Proposals

The 2026 application window has closed. Please check back soon for 2027 application details. Please direct any questions to grants@nnya.org.

    1. Adirondack Interpretive Center - AIC Bird Feeding Station Enhancements ($700)

    2. Ausable River Association - Native Trees and Shrubs to Enhance Songbird Habitat on the Ausable River ($2,500)

    3. Jesse Rock/ Paul Smith’s College - An Investigation into the Vulnerability of Stream/Riparian Communities to Road-Salt Pollution Within the Adirondack Park ($2,416)

    4. Wildlife Conservation Society - Understanding Mechanisms of Avian Community Change around Residential Development ($1,250)

    5. Dr. Alyssa Gleichsner/ SUNY Plattsburgh - Feeling Blue: The Impact of Nest Parasites on Eastern Bluebird Fitness ($2,500)

    6. Adirondack Watershed Insitute - Understanding Mechanisms of Avian Community Change around Residential Development ($1,250)

    7. St. Lawrence Land Trust - Avian Surveys, Habitat Enhancement, and Improving Public Awareness of Birds at the Hart’s Falls Preserve in Canton, NY ($2,300)

    8. SUNY ESF Adirondack Ecological Center - Love Your Lake: Drivers of Change, Loons and Fish in Protected Watersheds ($2,500)

  • 1. Adirondack Land Trust -Adirondack Birding for All ($2380)

    2. Hamiton County Tourism- Adirondack Birding Festival - KEYNOTE SPEAKER FEE ($375)

    3. SUNY ESF AEC- Supporting the Next Generation of Loon Conservation Scientists and Stewards ($2500)

    4. Adirondack Watershed Institute- Wool and Water: The Bird Edition ($1250)

    5. SUNY ESF- Songbird Habitat Rehabilitation in Managed Northern Hardwood Forests ($2500)

    6. University of Maine- Estimating Golden-winged Warbler annual survival on Fort Drum, NY ($2500)

    7. Ausable River Association- Improving Streamside Plantings to Enhance Songbird Habitat ($1250)

  • 1. Hamilton County Department of Economic Development and Tourism - Adirondack Birding Festival Keynote Speaker ($400)

    2. SUNY Plattsburgh Center for the Earth and Environmental Science - Habitat Use by Avian Species Following Wildfire in a Disturbed Jack Pine Barrens ($2000)

    3. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry - Outfitting for the Outdoors: Engaging Youth in Bird Research and Conservation ($1513)

    4. Finch Research Network - Finch Food Assessment Survey ($2000)

    5. SUNY Brockport - Eastern Whip-poor-will Conservation Through Sustainable Forest Management ($2450)

    6. Adirondack Mountain Club - Free Birding Walks at the Cascade Welcome Center ($1128)

    7. University of Maine - Juvenile Habitat Selection and Survival in Sympatric Populations of Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) and Blue-winged Warbler (V. cyanoptera) at Fort Drum, NY ($2500)

    8. Adirondack Watershed Institute – Grassland Bird Conservation at Uihlein Farm ($1500)

    9. Paul Smith’s VIC - Great Adirondack Birding Celebration Keynote Lecture ($1500)

  • 1. SUNY Plattsburgh Center for the Earth and Environmental Science - The Role of Small Mitigation Wetlands in Supporting Migrating Waterfowl ($500)

    2. Hamilton County Department of Economic Development and Tourism - Adirondack Birding Festival keynote speaker fee ($400)

    3. Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation - Unveiling the Secret Lives of Nesting Loons ($2000)

    4. University of Maine - Blending Modern and Traditional Methods to Identify Critical Nesting and Postfledging Habitat for Hybridizing Vermivora Warblers ($2000)

    5. SUNY Plattsburgh Center for the Earth and Environmental Science - An Assessment of Eastern Whip-poor-will Foraging and Breeding Habitat in a Jack Pine Barrens in Northeastern New York ($2000)

    6. Adirondack Watershed Institute - Birds, Bogs, and Squirrels: Mammalian Predators in Peatland Environments ($2000)

    7. Adirondack Land Trust - Bioacoustic Monitoring to Inform Management of Private Conservation Lands ($2000)

    8. Ausable River Association - Restoring Riparian Areas to Enhance Bird Habitat on the Ausable River ($2000)

    9. SUNY Brockport - Eastern Whip-poor-will Nest Predation, Behavior, and Development Through Continuously Recording Cameras ($2000)

    10. Adirondack Mountain Club - Free Birding Walks at the Cascade Welcome Center ($380)

    11. Champlain Area Trails - Creating Community Through Birding ($2000)

    12. Paul Smith’s VIC - Audubon Lectures at 20th Annual Great Adirondack Birding Celebration ($1200)