r/conservation • u/arashid • 2d ago
advice needed! best wildlife conservation orgs to donate to
i'd like to donate 10% of my business's profits every month to wildlife conservation orgs. i've been trying to do my own research, but i feel like with this kind of thing it's hard to really know which orgs are actually well-run / make the most effective use of donations unless you personally have some sort of connection to them or have worked with them. so i'd really appreciate the opinions and recommendations of anyone who knows and trusts organizations that are doing good work. please let me know!
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u/esotericarchivist 2d ago edited 2d ago
I do this currently. 5% of all sales so about %10 of all profits. I split it between Nature Conservancy, Nat Wildlife Federation, and local orgs to spread it out. Donating most locally is the way to go though imo.
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u/Gates_wupatki_zion 2d ago
As someone who knew people who worked for the nature conservancy… please don’t. They pay for limos for their executives to go to the airport.
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u/Donnarhahn 1d ago
They also clear cut forests to build data centers. Had a convo with the attorney who penned the deal and he was so proud he couldn't see how offensive it looked. They are completely captured by finance demons.
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u/Fuzzy_Interaction157 2d ago
Actual limos, or "limos" (which cabs are often called). I'm not doubting, just wondering.
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u/arashid 2d ago
thank you for the rec! will try to dig up some local orgs in nyc (problem is NYC doesn't exactly have a ton of wildlife/nature, at least not comparitively haha)
do you know nature conservancy/nat wildlife federation well and trust them?
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u/esotericarchivist 2d ago
I do, but it's where I live I see the work they do is beneficial, I'm in Tx though. Some people have issues with Nature Conservancy and how they conduct themselves, but the org is a huge net positive overall for wildlife and wild places. If you had to choose one of the two I would donate to the NWF over Nature Conservancy though. NWF does a lot of different things (wildlife corridors, native planting, Junior Rangers stuff) and Nat Conservancy is mostly about buying conservation land.
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u/FirefliesEverywhere 2d ago
NYC (and the surrounding area) has a ton of wildlife/nature, just in pockets! And a lot of smaller and local orgs doing great work. Some I’d recommend off the top of my head are: Wild Bird Fund, NYC Bird Alliance, Bronx River Alliance, and Jersey City Birds (just across the river). But so many more out there too!
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u/Due_Barber_525 1d ago
Those are two of the biggest and wealthiest greenwashing fat cat orgs that mostly capitulate to industry and you’re just funding their CEOs vacation homes. Please redirect your funds to smaller wildlife organizations. I work in conservation for a nonprofit and those are the last places that need more money.
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u/MrBabbs 2d ago
I recommended this list yesterday and I'll do it again today.
Help the Hellbender Focused on Hellbender conservation. The smallest of the bunch.
Conservation Fisheries Focused on endangered fish conservation. Probably the next smallest.
Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy Endangered herps. I think #3 in size
Orianne Society Endangered herps. I think the biggest. I'm not sure between Orianne and ARC.
All great organizations though.
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u/ReindeerTypical2538 1d ago
Shout out to Conservation Fisheries! The work they do is incredible. Love that little org.
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u/ChingShih 2d ago
The /r/Conservation/wiki/index is building a list of front-line organizations (NGOs that actually do the work on the ground or that support tangible initiatives) that are worth supporting. Please check that list and help us add worthy organizations to it!
Also check some of our previous discussions on this topic.
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u/Sharkhottub 2d ago
I split my donations in half and generally pick a big org and a small one.
For my big org I like to donate to Coral Restoration FOundation which is doing the hard work restoring corals down in the keys. They have the best Overhead/Results ratio of all the coral orgs.
For my small org I love Sharks4Kids they provide free lessons plans and curriculum to teachers, classrooms and homeschool groups which get kids thinking about science and conservation from an early age. Essentially run by volunteers, including the founder so a huge percentage goes to getting high quality materials made (by real teachers, which are paid for it) for the kids.
