Our Mission
The Marjot Foundation supports environmental research at the high school level. Each year we fund individuals or teams of high school students to conduct an environmental field or laboratory research project. Projects may focus on any area of environmental research, and must be designed by the student applicant. Students must write an independent proposal detailing their research goals to be carried out over the school year in order to apply for a Marjot Foundation grant.
Funding from the Marjot Foundation is very competitive. Preference for awards will be given to students from public high schools, although students from private schools may also apply and will be considered.
Since 1998, over one hundred high schools students from New England and New York have benefitted from awards from the Marjot Foundation. Marjot scholars have been awarded national sciences honors and have gone on to top colleges such as MIT, Brown, Bowdoin, and Amherst to further their scientific education.
“Thank you so much for supporting my research project. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to make a meaningful change in my community by studying our local ecosystem. Your encouragement of student-led experiments is truly amazing and I would not be able to do this work without your generous help. I look forward to keeping in touch about my project.”
Marjot Foundation Grants
The Marjot Foundation awards grants totaling $5000. The recipient(s) directly receive $1000, split into $500 at the beginning of project and $500 upon completion. $2500 is allotted to cover the costs of the research project. An additional $1000 is given to the mentor, and the school's science department receives $500. Four grants were awarded for the 2022-2023 school year. Marjot has been and will continue to be totally funded by private contributions from individuals and from corporations. We are a 501c3 entity based in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Application Requirements
The Marjot Foundation seeks applications for an April 20 or October 15 deadline. Students in grades 9-12 from schools in New England and New York are welcome to apply. Students must write grant proposals on environmentally related research they will carry out over the school year. Students who are accepted in April may also conduct work over the summer. The application also consists of a budget proposal and a letter of recommendation from a chosen mentor who may be a teacher or scientist.
In addition to the application, all students are expected to meet the following criteria:
Present their work in a state science fair or science meeting during the course of their project.
Submit a mid year report to the trustees of the Marjot Foundation summarizing their accomplishments to date.
Submit a final report to Marjot Foundation at the end of their research that covers all the steps of the scientific method.