Call for Nominations: Whitley Awards for Grassroots Conservation Leaders in Global South

Deadline Date: October 31, 2024

Donor Name: Whitley Fund for Nature

Grant Size: $10,000 to $100,000

https://whitleyaward.org/apply-for-conservation-funding/apply-for-a-whitley-award

The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is seeking nominations for the Whitley Awards to support dynamic, mid-career conservationists who are leading wildlife conservation projects in the Global South.

Whitley Awards fund grassroots conservation leaders in the Global South and put an international spotlight on winners’ work. 

Funding Information

• Worth £50,000 in project funding
• Projects must start in, or shortly after June 2025
• Projects must last no longer than 12 months

Eligibility Criteria 

• Wildlife conservation projects based in countries that are not defined as a High Income Economy by the World Bank. Exceptions to this criterion include Equatorial Guinea and certain island nations in the Caribbean. If your project is based in a country that has recently been re-classified as having a High Income Economy, please contact WFN.  
• Nationals with local support. The Whitley Awards support nationals of the country in which they are working (i.e. were born there or have lived there a long time and achieved national status). If you are not a national but believe you have an exceptional case based on long term residency (15+ years) and a demonstrable commitment to that country/region, then please contact WFN. 
• They seek grassroots conservationists who are embedded in and/or from the communities where they work. Applicants should work for or lead locally incorporated NGOs in the Global South, rather than be in-country staff employed by NGOs headquartered in the Global North. 
• Good communicators and keen collaborators. People who will benefit from additional media attention, collaborate with others and share results. Please note applicants must be able to communicate in English. 
• Leadership and teamwork. Whitley Awards are won by inspiring leaders backed by an appropriate team, not individuals working in isolation. 
• Projects that are based on scientific evidence and understanding – this can be in the leader, expertise on the team, or via partners/collaboration. Projects need to demonstrate evidence of success. They do not fund pilot projects or work that is at the start-up stage. 
• Work involving (and benefitting) the local community and stakeholders is essential. 
• Ecosystem/landscape level projects are preferred. Projects which focus on flagship species are great, but not if results are purely species-specific. 
• Pragmatic, replicable and scalable. Grassroots, pragmatic work that is realistic, but ambitious too. They look for applicants on the cusp of ‘something big’ and work that is replicable or scalable. 
• Actions that will have clear, measurable outcomes. They look for applications that have given careful thought to what indicators can be measured to evidence impact.
• Cost-effective. Projects that demonstrate value for money and ability to manage funding at the Whitley Award level (£50,000). Organisations with Audited Accounts are preferred. 
• Projects for which an Award will make a big difference. Priority will be given to those that can demonstrate need. 
• Sustainable projects. They want the work to continue into the future, well past the Whitley Award. Successful proposals will demonstrate long-term planning. 
• Work that needs publicity. Ones that will do well if ‘doors can be opened’ via the media and enhanced recognition.

Ineligible

• Expatriates – such leaders do excellent work around the world but are not the focus of this Awards scheme, which aims to champion local leaders.
• Pure academic research – winners need to have larger aims than ‘research and publish’. Any research should be applied research.
• MSc/PhD fieldwork – if students benefit from a project funded that is great, but they will not fund the fieldwork as an end to itself.
• Expeditions and international travel/conferences not related to a project.
• ‘Start-up’ or pilot projects. Evidence of prior success is very important.
• Absentee leaders – especially if the leader is mid-PhD and will be absent from the project for long periods and/or based abroad.
• ‘One-person bands’ – people who will not reward emerging leadership on their team, train team members or who are reluctant to collaborate.
• Joint applications or nominations for someone else.
• Pure rural/economic/sustainable development projects where direct conservation benefits are hard to quantify.

For more information, visit WFN.