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As an independent research unit of the Smithsonian Institution, SERC receives it's funding from both federal and private sources. While federal appropriations provide the foundation for SERC's endeavors—supporting many of our core functions such as salaries for senior-level employees and facilities maintenance—we rely heavily on grants and donations to sustain our activities.
It is the direct support from non-federal sources that has enabled SERC to grow from an idea borne of a gift of land just 40 years ago to a leading research and education center for environmental studies around the world with more than 1,200 articles in peer-reviewed science journals.
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SERC has a 40-year history of successfully competing with universities and other scientific organizations for research and education grants and contracts.
Donations and gifts from private individuals, foundations, and corporate partners have enabled SERC to undertake new ventures and broaden our existing programs in ways that would not otherwise have been possible. Some of the endeavors that have been made possible with private support include:
- The new Green Village dormitory: A two-story, 18-bed dormitory made possible by a series of corporate donors will soon open its doors to interns and visitors.
- Reed Education Center: The education building is a 4,600 square foot facility that includes offices, a classroom equipped with microscopes and aquaria, and an exhibition hall. Phillip D. Reed of Princeton, New Jersey, generously donated the funding to establish our education center that now hosts nearly 10,000 students and teachers a year.
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Electronic Field Trip: SERC's Electronic Field Trips reached more than 30 million students and teachers last year, and have been produced in partnership with Ball State University, Project View, and sponsored by Best Buy Children's Foundation
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Annual Open House for Nature: SERC's Open House for Nature invites the public to visit face-to-face with our researchers, learn about the work we're doing, and tour the field research sites by boat, canoe, and even from the basket of a canopy crane. The Open House is made possible by donation from the Chaney Family Foundation.
- Internship Endowment: a gift from the estate of Mr. Roy C. Holmberg established an endowment fund to support young scientists-in-training during their 10 to 12 week internship at SERC.
- Various gifts of land and donations have supported both our general operations and specific scientific programs.
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