Whitley Awards 2026 for Grassroots Conservation Leaders (£50,000 prize)

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About Whitley Awards

Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is a fundraising and grant-giving nature conservation charity. Established in 1993, it has channeled £23 million to 200 conservation leaders in 80 countries across the Global South, benefitting wildlife, landscapes, and people. They offer long term, laddered support to courageous changemakers leading local solutions to the global biodiversity and climate crises; they are acting on the latest science and igniting projects with passion. Through these award winners they support work rooted in communities that creates lasting benefits for wildlife, landscapes and people.

• Sponsor Organisation: Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN)

Benefits of Whitley Awards

Whitley Awards are worth £50,000 GBP in project funding over one year.

Whitley Awards Requirements

• Whitley Awards are for dynamic, mid-career conservationists who are leading wildlife conservation projects in the Global South.
• Winners are nationals of the country in which they are working who are seeking to scale up proven work, that is embedded in the local community and would benefit from further funding, a profile boost and international support.
• To be eligible, projects must involve communities at the grassroots level and deliver practical action that is founded on science.

WFN will fund:

• Not High Income Economy countries – Wildlife conservation projects led by local leaders based in countries that are not defined as a High Income Economy by the World Bank. Exceptions to this criterion include Equatorial Guinea and certain island nations in the Caribbean. If you have any questions about eligible countries, please contact WFN.
• Nationals with local support – The Whitley Awards support nationals of the country in which they are working (i.e. you were born there or have lived there a long time and achieved national status.) If you are not a national but believe you have an exceptional case based on long term residency (15+ years) and a demonstrable commitment to that country/region, then please contact WFN.
• We seek grassroots conservationists who are embedded in and/or from the communities where they work. Applicants should work for or lead locally incorporated NGOs in the Global South. In-country staff employed by NGOs headquartered in the Global North are highly unlikely to be shortlisted for an award unless there are exceptional circumstances. We will consider franchised or locally incorporated offshoots of international NGOs. However, they would need to have a fully local team and prove they lack access to funds from other sources.
• Good communicators and passionate people – people who will inspire others and importantly, who will collaborate and share results. Please note applicants must be able to communicate in English . Whilst total fluency in English is not a requirement, the applicant must be able to communicate in English without a translator. This is so that if the applicant is invited for an interview in the UK, they can benefit fully from the Whitley Awards week which involves interviews, networking events, training and media opportunities.
• Leadership and teamwork – Whitley Awards are won by individuals backed by an appropriate team/organisation. Individuals working in isolation and team/joint entries are not eligible.
• Projects that are based on scientific evidence and understanding – this can be in the leader, expertise on the team, or via partners/collaboration.
• Work involving (and benefitting) the local community and stakeholders is essential.
• Ecosystem / landscape level projects are preferred. Genuine flagships are accepted, but not if results are purely species-specific.
• Projects must be able to demonstrate past success and an evidence-based approach. We do not fund pilot projects or work that is at the start-up stage.
• Grassroots, pragmatic work that is realistic, but ambitious too. We look for applicants on the cusp of ‘something big’ and work that is replicable or scalable.
• Actions that will have clear, measurable outcomes – we look for applications that have given careful thought to what indicators can be measured to evidence impact.
• Sustainable projects – we want the work to continue into the future, well past the Whitley Award. Successful proposals will demonstrate long-term planning.
• Projects that demonstrate value for money and ability to manage funding at the Whitley Award level (£40,000). Organisations with Audited Accounts are preferred.
• Projects for which an Award will make a big difference. Priority will be given to those that can demonstrate need.
• Work that needs publicity – ones that will do well if ‘doors can be opened’ via the media and enhanced recognition.

WHAT WFN WILL NOT FUND

• Projects based in High Income Economies as defined by the World Bank. If your project is based in a country that has recently been re-classified as having a High Income Economy, please contact WFN.
• Expatriates – such leaders do excellent work around the world but are not the focus of this Awards scheme, which aims to champion local leaders.
• Pure academic research – winners need to have larger aims than ‘research and publish’. Any research should be applied research.
• MSc / PhD fieldwork – if students benefit from a project funded that is great, but we will not fund the fieldwork as an end to itself.
• Expeditions and conference attendance.
• ‘Start-up’ or pilot projects. Evidence of prior success is very important.
• Absentee leaders – especially if the leader is mid-PhD and will be absent from the project for long periods and/or based abroad.
• ‘One-person bands’ – people who will not reward emerging leadership on their team, train team members or who are reluctant to collaborate.
• Joint applications or nominations for someone else.
• Pure rural/ economic/ sustainable development where direct conservation benefits are hard to quantify.
• Land purchase or projects focused on construction of buildings.
• Animal welfare & rehabilitation of captive animals.
• Captive breeding – we recognise it as useful conservation tool, but at the level of funding we have available, we can’t make much impact. Therefore, we would only fund captive breeding where underlying causes of species decline in the wild have been fully addressed prior to breeding species in captivity.
• Government employees. However, we are aware that grey areas exist where conservationists will often be affiliated with government institutions in order to operate. If this is the case, please contact WFN.
• While WFN strive to fund projects in every country that meets our eligibility criteria, it is occasionally necessary to restrict support in a particular country. If you are unsure if your country is eligible, please get in touch. We keep this list under constant review and any changes in policy will be advertised on our website.

If you have any questions or require further information, please email [email protected]

Application Date and Process

Whitley Awards are for dynamic, mid-career conservationists who are leading wildlife conservation projects in the Global South. Winners are nationals of the country in which they are working who are seeking to scale up proven work, that is embedded in the local community and would benefit from further funding, a profile boost and international support.

• Check your eligibility

To be eligible, projects must involve communities at the grassroots level and deliver practical action that is founded on science. You do not need to be invited or nominated to apply for a Whitley Award.

Please read their eligibility criteria to find out what WFN do and do not fund (listed in the requirements section)

• Register for our application portal

To register for our application portal, click here. Once you have received your unique login details you will be able to complete and submit your application online.

Please get in touch if you have any questions about the application portal.

• Complete your application online

Complete your application online after registering on the application portal.

It is essential to follow our application guidelines.

Once registered for the application portal, you will be able to login and complete the form online at your convenience. Remember to save as you go! If you close the portal without saving your progress, you will lose your information. Please refer to our FAQs for further information.

As part of the application process you will need to download two documents from the portal: a Microsoft Word template for your logical framework/timeline, and a Microsoft Excel template for your budget. Once you have saved these to your computer, you can work on them in your own time then upload your completed versions to the portal.

Please note that the application guidelines, application form, logical framework/timeline and budget templates are only available until midnight GMT on 31 October 2025.

Applications made on out-of-date forms from previous years will not be considered.

• Contact three referees

You need to ask three referees to submit references to WFN in support of your application. Check who is eligible to be a referee in our FAQs.

Please remember it is your responsibility to ensure your referees meet the deadline of midnight GMT on 31 October 2025.

Timeline

Applications for the 2026 Whitley Awards are currently open and close at midnight GMT on 31 October 2025.

The Whitley Awards Ceremony will take place in Spring 2026, when winners are announced during a live event, which is also streamed online.

Have questions or need help?

Please refer to their FAQs or contact them.

Application Deadline

31 October, 2025

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