General Criteria
- Applicants should be in the early stages of their conservation careers. Our priority is funding those undertaking an MSc or PhD (or equivalent) or who have graduated from such studies in the past 3 years. We will only consider fieldwork costs. We consider applications from others if they fit the additional General Criteria outlined here but we do not fund students studying for a BSc or equivalent. For more detail see What is "early career"?.
- Projects must have a nature conservation focus.
- Applicants must be working in an eligible country
- We support small-scale or pilot projects. Ideally, we should provide between 50 and 100% of the costs of the project. Where The Rufford Foundation is not the only funder, we require evidence of co-funding.
Project Focus
- Projects can focus on particular species, threatened habitats or issues like human-wildlife conflict or community education. Our website shows the range of work we fund.
- For projects focusing on species, we consider work on any NOT listed as Least Concern at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. We also consider species that do not appear on the list because they have not been assessed but are thought to be globally threatened.
General Exclusions
The following types of projects will NOT be eligible for support.
- Pure research with no obvious conservation benefit.
- Expeditions, particularly where the applicant must raise funds in order to participate.
- Attending conferences or seminars.
- Publishing books.
Grants Available
The Rufford Foundation provides a staged funding process with four types of grants. In sequence, these are:
- 1st Rufford Small Grant (up to £7,000).
- 2nd Rufford Small Grant (up to £8,000).
- Booster Grant (up to £12,000)
- Completion Grant (up to £18,000)
On receipt of a Completion Grant, you cannot apply for further funding.
There are no deadlines – you can apply at any time of year. You can only make one funding application in any 12-month period. If your application is rejected, you must wait 12 months before you can reapply. If you are funded, you cannot apply for further support for at least 12 months.
1st Rufford Small Grant (1st RSG)
Background Information
- The first stage of funding from The Rufford Foundation.
- Up to £7,000.
Reporting
You must provide project updates and a final report on project completion, copies of which will be posted on your webpage.
Further Funding
Having completed your project and provided updates and a final report, you can apply for a 2nd Rufford Small Grant, though this must be at least 12 months after the date of payment of your 1st RSG.
2nd Rufford Small Grant (2nd RSG)
Background Information
- The second stage of funding from The Rufford Foundation.
- Up to £8,000.
Reporting
You must provide project updates and a final report on project completion, copies of which will be posted on your webpage.
Further Funding
Having completed your project and provided updates and a final report, you can apply for a Booster Grant, though this must be at least 12 months after the date of payment of your 2nd RSG.
Booster Grant
Background Information
- The third stage of funding from The Rufford Foundation.
- Up to £12,000.
- The project must develop important elements of your previous work.
Co-funding
You should be considering how the project might be sustained in the long-term. Ideally, you should have plans to approach other funders for support, especially if you intend to request further funding from us.
Reporting
You must provide project updates and a final report on project completion, copies of which will be posted on your webpage.
Further Funding
Having completed your project and provided updates and a final report, you can apply for a Completion Grant, though this must be at least 12 months after the date of payment of your Booster Grant.
Completion Grant
Background Information
- The fourth and final stage of funding from The Rufford Foundation.
- Up to £18,000.
- The project must develop important elements of your previous work.
Co-funding
By this stage you should have co-funding. We suggest you aim to raise funding from other sources matching the amount you are requesting from us. We will require evidence of support from other sources.
Reporting
You must provide project updates and a final report on project completion, copies of which will be posted on your webpage.
Further Funding
Once you have received a Completion Grant you cannot apply for further funding. By this stage you should be able to access larger-scale funding.