In 2018 The Alongside Wildlife Foundation began a seed-grant program to support the kinds of important wildlife projects that are typically overlooked by most major organizations. In just few years we’ve awarded over $74,000 to 51 wildlife conservation projects from Arkansas to Indonesia; the projects we support focus on natural history, science communication, or living alongside wildlife.
- Natural History: despite increasing calls to recognize and appreciate natural history, this type of research is rarely prioritized; we fund projects that generate basic but vital information about the species alongside us.
- Science Communication: scientists and science communicators are facing pressure to reach out and engage with new audiences and our grant program is designed to support this work; we focus on projects that facilitate and encourage science communication projects that aim to reduce human/wildlife conflict. Projects must include novel and creative collaborations between scientists and artists.
- Living Alongside Wildlife: As our landscapes become increasingly human-dominated, it is essential to generate and implement co-existence strategies that allow for wildlife to persist alongside us. We fund projects that evaluate or implement science-based strategies to reduce human/wildlife conflict.
How to Apply for a Grant
The 2022 seed grant application period has ended.
All applicants have been informed of the winners.
- Please check back during the first half of 2023 for an update on our next call for proposals.
- We will announce dates and the timeline here and through our mailing list (we have limited capacity to respond to individual email inquiries).
- If you would like to prepare early, you can find a list of application questions from last time .
General Qualification Requirements
Qualifying projects should be internationally based (outside of the USA). We will continue to support wildlife conservation efforts based in the USA with our growing Land Fund and special initiatives.
This is a seed grant program, meaning we prioritize projects that have not yet started or are within their first year. Projects should focus on terrestrial and shoreline-associated animals (including invertebrates). We do not generally fund marine work. We do not fund projects that propose lethal solutions to human/wildlife conflict. We do not fund wildlife rehabilitation work.
Please note: we are not a large foundation financially backed by wealthy individuals, organizations, or endowments and we receive many more inquiries than we could possibly fund. We are fully supported by our growing grassroots network of small recurring donors; if you value the work we do (including this grants program) and wish we could do more then we hope you will consider joining this network.
Instructions for Organizations Without Websites/Social Media
If you represent an international or small organization with a limited online presence, The Alongside Wildlife Foundation appreciates independent letters written on your behalf when evaluating your proposal as well as supplementary information that allows us to learn more about your project or institution.
Instructions for Graduate Students
If you are a graduate student, please include a letter of support from your advisor. Letters can either be submitted by you immediately after you submit your application or submitted before the application deadline by your advisor. If you choose to have your advisor submit a letter, please send them the link to the letter submission portal, which you have access to after submitting your proposal. Files should be saved as YourLastName_GrantLetter1; YourLastName_GrantLetter2, etc. prior to uploading.
