Fundraising: A Look the Ins and Outs of Nonprofit Grant Writing

One of the best ways for nonprofit organizations to acquire funding is to solicit for grants that come from foundations, trusts, or government departments. Nonprofit grants, government grants, and federal grants generally are given to organizations from the local, state or federal government agencies or private organizations. Many nonprofit organizations are great at fundraising and

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Writing about wildlife: becoming a communications officer in conservation

My last interview was with Kathryn Phillips from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust in north-west England. I run the communications campaign for Kathryn’s Forest Schools project and that interview is part of the work that goes into raising the Trust’s profile, publicising its activities, and strengthening the case for conservation. Writing articles, film-making, and wider communications

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Communicating conservation – Double life or delicate dance?

Scientific writing requires details, data and absolutely no emotion, fostering credibility within journals. This approach ensures a rigorous foundation but often lacks the inspirational quality needed to engage a broader audience in conservation efforts. This is where Amber Hopgood bridges the gap between fact-based conservation and the need for greater understanding and support from the

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The fight to protect maned wolves in Brazil’s disappearing Cerrado: An interview with Bárbara do Couto Peret Dias from Onçafari

Picture a wild savanna, teeming with life. Millions of insects hum in the dense undergrowth, birds flock in the skies, and elusive mammals can be glimpsed through the tall grasses. You might be picturing lions and giraffes, but this is not Africa. It’s the Cerrado savanna in central Brazil, and it’s in critical danger. Brazil’s

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From the corporate world to the African forests – how modern conservation is everyone’s ‘business’

After graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 2005, Canadian Aram Kazandjian took the expected route into the corporate sector. Fast forward 12 years and he was living in a national park in Sierra Leone as Manager of Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Aram shares his route into conservation and discusses how typical ‘business’ skills are

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Supporting an emerging conservation community and protecting Nepal’s rare wildlife

In his final year as a university undergraduate, Kumar Paudel founded the non-profit organisation Greenhood Nepal. It created a platform for young people like himself who lacked experience but wanted to contribute to the conservation field. Kumar shares how since its foundation in 2012 Greenhood Nepal and its team have ‘grown up’ together to become

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A career in academia: Researching the impacts of climate change and habitat loss with Professor Jane Hill

Professor Jane Hill, OBE (Order of the British Empire), is a Professor of Ecology at the University of York in England. She is President and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, a trustee of the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership and, formerly, a trustee of the British Ecological Society. Her research primarily

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Underwater meadows of hope – In discussion with Project Seagrass CEO, Leanne Cullen-Unsworth

“I think empowerment to protect what we have, often comes from celebrating what we’ve got”. Leanne Cullen-Unsworth is the CEO of Project Seagrass, an amazing charity working in the UK and across the globe to celebrate, protect and restore ecologically important seagrass meadows. This incredibly valuable ecosystem was often overlooked in planning and management policies,

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Taking down the wildlife traffickers – Activism, innovation and courage in conservation

Listening to activist Ofir Drori speak, it is impossible not to be energised by the strength of his passion and determination when discussing his work. Back in 2002 he founded West and Central Africa’s first anti-corruption and wildlife law enforcement NGO, and within seven months his dedicated team of volunteer activists had achieved the region’s

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“Bird Is the word”: An interview with British-Bangladeshi ornithologist, environmentalist and diversity activist Dr. Mya-Rose Craig AKA “Birdgirl”

“You can’t care about what you don’t know about.” Ornithologist, environmentalist, diversity activist as well as an author, speaker and broadcaster Mya-Rose has certainly had an amazing career. Not only has she had many accomplishments, but she was by the age of 17 the youngest person in the world to see half of the world’s

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The intersection of commerce and conservation

“If we want to conserve wildlife, maybe we need to eat it.” This is a surprising and provocative statement to my ears, but perfectly logical to Francis Vorhies, a Conservation Economist of more than three decades. Having worked in multiple countries, from private enterprises to NGOs and international agencies including the International Union for Conservation

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A career journey into the wildlife trade: An interview with Lindsey Harris from Fauna & Flora

Lindsey Harris is the Head of Wildlife Trade at Fauna & Flora, a wildlife conservation charity which works with partners in over 40 countries to preserve habitats, protect endangered species and improve the livelihoods of local communities. She is the ultimate career switcher, identifying the aspects of jobs she enjoys most early on and expertly

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How do you find your holy grail in conservation? Advice from re-wilding and carnivore conservationist Dr David Mills

Originally from Michigan, USA, David Mills has had a long relationship with Africa and mammalian carnivores since the 2000s. He started his conservation career in 2002, volunteering and working with cheetahs, leopards, and human wildlife conflict. Years later, for his PhD, David studied African golden cats in Uganda, a species which no one had studied,

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Raising awareness through communications: An interview with Barbara Arizaga of the Galápagos Conservancy

Barbara Arizaga is the Director of Communications for the Galápagos Conservancy, an organization based out of the beautiful town of Puerto Ayora in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. The Galápagos Conservancy is committed to protecting one of the world’s most unique island chains and the animals that inhabit them, such as the critically endangered Pink Land

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Where the environment meets economics: An interview with Jetske Bouma

Jetske Bouma is a Dutch environmental economist working for PBL, the Environmental Assessment Agency the Netherlands (Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving). With over twenty years of experience in research and policy evaluation in this field, Jetske has worked internationally on important environmental economic projects from Costa Rica to India. As a teenager wanting to make a

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Combining your passions | Conservation art and filmmaking with Alicia Hayden, Illustrator and Junior Researcher at the BBC Natural History Unit

Alicia Hayden is a UK-based wildlife artist, filmmaker, animator, writer, and photographer. She has a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Oxford and a master’s degree in Wildlife Filmmaking from the University of the West of England. Alicia currently works as an Illustrator and Junior Researcher for the BBC Natural History Unit in

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