ELIGIBILITY:

Not High Income Economy countries—Wildlife conservation projects led by local leaders 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 you have any questions about eligible countries, please contact WFN.

Nationals with local support—The Whitley Awards support nationals of the country in which they are working (i.e., you 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. In-country staff employed by NGOs headquartered in the Global North are highly unlikely to be shortlisted for an award unless there are exceptional circumstances. We will consider franchised or locally incorporated offshoots of international NGOs. However, they would need to have a fully local team and prove they lack access to funds from other sources.

Good communicators and passionate people—people who will inspire others and importantly, who will collaborate and share results. Please note applicants must be able to communicate in English. Whilst total fluency in English is not a requirement, the applicant must be able to communicate in English without a translator. This is so that if the applicant is invited for an interview in the UK, they can benefit fully from the Whitley Awards week which involves interviews, networking events, training and media opportunities.

Leadership and teamwork—Whitley Awards are won by individuals backed by an appropriate team/organization. Individuals working in isolation and team/joint entries are not eligible.

Projects that are based on scientific evidence and understanding—this can be in the leader, expertise on the team, or via partners/collaboration.

Work involving (and benefitting) the local community and stakeholders is essential.

Ecosystem/landscape-level projects are preferred. Genuine flagships are accepted, but not if results are purely species-specific.

Projects must be able to demonstrate past success and an evidence-based approach. They do not fund pilot projects or work that is at the start-up stage.

Grassroots, pragmatic work that is realistic but ambitious too. We 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.

Sustainable projects—they want the work to continue into the future, well past the Whitley Award. Successful proposals will demonstrate long-term planning.

Projects that demonstrate value for money and ability to manage funding at the Whitley Award level (£40,000). 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.

Work that needs publicity—ones that will do well if ‘doors can be opened’ via the media and enhanced recognition.

Pure rural/economic/sustainable development where direct conservation benefits are hard to quantify.

Land purchase or projects focused on construction of buildings.

Animal welfare & rehabilitation of captive animals.

Captive breeding—they recognize it as a useful conservation tool, but at the level of funding we have available, we can’t make much impact. Therefore, we would only fund captive breeding where underlying causes of species decline in the wild have been fully addressed prior to breeding species in captivity.

Government employees. However, we are aware that grey areas exist where conservationists will often be affiliated with government institutions in order to operate. If this is the case, please contact WFN.

While WFN strives to fund projects in every country that meets our eligibility criteria, it is occasionally necessary to restrict support in a particular country. If you are unsure if your country is eligible, please get in touch. We keep this list under constant review, and any changes in policy will be advertised on our website.

If you have any questions or require further information, please email info@whitleyaward.org

BENEFIT:

Whitley Awards are worth £50,000 GBP in project funding over one year.