The Koontz Fund is the Texas Society of American Forester's (SAF) version of National SAF's Forester's Fund. Grants are provided to TSAF chapters who conduct projects, which promote education about forestry.

B. Koontz, a forester who earned his livelihood as a pulpwood dealer in Northeast Texas, asked the Texas SAF chapter to match his donation of $5,000 to begin the fund in 1980. Earning his forestry degree in the late 1940's, he then worked for the Florida Forestry Commission and the Texas Forest Service for a short while before becoming a pulpwood dealer supplying International Paper Company's Springhill mill. Koontz was passionate about educating the public about forestry and wanted the money to be used for that purpose.
 

Chapters are encouraged to partner with local organizations when applying for the grant. To submit a project, please complete a grant application  (PDF format 5 kb; requires Adobe Reader). Application dates are March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 15. Decision for funding will be made and applicants will be notified within two weeks after each closing date. Grants awarded will not exceed $500 per quarter.

Check Out Our Success Stories:

• Bringing kids outside for “A Day in the Country”
• Project Learning Tree reaches out to educators across Texas

Previous Examples of Funded Projects:

• Purchased 25 copies of the Texas Forestry Association's interactive CD-ROM, Texas Forest Friends, for dissemination to pk-3 educators at economically disadvantaged schools.
• Sponsored teachers to attend the Walk in the Forest for Teachers, which was hosted by the Dallas-At-Large Chapter of TSAF. Participants were also trained in Project Learning Tree.
• Used to help distribute and promote the Texas Forest Service's statewide Arbor Day poster contest to 5th grade teachers.
• Sponsored teachers to attend the first Walk in the Forest for Teachers, which was hosted by the Northeast Texas Chapter of SAF. Participants were also trained in Project Learning Tree.
• Purchased 25 copies of the SAF video "Foresters: Growing Forests for Our Future" to be included in the Texas Forest Service's Forest Tree Trunks.

Forest Tree Trunks