TMS Funds & Scholarships

Pilot Project Fund

The Board of Directors approved a new Pilot Project Fund in 2008 to support special projects that further the TMS mission of advancing the knowledge of masonry. These projects are funded through direct contributions by donors.

With approval from the Executive Committee, grants of up to $3,000 will be provided to projects requiring start-up funds if they are felt to have high merit to TMS, its members, and the public.

The Pilot Project Fund differs from the Endowment Fund in that only interest earned from donations to the Endowment Fund can be used to support worthy projects.

Donate to the Pilot Project Fund

Projects Supported from the Pilot Project Fund

Thanks to generous donations from members, The Masonry Society funded a Sustainability E-Newsletter as its first Pilot Project in 2009. The Sustainability E-Newsletter is developed by TMS Member Christine A. Subasic P.E., LEED AP. Prior to the development of the Sustainability E-Newsletter, Subasic provided e-news blasts to those on the Society’s Sustainability Committee. Interest in the service grew beyond TMS members. Through Pilot Project Funding, Sustainability E-newsletter was developed and distributed from July 2009 until December 2009 to provide broader dissemination of this important information. Response to the initial publication was extremely positive from both members and nonmembers. Since then this successful publication has been predominantly sponsored by various companies and organizations.

The Sustainability E-Newsletter provides a news/wire-type bimonthly email to subscribers and TMS members. Each edition contains 5 – 10 short summaries and links to relevant news releases and articles related to sustainability, LEED, and the masonry industry. Recently the scope of the E-newsletter has expanded to topics that include resiliency and energy efficiency. The goal is to keep the construction industry informed of important happenings related to sustainable design, resilience, and information relevant to the masonry industry.

In February 2012, the TMS Executive Committee approved funding through the Pilot Project Fund to study Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Masonry (BIM-M). This project was undertaken with the Georgia Tech Digital Building Laboratory serving as consultants.

TMS served as a sponsor of this initiative, along with MCAA, IMI, IUBAC, BIA, NCMA and WSCPA. Through the original grant, a number of issues were examined and documented including: the state of art for masonry design and construction related to BIM such as software available; impediments to progress; and interest by users. The results of that study served as a roadmap for actions by the masonry industry related to positioning masonry for BIM. Further work has been done to provide tools for designers and contractors on using BIM. As part of these efforts, TMS produced BIM for Masonry Modeling Masonry Buildings in Autodesk Revit, which is available for free through TMS’s website. TMS also established a committee to continue work on Building Information Modelling. Other masonry BIM products and technical information are available at the BIM-M web site and the BIM-M You Tube channel.

Submit a Project for Consideration

If you would like consideration of support for a project, submit a letter of application to TMS that includes the following information:

  1. Amount requested and purpose for funding.
  2. Desired outcome; benefit to TMS.
  3. Committee or members utilizing the funds.
  4. Proposed schedule: start and completion.
  5. How will the funding be used

Grants up to $3,000 per year will be considered, and may be renewable for three years total. Applicants should recognize that funds are extremely limited and grants will be given only to projects felt to provide the most benefit to TMS.

Contributors to the Pilot Project Fund

$2,000 or more
  • David & Monica Biggs
  • Raymond Miller
  • National Concrete Masonry Association
$1,000 to $1,999
  • Masonry Institute of America
  • Kurtis Siggard
  • Western States Clay Products Association
$500 to $999
  • Brian Petty
$100 to $499
  • Donald Beers
  • John Bufford
  • Chittenden Engineering
  • Canan D’Avela
  • Jamie Farny
  • Keystone Masonry
  • Donald McMican
  • Jerry Painter
  • Art Schultz
  • Paul Scott
  • Christine Subasic
  • A. Rhett Whitlock
Up to $99
  • James Amrhein
  • Gregg Borchelt
  • C. Michael Donoghue
  • Ece Erdogmus
  • Kirk Haverland
  • Greg Hess
  • Lawrence Kahn
  • James LaFave
  • Gero Marzahn
  • Guilherme Parsekian
  • Russ Peterson
  • Lawrence Tabat
  • Terence Allan Weigel