Note to potential applicants: Funding is available only to official members of the Society. If you are not a member but you are interested in applying for funding, please go to the memberships page. Yearly memberships begin at $25.
1— At the beginning of each executive year, the Executive Committee shall budget two-thirds of the previous year’s income for Peirce scholarship. The remaining third shall be set aside for the future well-being of the Society or for administrative expenses incurred by the Society. However, a two-thirds majority of the Executive Committee may approve a specific amount of additional funds for support of Peirce scholarship. Per the constitution, the Society will not permit expenditures in excess of funds available.
2— Of the money budgeted for Peirce scholarship, $1000 shall be set aside for the Peirce Essay Prize winner and an additional $500 to subsidize their travel to the Annual General Meeting. In the event the Society budgets less than $1500 at the start of the executive year, all such money shall be set aside for the Peirce Essay Prize winner.
3— Per the constitution, the Executive Committee may use any remaining money budgeted for Peirce scholarship, either for funding internal projects to promote Peirce scholarship, such as a conference organized by the Society, or (non-exclusively) for funding external projects within Peirce scholarship, such as presentations at conferences, the latter of which shall be funded only through a successful application procedure, provided that (i) availability of funds is made publicly known on the Society’s website and in an email to Society members and (ii) any money awarded will be according to a fair and transparent process (see guidelines 5 – 12). Any funds available for external projects will be divided into two equal budgets, one for the first half of the year, and the other for the last half, with any money remaining in the first half to be rolled over into the last. Within those budgets, funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
4— The Executive Committee is debarred from using any Society funds to directly support any of their own scholarship. This guideline does not debar Executive Committee members from presenting work at a conference funded by the Society (provided that Executive Committee members are a minority of the conference presenters) and it does not debar reimbursement of Executive Committee members for expenses they personally incur expressly for Society functions and efforts.
5— With external projects, persons requesting funds must be current members of the Society at the time the funding application is received.
6— Persons requesting funds must be (a) presenting work on or related to Peirce at a conference or doing research at institutes for Peirce scholarship (such as Harvard or the Peirce Edition Project), (b) organizing a conference or event on or related to Peirce, (c) developing new media (e.g., articles, books, videos) on or related to Peirce, or (d) otherwise advancing the mission of the Society.
7— Persons requesting funds must (a) first seek funding from their institutions (unless they are unaffiliated), (b) submit a request no fewer than five weeks prior to the event for which funds are requested, (c) submit the fully completed Funding Request Form, (d) submit a supporting document explaining what the requested funds are for and how they will be used, as well as the expected benefits to Peirce scholarship (such as a published paper or book, or expanded access to Peirce’s work), and (e) have not been awarded Society funds within the past 24 months at the time of the new request, unless special consideration is warranted, in which case the requestor should justify that special consideration in their supporting document. Additional supporting documents may be requested by the Executive Committee before a decision on the request is rendered.
8— The Society favors using funds to support (a) early-career scholars over mid- and late-career scholars, (b) scholars of underprivileged backgrounds, (c) projects that will expand access to Peirce’s writings or expand interest in Peirce’s work to groups traditionally less likely to have such interest, and (d) projects that will celebrate Peirce’s work and the international community of Peirce scholarship.
9— Projects that are expected to result in publications in competitor journals to the Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society will not be approved for funds. Wherever a journal publication is the expected outcome, the Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society shall be given “the right to first refusal” for a Society-funded project. Furthermore, the Society shall be acknowledged as a supporter in any Society-funded project for which such acknowledgement is appropriate.
10— For travel requests, the Society shall award up to $500 (USD) for domestic travel and up to $750 (USD) for international travel, unless greater need can be demonstrated and the merit and the purpose of the travel warrant funds above $500 and $750 respectively. If special consideration for additional funds is requested, the requestor must justify special consideration in their supporting document.
11— For non-travel requests, the Society shall award up to $500 (USD), unless greater need can be demonstrated and the merit and the purpose of the request warrant funds above $500. If special consideration for funds well above $500 is requested, the requestor must justify special consideration in their supporting document.
12— Final funding decisions shall be made by a majority vote of Executive Committee within a timely manner. A record of any funding decision and the reason for it shall be kept for at least one year and shall be disclosed to any current member upon request.
13— For any funded external project, a report on how the funds were spent and the outcomes of the project or travel will be expected within 1 year of the distribution of Society funds to the requestor.
The Charles S. Peirce Society 