Grant programmes

Organizations and individuals can apply for funding through our grant programmes.

Our grant programmes are hosted by trusted partners. They help us to determine where our support is most needed and distribute grants to individuals and organizations.

We choose partners that have the knowledge and capacity to identify where the greatest need and opportunity exists. Each grant programme invites applications on a specific theme. Expert advisory panels review the grants, which the partner organization then manages.

We also participate in collaborative funding initiatives with other foundations.

These partnerships allow us to support local initiatives worldwide that deliver clear outcomes.

We have five nature grant programmes and five culture grant programmes.

Conserving and restoring nature

Cairngorms Connect – restoring 60,000 ha of contiguous land in the Scottish Highlands. Courtesy of James Shooter - scotlandbigpicture.com.

Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme

The Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme gives grants for large-scale restoration projects across Europe’s land and seas. The programme supports projects that will restore extensive areas of terrestrial and marine habitat so that they are resilient and self-sustaining.

Ocean 5. Courtesy of Sergio Izquierdo, Wildlife Conservation Society. Guatemala, 2023.

Oceans 5 Partnership

Oceans 5 gives grants to help stop overfishing, establish marine protected areas, and constrain offshore oil and gas development. The programme supports projects that provide lasting benefits to coastal communities and the world’s oceans.

Aschach River Austria. Courtesy of Eggar, WWF Austria.

European Open Rivers Programme

The Open Rivers Programme gives grants for work to remove redundant dams, weirs and other river barriers across Europe, so that rivers can flow naturally and biodiversity can flourish.

Aerial view of mangrove forests in the Bay of Assassins, southwest Madagascar, part of the Velondriake Locally Managed Marine Area. Courtesy of Blue Ventures | Louise Jasper.

Marine protection fund

The Marine Protection Fund gives grants for work towards the target of protecting 30% of the world’s marine and coastal areas by 2030. It supports Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, non-government organizations and governments working in coastal areas, national waters and the high seas.

Map of PFAs (man-made chemicals that do not break down) in Europe. Courtesy of Thomas Steffen.

Earth Investigations Programme

The Earth Investigations Programme awards grants to support environmental investigative journalism on European affairs inside and outside Europe. The programme supports projects that aim to expose injustices, create pressure on those in power and mobilize action to protect nature and people.

Recording cultural heritage

Culture ELDP4

Endangered Languages Documentation Programme

The Endangered Languages Documentation Programme gives grants to linguists and community members to document languages around the world that are at risk of falling silent. The programme makes the digital documentation of these languages freely available online.

Endangered Archives Listimage

Endangered Archives Programme

The Endangered Archives Programme gives grants to digitize archives that are in danger of destruction, neglect or deterioration. The programme supports projects that cover rare printed sources, manuscripts, photographs, and audio recordings in all languages and scripts from all periods up to the mid-20th century. All of the digitized materials are freely available online.

Modern end archives Listing

Modern Endangered Archives Program

The Modern Endangered Archives Program gives grants to digitize endangered archival materials from the 20th and 21st centuries. The programme supports projects that digitize printed materials, manuscripts, photographs, audio-visual recordings and born-digital materials from the mid-20th century onwards. All of the digitized materials are freely available online.

Marka Dafing women spinning wild silk in Burkina Faso. Photo by Laurence Douny. Courtesy of the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme.

Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

The Endangered Material Knowledge Programme gives grants to document traditional skills and practices used in making or using things. It supports projects that document practices and skills that are being lost as mass-produced objects replace handmade items. The digitized records are available for free online.

Indonesian boatbuilding, a unique and threatened practice in South-East Asian maritime culture. Courtesy of the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme.

Endangered Wooden Architecture Programme

The Endangered Wooden Architecture Programme, hosted by Oxford Brookes University, awards grants to document traditional practices of creating and maintaining wooden buildings.