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Funding and Finance / Feed

The number one problem in nature conservation is the need for more money or access to funding. This group aims to help all WILDLABS community members with funding and financing their projects. The group is called Funding and Finance to draw attention to the possibilities of funding (i.e., grants, awards, and other gifts)  and finance (loans and venture capital investment in nature conservation projects and start-ups). These topics should be seen in their wider contexts, including that of a project or organisation’s income or business model.

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Funding Options for Environmental Projects: A Comprehensive Guide

Carly Batist

26 January 2025 6:39pm

"In this guide, we break down the different types of funding opportunities available for environmental projects, providing key insights into each option’s benefits, expectations, and processes."

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discussion

Mossy Earth Innovation grant

Yvan Satgé

16 January 2025 8:20pm

Hi all,this may be a bit on the fringes of the WildLabs conservation tech but Mossy Earth is opening an innovation grant supporting tests of novel ecological restoration methods...

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funding

RestorLife Awards ($25k)

Carly Batist

16 January 2025 6:17pm

 To celebrate and fund the work being done to protect and restore nature. 2 Awards - NGO award and Responsible Business Leadership Award

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article

Horizon scan of AI in nature conservation

Frank van der Most

18 December 2024 4:42pm

Comments on Reynolds, S.A et all (2024) 'The potential for AI to revolutionize conservation: a horizon scan'. A very interesting read, perhaps more for the discussion on negative effects of AI and consequences for the...

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Vance Russell

13 January 2025 12:56pm

Thank you for this excellent summary, Frank. I agree with you that not enough is being developed on the implementation side, which is what is needed most. Last year, I ...
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funding

Tech4Nature Award

Frank van der Most

26 November 2024 12:14am

This is an award for work done within categories of technological innovation in area-based conservation, tech use for red-listed species conservation, and the inclusion of indigenous peoples, local communities and...

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discussion

Conservation Finance: Towards a New Model for Landscape Restoration. New Book

Vance Russell

5 November 2024 7:54am

Hi Folks,Here's a sneak preview of our book Conservation Finance: confinance.info. Feedback and sharing are welcome.Best,Vance

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Frank van der Most

21 November 2024 3:45pm

This is an interesting read, Vance!

Perhaps first a disclaimer. Reading this book was my first serious dive/read/exploration of the topic of nature conservation finance.

One of the most enlightening parts is the circular diagram of the environmental impact bond ( fig. 1.1 in chapter 1 ) because it shows all the typical roles involved, their relations, and the flow of money/value.

For me the eye opener was that there can be many parties involved, which is completely different from the basic grant making model where there are only two parties. This makes the organization of such an instrument quite complicated, and the book mentions, more than once I believe, that this requires the capacity to do so.

The diagram gave me one question, which I could not find answered in the book. As I understand it, the party that receives/consumes the investment ( the service provider ) is not the same as the payor. The payor pays the investors when the actions of the service provider reach a certain measurable threshold of effect ( like an amount of drinking water delivered ). But what happens when that effect is not reached? Will the investor simply loose their money, or will someone else repay their investment?

I found the case studies very illustrative of how such finance instruments can be used for fire protection, water supply, waste water processing and storm flood protection. It should be noticed however, that the cases all take place in California, or the West coast area of the USA and that the payors are governmental agencies or at least organizations working for public service deliveries, which means that in the end tax payers or public service users ( to stay with the drinking water example, the public that pays their water bills ) pay the investment. These two factors mean that there is a reasonable supply of money to the payor to repay the debt and thus a relatively low risk to the investors. Right?

If I got this more or less right then to me the value of the book is that it shows how conservation finance can work in an economically developed country for conservation causes that have a clear and direct impact on the citizens.

Vance Russell

25 November 2024 2:27pm

Thanks for the kind and insightful words, Frank. You're right that most examples are from California or the West, showing how these mechanisms may work in the developing world. Impact finance bonds were originally conceived in the UK social sector. There are several examples we don't mention, and probably should, from the developing south of finance tools that have largely been applied to community development. Revolving loan funds (Mohammad Yunus is the most prominent example) have been used for decades to spur small business development with small loans to get businesses kickstarted in difficult economic settings. There are several instances of parametric insurance set up in developing countries; the Yucatan hurricane scheme set up by Swiss Re and the Nature Conservancy is probably the best known.

Good question about impact finance bonds and outcomes not being reached. Although I don't know of any examples, I would assume that the investors are not paid. This isn't unlike any investment in that the risk of not receiving a return is always there.

The multi-part aspect of these approaches does have its pluses/minuses. On the one hand, it should create a collaborative finance culture that promotes cooperation rather than competition for limited funding resources. On the other hand, this means, like any collaborative, that it will take a while to set up, build trust, and get operational. This also means bespoke solutions for most settings, which can or will limit scaling.

Again, thanks for taking the time to read the book. Appreciate your feedback and questions!

Frank van der Most

25 November 2024 3:07pm

Thank you for elaborating Vance. I think I know of the revolving loan funds as micro credit systems.

Interesting point, about the time it takes to set up and build trust. But I guess that once it is set up in a geographical area and starts repaying the investors, setting up another application with just one new actor might go a lot faster. There must be a word for it in economics, but I don't now it. It's not scaling up but using existing momentum.

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discussion

Alternative funding for digital projects

Matt Rogers

13 November 2024 11:10am

Hi everyone, I'd love to get some input on the topic of alternative funding for digital projects. I run a digital agency that historically has worked in lots of different sectors...

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Beni Beeri Issembert

15 November 2024 9:07am

Interesting.

I believe the best approach is to start with humility. Coming from the VC-centric world, I’ve realized how different the nonprofit sector is—it seems far more aligned with respecting the natural order. Instead of raising tens of millions for a for-profit venture, nonprofits grow step by step, funding one program at a time, each grounded in tangible success. The hardest part is securing that first donation, but if those funds are used effectively to prove the concept, gaining subsequent support becomes much easier.

Matt Rogers

18 November 2024 9:16am

Thanks Beni, that makes a lot of sense and is food for thought. I'm wondering if we need to be even more focussed on how we collect evidence to prove the value of our work in conservation terms, as a services business we are often one step removed from the end user and while our work is digital and you can track everything a user does it still doesn't always give you the whole story, particularly from a conservation perspective...

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discussion

Who gave you your last research travel grant? | ¿Quién le concedió su última beca de viaje de investigación? | Quem lhe concedeu sua última bolsa de viagem de pesquisa?

Frank van der Most

16 October 2024 6:21pm

Someone asked me how their NGO based in Africa could fund visiting scholars who come to their NGO. The NGO runs a biological station for research, wildlife conservation, local...

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Brandon Hays

18 October 2024 7:19pm

That is challenging and I'd be keen to hear other people's suggestions! 

From the academic realm, I'll say that many graduate students get travel funding through scientific societies. E.g. the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation has seed grants:

https://tropicalbiology.org/grants-awards/atbc-seed-research-grant/

And Society for Conservation Biology has grad student awards:
https://conbio.org/mini-sites/scb-awards/student-awards

These are often restricted to members unfortunately. National/regional societies might be good resources for people to look into. 

Frank van der Most

4 November 2024 1:49pm

Oops, sorry about that. I wrote a reply a few weeks ago, and I am pretty sure I clicked the button, but apparently something went wrong. So, another attempt

Thank you for your answer, @brandon. I had overlooked  the scientific societies. 

Membership may be an issue, but I noticed that the ATBC has diversified fees depending on career stage and the member country's economic development, and the SCB membership fee depends on income.

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