Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund

Organizational profile:
The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZ) is innovative philanthropy proving small grants to boots-on-the-ground, get-your-hands-dirty, in-the-field species conservation projects for the world’s most threatened species. Through innovative micro-financing, the MBZ Fund empowers conservationists to fight the extinction crisis instead of bureaucracy and red tape. To date, the Fund has awarded over 2000 grants to a diverse range of species across the world. 

MBZ’s vision is an elevated place for species in the global conservation debate and a thriving global
community of well-resourced species conservationists. Its mission is to elevate the importance of species in the conservation debate by:

• Providing timely support for grass-roots initiatives which make a real difference to species survival.
• Supporting those whose passion, dedication and knowledge is the key to saving species. 
• Assisting the conservation of species in their natural habitats.
• Heightening awareness of species conservation.
• Stimulating renewed interest among young people in natural sciences.
• Attracting further contributions to species conservation from across the globe.

The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund has awarded 258 grants for plant conservation, constituting a total donation of $2,410,022. The flagship projects include the conservation of Parana Pine in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil.

Financing Instrument: Grants

Project scale: The Fund's maximum grant size is $25,000, and any application asking for more than this from the Fund will be rejected. The total budget of a project can be higher if there are other sources of funding.

Recipient countries regions/country groups: Global

Recipient categories: Anyone directly involved in species conservation can apply to the Fund for a grant.

Eligibility Criteria:
The Fund’s reach is truly global, and its species interest is non-discriminatory. It is open to applications for funding support from conservationists based in all parts of the world, and will potentially support projects focused on any and all kinds of plant, animal and fungus species, subject to the approval of an independent evaluation committee.
The Fund will use the IUCN Red List (www.iucnredlist.org) as the primary guide to the conservation status of a given species, although documented variations for sub-species, distinct populations and sub-populations will be taken into account. For those species not assessed through the IUCN Red list, the Fund welcomes other methods of assessment and the submission of quantitative data to confirm a species status. Generally, the Fund gives priority to those species facing a high threat of extinction (with an emphasis on Endangered and Critically Endangered species), as well as those which are listed as Data Deficient or unlisted but are suspected as highly threatened. 

Application guidelines:
The Fund will receive and consider applications at any time, but please note that applications will be reviewed at regular review panel and board meetings. For more information on the timetable for the submission of applications, please refer to the applications timetable page. Applications that are received late will automatically be reviewed in the following round. 

There are three grant rounds per year, and generally applications received before the end of February will receive a reply at the end of April or early May. The next submission deadline will be the last day of June, (and applicants will receive a reply in September). The final round of grants in a given year usually has a deadline of the end of October, with applicants receiving a response in late December of the same year or early January of the following year. The application and review timetable for 2022 will be as follows:

• 28th February 2022 for a response in late April 2022 
• 30th June 2022 for a response in late September 2022
• 31st October 2022 for a response in late December 2022.

For organizations, they need to provide the following information in the application form:

• Mission of the organization
• Objectives of the organization
• Date it was established
• Geographical area of the project
• Target species/habitats covered by the organization

And, applicants need to specify scientific name(s), vernacular name(s) of the species intended to protect, and applicants need to specify species type as one of the following: mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, invertebrate, plant or fungi. Also, applicants are required to answer a few short-answer questions such as the conservation status of the target species, the importance of the associated habitat, and how this project relates to other work done previously with this species in this area (e.g. Species Action Plan, previous survey or monitoring work).

Only applications submitted through the Fund's online, web-based system will be considered. Supporting documents can be sent as email attachments (enquiries@mbzf.org or Nheard@mbzf.org), but the application itself must be online.