This Special Session will be a conversation between ecologists at undergraduate institutions and representatives of funding agencies.The National Science Foundation (NSF) would like to increase the number of successful grant applicants from smaller, more teaching-oriented schools. Challenges to this proposition include a lack of administrative and professional support for proposal preparation at smaller institutions, lack of experience in proposal writing among undergraduate faculty, and a mismatch between research expectations at NSF and the time and resource realities of the smaller academic environment. We hope to establish a productive discussion about how these issues might be successfully addressed. Specific topics will include particular funding opportunities, suggestions for writing successful proposals, research challenges at teaching-oriented institutions, and possible initiatives by both colleges and funders to address the problems mentioned above. Our goal is to not only provide information for scientists who want to obtain research funds, but also to educate funding agencies about the kinds of resources, support systems, and expectations that are appropriate for the undergraduate environment. We invite scientists at all career stages to come and share their success stories and experiences on funding panels, ask questions, express concerns, and gather information.