Fundraising grows more slowly than the conservation sector in total

From the newsletter

Top conservation organisations expanded senior staff by an average of 7% in the past year, according to LinkedIn data. However, business development teams grew by only 4% on average, as per a Conservation Rising analysis. The slower growth in fundraising teams  leaves organisations vulnerable in an uncertain political climate.

• The collapse of USAID, which cut over $36 billion in global aid flows, may have destabilised African conservation. Some projects in the Congo Basin, Virunga, Kenya and South Africa lost some or all funding.

• Endangered Wildlife Trust, which lost support including $0.9 million for vulture and canine units, saw 15% sales staff growth. The organisation is embracing private fundraising to support conservation.

More details

• The Nature Conservancy (TNC) leads in growth at 17%, followed by African Parks (AP) at 14%, and Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) both at 11%. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) achieved 7%, while African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) each managed 5%.

• Sales and business development hiring averaged 4%. EWT stands out with a 15% increase, which signals an aggressive fundraising push despite its smaller scale. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) follows with 11%, while AWF and WCS both posted 9%. By contrast, Conservation International (CI) contracted sharply at –10%, with BirdLife International (BI) and PPF flat.

• Tenure analysis highlights WWF and BI, where employees stay longest at 8.1 and 6.8 years respectively. By contrast, TNC, AP and PPF average less than three years, signalling higher turnover. Education levels are strongest at BI (63% master’s degrees) and CI (57%), indicating advanced technical capacity.

• The abrupt withdrawal of USAID in early 2025 has dealt African conservation a severe financial blow. For decades, the agency channelled hundreds of millions of dollars into regional conservancies. In 2023 alone, USAID managed roughly $72 billion in global aid. Its sudden withdrawal exposed Africa’s heavy reliance on external donors.

• The financial setback is already measurable. Kruger National Park lost $0.7 million in ranger and anti-poaching support, while the Endangered Wildlife Trust reported $0.9 million withdrawn from vulture and detection programmes. A Thin Green Line survey found NGOs in nine African countries facing 40% to 100% cuts, threatening decades of conservation gains.

Our take

• The 4% growth in business development staff is far too low to counter aid cuts. Building lean, entrepreneurial fundraising units as opposed to larger executive teams, will decide which organisations survive this funding shock

• Expanding senior staff by 7% looks impressive, but without equivalent growth in fundraising, it risks creating “top-heavy” organisations. Conservation groups cannot sustain enlarged leadership teams without diversifying revenue.