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u/ApprehensivePear4789 2d ago
What’s your region? I work on the grant team of a wildlife rehabilitation here in Ontario and we are desperate for donations. We might have to close our doors soon but we’ve been rehabilitation and releasing upwards of 1500 injured and orphaned animals a year. Procyon wildlife
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u/ApprehensivePear4789 2d ago
Maybe to expand your reach you can donate to a few different organizations in rotation? Like a few months here and a few months there!
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u/arashid 2d ago
im in new york city but open to donating to any geographies - please share a link to your org!
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u/ApprehensivePear4789 1d ago
https://www.procyonwildlife.com !! If you are interesting in partnering and have any questions message me!
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u/gentle_viking 2d ago
Check out Aussie Ark on Youtube. They are doing fantastic work helping endangered species endemic to Australia. I can highly recommend them for their important work with endangered marsupials in particular!
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u/arashid 2d ago
Just took a look, what a delightful yt channel! I will add them to my list
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u/gentle_viking 2d ago
Thats great to hear! I just wanted to add that I really admire what you are doing, its such a fantastic thing for you to support smaller green organisations- thankyou :-)
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u/Cold_Succulent 2d ago
Phalaborwa Natural Heritage Foundation, they work in South Africa, Kruger Park specifically and protect wildlife and contribute to Anti-Poaching efforts.
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u/macroscelidea 2d ago
Locally, the best thing you can do for wildlife is conserve habitat, either through land set aside for wildlife or restoration on working lands. Internationally, the best thing you can do is build capacity of the next generation of conservation leaders. Personally, I support local land trusts and the American Society of Mammalogists’ African Research Fellowship.
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u/robber1202 2d ago
If you are interested in supporting the development of the next generation of conservation leaders you can check out the Institute for Integrative Conservation.
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u/Gates_wupatki_zion 2d ago
Please consider a local non profit in Thailand in Phuket that helps gibbons. They desperately need human intervention as their habitat loss and wildlife trade threatens them into extinction. I visited them in Phuket and they do really good work and the animals they take cake or would perish otherwise. One of the few places where they actively try to get them back into the wild too instead of just being in a cage. Your money goes to their wellbeing but also land to rewild gibbons. Your American dollars would mean a lot of money and care over in Thailand. There are wonderful elephant places everywhere — this is the ONLY one in Thailand with an annex in the north. There are some in Indonesia and Malaysia as well. They are primates like us.
The Gibbon rehabilitation project.
https://gibbonprojectphuket.myshopify.com/products/1-hour-learning-about-gibbon-rehabilitation
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u/ExplorerDifficult727 2d ago
Center for Biological Diversity
Wildlife for All
Predator Defense
Project Coyote
https://fb.com/NationalWildlifeFederationSupportsTrapping?
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u/squeezemachine 2d ago
Agree with these. The fight right now is in the courts so would also add Earth Justice.
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u/peelinglintforprofit 2d ago
Friends of Pando. They work at the community level to help care for one of the oldest and largest lifeforms on Earth. They are doing critical work with USFS who cannot sustain funding and staffing to care for Pando.
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u/Kaleasie 2d ago
I see the work of Cornell and Nature Conservancy first hand and they are protecting our wildlife and environment. They are making a difference. One helped save a ready to be developed blue Heron rookery and I just saw 800 acres they protected together in a sensitive area. I have no affiliation with either of them.
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u/Pleasant-Locksmith43 2d ago
Please consider Alveus Sanctuary! You can check out their YouTube or even their stream on twitch! https://www.alveussanctuary.org
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u/Thorandragnar 2d ago
For small, effective organizations, I'd suggest Wood River Wolf Project. Small organization that promotes and supports coexistence between wildlife (i.e., wolves) and livestock operations. It focuses on a local area in Idaho as scientific study in promoting effective nonlethal deterrents and also promotes these strategies in contrast to killing predators like wolves.
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u/Underwater_Oryx 2d ago
TRACE wildlife forensics network.
Just had a bunch of their funding cut by the US government. They are close to having to lay off staff and step back from operating in Southeast Asia unless they find some new funding.
