Norman Singer Endowment Fund

Applications for grants must be received by March 1, 2026

About Our Fund

The NARGS Endowment Fund was set up in 1983 upon the recommendation of Norman Singer, the society’s secretary, and approved by the board in 1984. The interest accruing from the funds in the endowment was restricted to special projects, rather than operations of the society.  In 1992, the NARGS board adopted guidelines for use of the funds and a committee appointed to recommend grants.

Norman held various positions in NARGS including president (1992-1994), and he received numerous awards from the society, including the Award of Merit and the Marvin Black Award.

Norman served in the U.S. Army in World War II, assigned to Bletchley Park (U.K.) as a code breaker. He became a performing arts administrator in New York City, including Lincoln Center, and the Aspen (Colorado) Music Festival. He and his long-term partner, Geoffrey Charlesworth, whom he had met at Bletchley, retired to Sandisfield, Massachusetts, in 1981.

Norman died in 2001, age 80, and the endowment fund was renamed to honor his contributions to NARGS.

Endowment Fund Application

Read the guidelines and apply for the Norman Singer Endowment Fund using the button below:

Submit Grant Application

Awarded

Year Amount Credits
1995 $2,100 Katherine Sauter for photographic documentation of the flora of the Kurile Islands, Russia.
1994 450 pounds UK Purchase of six shares in the Alpine Garden Society's expedition to collect new plant material in Yunnan and Sichuan, China.
1993 $1,600 Allegheny Chapter of NARGS for a public rock garden at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburg.
$1,100 Don Hackenberry for travel to the Pacific Northwest to study phlox.
$3,300 Panayoti Kelaidis for travel to South Africa to study the flora.
1992 $2,000 NARGS Bulletin for color if needed.
$1,000 NARGS Slide Library improvements.
1990 Unknown at this time Support for the T.H. Everett Memorial Rock Garden at the New York Botanical Garden.
1984 $2,000 Assistance in the publication (in Britain and Czechoslovakia) of a book on Saxifraga.

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