This page was updated January 3, 2014

The Foundation makes cash grants to projects it believes will benefit amateur radio in general and DXing in particular. Information provided in an application for support is confidential and will be used only to evaluate the application.

Applications must be made by completing (1) a Budget Worksheet and (2) an Application Form, and submitting both to NCDXF.

Please include all the information requested on the worksheet and form. This will speed the review of your application. The entire Board of Directors reviews each application for assistance, so normally you should allow two months lead time for action.

Support Guidelines

The Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) is a US non-profit organization which provides financial support to individuals and groups who use amateur radio communications to advance and promote education, science and international goodwill. Well-designed amateur radio DXpeditions to rare and unusual locations usually meet this criterion.

Major support is normally restricted to expeditions that generate world-wide interest by going to locations high on the most-wanted lists published by various organizations around the world.

A smaller amount of support is sometimes awarded to other expeditions and projects which in the judgment of the NCDXF Directors are unusually strong in supporting the goals of the NCDXF. Expeditions to unusual locations as defined by the Islands on the Air (IOTA) program, Grid Square awards and various radio contests are not supported unless the support can be justified without reference to these activities.

Operations restricted to unusual communications such as RTTY, satellite, EME, VHF and UHF are not supported, although HF CW and SSB operations that we do support are welcome to use these modes as an enhancement.

A basic philosophy of the NCDXF is that expedition participants themselves should have a significant financial stake in their expedition and that the expedition should be likely to proceed even without financial support from the NCDXF.
Please note: With the exception of excess baggage charges, we do not consider commercially available transportation costs when we are working on a grant request approval.

Before support is awarded to an expedition, the Directors of the NCDXF review the qualifications of the proposed radio operators, the appropriateness of the equipment and antennas to be used, the operating plans, the licensing and landing permission, the amount of time planned for the operation and the adherence to generally accepted guidelines for such expeditions to ascertain that the expedition is well-designed and likely to succeed.

The NCDXF encourages applicants to be active financial contributors to the Foundation.