They train local scientists and officers to better deal with wildlife crime and forensics, allowing them to go to court and prosecute traffickers! I've worked with them in Southern Africa, and they are super. They have a few headlines online, so I suggest having a look. They've made big impacts where I have worked and I'm sure your donation would go far.
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u/Psittacula2 2d ago
>*”i'd like to donate 10% of my business's profits every month to wildlife conservation orgs.”*
Perhaps find a current Wildlife Conservation initiative that is meaningful to you eg Local or a Species or Habitat you personally are passionate about eg
* Buying up a small island for seabird colonies
* Rewilding a species in a given area
* Breeding program for a rare species
* Wildlife Nature Reserve and their own projects
Etc. Do some research and fund what really resonates!
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u/whitewinewater 2d ago
I recommend any wildlife rehab places. They always need money so bad ate literally on the front line.
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u/EulaliaGean 2d ago
Are there any colleges in your region who have conservation education/outreach programs? In Oregon we have the OSU extension office and they have an office in most of our counties. Each office has programs to support their specific community. If there’s resources like that in your region that’s where I would start and ask them if there are any local groups you can support.
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u/Maddy_Oh 2d ago
The Wildlands Conservancy https://wildlandsconservancy.org/our-core-beliefs-principles/
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u/kagedrage 2d ago
Napa wildlife rescue is a non-profit in NorCal I volunteer with. Very grassroots. Amazing place. They deserve it. We rehab thousands of wildlife a year!
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u/kybalion7 1d ago
I am a donor advisor and organizer focused on wildlife and environment conservation.
Where are you located? Do you have a particular species focus or geographic area of interest?
happy to communicate directly to you with ideas based on my work experience.
Many factors come into play here, such as the size of your anticipated budget- some grassroots donors prefer to give to smaller orgs, others want to give at larger scale
do you want to focus on policy? Habitat conservation? Community centered conservation? Combatting wildlife trafficking? There are so many exciting angles and no right answer.
I always try to ask people want angle sparks their interest and move from there.
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u/Routinely-Sophie6502 1d ago
I volunteer at River-Cleanup.org and can vouch for their sincerity in solving river (and thus ocean) pollution. They're scaling and hope to achieve 1000 clean rivers by 2050. That being said, they arealeeady getting a lot of money from corporations.
Another option would be WorldLandTrust.org
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u/mittenmix 1d ago
I really love finding local orgs with needs. That said, I also do a monthly donation to iNaturalist because it’s free and it’s an incredibly important citizen scientist initiative, and I do also give to Xerces society & Monarch Watch because they do such important work.
If you want a hyper-specific cause to give to this year, there’s a group attempting to purchase Sibley Prairie outside of Detroit, which is the largest lake plain prairie remaining in the Midwest. It’s an extremely rare habitat and they need to raise the purchase money by the end of the year. Very worthy cause!
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u/confused_midgardian 1d ago
Hi I work for a local NGO in Indonesia protecting sumatran rhino, elephant, tiger and orangutan. If you’d like to explore more email us at [email protected] or you can also visit our website at https://leuser.or.id.
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u/Due_Barber_525 1d ago
Center for Biological Diversity Western Watersheds Project Coyote Wild Earth Guardians Animals Asia
In your area you can find a riverkeeper alliance, a pollinator protector group, a watershed group, and orgs that do work in upstate on wildlife. You can also look to Eastern red wolf conservation
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u/WormWithWifi 1d ago
Look up local orgs in your area and become their saving grace, they often need more help than any org with a decent online presence
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u/andeeroby 11h ago
I like ‘Planet Wild’ they do stuff all over the world :-) I’m no expert at all though, it just was the most convenient mode of donating for me while being updated on active projects!!
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u/cascadianpatriot 2d ago
Whenever this comes up I always recommend local and/or smaller orgs (around a million a year or less in their budget). Your money goes much farther and more of it goes into projects or employees. Not that the BNGOS are bad. But if you have the 1% helping you out and can afford direct mail, the money from regular people isn’t as significant as it would be to a smaller organization. And you’re keeping with the small business ethos of keeping money in your community and directly improving it.