How to apply for a grant from Save the Rhino
Some FAQs
How much funding do we award each year?
On average, SRI awards approximately $550,000 per year (including USFWS funding) to rhino conservation programmes in Africa and another $65,000 per year to Asian programmes. These grants are split between approx. 17 field programmes in: Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa, and India and Indonesia. Average grant sizes over the last six years are as follows:
- Kenya (5 programmes) $152,000
- Tanzania (1 programme) $36,000
- Zambia (1 programme) $20,000
- Zimbabwe (3 programmes) $68,000
- Namibia (2 programmes) $110,000
- South Africa (1 programme) $20,000
- India (1 programme) $25,000
- Indonesia (3 programmes) $64,000
So, with the occasional exception (usually because of USFWS funding), our grants to each programme tend to average around $20-30,000 per year.
Recent funding history
In terms of preferences for the type of activities funded, approximately 70% of these funds are allocated to anti-poaching and monitoring patrols, 20% to community conservation and environmental education programmes in key rhino areas, and the remaining 10% goes on a mix of translocations, national strategies and veterinary care or captive breeding efforts. Most of the grants are for core, ongoing costs: salaries of rhino monitors or game scouts; vehicle running costs; field and communications equipment etc. Very occasionally we fund one-off things like new vehicles or buildings or PPL training.
About 80% of our funding goes to black rhino programmes; 10% to Sumatran and Javan rhino programmes; and the remainder towards Greater one-horned rhinos or non-species specific work.
Any restrictions or existing conditions on funding?
We don't fund programmes involving privately owned rhinos; only those that have state- or community-owned rhinos. We rarely fund pure research proposals. We are highly unlikely to fund any programme that works solely with Southern white rhinos (though we do fund programmes that have both black and SWRs) and we have not put any money into Northern white rhinos since our last grant to Garamba in 2004. Only four of the 17 rhino programmes we fund have fewer then 20 animals.
UK charity laws means that we can only make commitments with the money we already have in the bank, and as we hold reserves sufficient only for two months, we cannot afford to make two- or three-year commitments. However, if we have funded a field programme once, it is likely that we will fund again, unless some aspect of the work is unsatisfactory for some reason.
How can I apply for funding?
Field programmes can apply to SRI for funds, but in reality, unless you are already one of the programmes we support, it is unlikely that we will be able to add any new ones. That said, we have supported Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Borana Ranch and the Association of Private Land Rhino Sanctuaries with grants from our own core funds for the first time in 2011.
We have a standard grant application form, which you can download from our website here.
You can apply at any time of year, and they will be considered at our Trustees’ meetings, normally held in March, June, September and December.
Applications should be sent to cathy@savetherhino.org; Cathy will have an initial read through and come back to you with any immediate questions, and then table them for the Trustees. Cathy gives the Trustees her own recommendations, having considered each proposal against a range of weighted criteria, and she may also consult other funders (perhaps of the same programme) to discuss particular aspects of an application. The Trustees may decide to fund, ask more questions before making a decision, or reject. Cathy informs all applicants of their decision within a week of the Trustees’ meeting.