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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Dick Merritt <dickmerritt AT mindspring.com>
  • To: OCBA <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [ocba] OCBA Donation to NCSU Apiculture Science Fund
  • Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 00:57:37 -0400

At the last OCBA meeting, the membership voted to donate @2500.00 to the Apiculture Science Fund. That amount has been received by the NCSU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and debited from our bank account.

Here is some additional information for members who were not at the meeting to hear the discussion - this is from Dr David Tarpy, the NC State Apiculturalist.

"The NC State Apiculture Program requires ~$500k per year in outside funding, mainly to hire our technicians and students (contrary to common perception, these positions are neither free nor covered by recurring state funds). While the salaries are obviously the largest expense and are typically covered by larger (six-figure) competitive research grants, any and all miscellaneous donations are welcomed and indeed important to the overall function of our program. Gifts such as the proceeds from the NCSBA silent auction are important for us to pay for expenses that cannot be charged to a research grant, such as our telephones, gas for our bee truck and other travel, new computers, even printer toner. In doing so, these miscellaneous gifts and donations help to "grease the skids" of our program and enables us to be opportunistic where we otherwise might not be able, particularly when it comes to student research. For example, it helps us have a student present at a meeting where they otherwise wouldn't be able to attend, conduct an additional experiment, or pay for undergraduate helpers for the summer.
 
"There are three means to donate to our program. First, we have an  easy online link where anyone can make a simple donation using their credit card. This link can be found directly on our homepage of our  website and goes through the NCSU Agriculture Foundation. Second, one can donate directly to NC State's Apiculture Science fund as an unrestricted donation for the general support of our research and extension programs. As you well know, we have many research projects currently underway, listed on our  research and  extension websites. I should note that a donation for research on a specific topic would garner a 51.5% overhead of donated funds, but as a "no strings attached" donation to our general research program using the language in the attached letter with any donation, then those indirect fees are largely waived (only 5% overhead) and helps them go much further. Finally, the NCSBA also has an Apiculture Science line-item in their budget, which is a centralized place for any donations to our program through the state association. When the need arises among students in our program, and there are sufficient funds in that line item, I have them write a short grant to the NCSBA, and then the treasurer transfers the funds just like option #2 above. I believe this gives our student some valued experience in grantsmanship, helps to secure a closer bond between the NCSBA and our program members, and holds the students accountable for their research."

Dick Merritt
OCBA Treasurer





  • [ocba] OCBA Donation to NCSU Apiculture Science Fund, Dick Merritt, 06/18/2014

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