Rainforest Trust provides funding and other support to non-profit organizations, Indigenous Peoples, and communities working to protect important ecosystems through the creation or expansion of protected and conserved areas.
The funding focuses on direct conservation action that protects ecosystems critical for endangered species, climate mitigation, and local communities. Projects can involve land or marine areas and should demonstrate the potential to create lasting and sustainably managed conservation outcomes.
Applications are accepted from eligible organizations throughout the year, with different funding timelines depending on the type and size of the proposed project.
Types of Funding Available
1. Feasibility Awards
These awards support early-stage work needed to assess whether a protected or conserved area can be created or expanded.
Funding can support activities such as:
- Developing a legal pathway for protecting a proposed site.
- Conducting field surveys.
- Assessing the presence and population of endangered species.
- Addressing important information gaps before a larger conservation project.
Average award: USD $10,000
In exceptional cases, awards of more than USD $20,000 may be considered.
2. Protected or Conserved Area Creation Awards
These grants support the direct creation or expansion of protected and conserved areas on land or at sea.
Supported approaches may include:
- Legal designation of protected areas.
- Land titling and community land rights.
- Land purchase for conservation.
- Creation or expansion of marine protected areas.
- Other recognized area-based conservation approaches, including OECMs.
There is no fixed maximum grant amount. Funding is assessed on an individual project basis.
What Projects and Solutions Do They Support?
Rainforest Trust supports projects that directly contribute to the creation or expansion of protected or conserved areas, particularly those that:
- Protect globally significant populations of Critically Endangered or Endangered species.
- Protect important biodiversity areas and threatened habitats.
- Conserve tropical and subtropical High Integrity Forests.
- Protect ecosystems with high climate mitigation value, including mangroves, peatlands and other carbon-rich habitats.
- Support Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ land tenure and conservation leadership.
- Establish or strengthen sustainably managed marine protected areas.
- Address critical threats to biodiversity and, where relevant, carbon storage.
- Create long-term conservation management systems.
- Promote sustainable livelihoods and community benefits linked to conservation.
The opportunity may also support capacity strengthening related to conservation management, community institutions, territorial monitoring, and livelihood development where relevant to the project.
Who Can Apply?
Applicants must generally:
- Be a legally registered non-government organization.
- Be authorized to work in the country where the proposed project will take place.
- Submit a project focused primarily on creating or expanding a protected or conserved area.
- Demonstrate that the proposed area meets Rainforest Trust’s biodiversity and/or climate conservation priorities.
- Show support from relevant governments, Indigenous Peoples and/or Local Communities.
- Ensure that appropriate Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes have been or will be conducted.
- Demonstrate a clear and sustainable management approach for the protected or conserved area.
The proposed area should generally be currently unprotected, although Rainforest Trust outlines specific exceptions and criteria on its official funding page.
Important Funding Exclusions
Rainforest Trust does not generally fund:
- Fixed-rate overhead costs.
- Long-term ecological monitoring or research.
- Large-scale habitat restoration activities such as tree planting.
The funding is primarily focused on direct conservation action leading to the creation or expansion of sustainably managed protected or conserved areas.
Application Process
Step 1: Check Eligibility
Organizations should first review the Rainforest Trust project selection criteria to determine whether their proposed conservation project qualifies.
Step 2: Submit a Concept Note
Eligible organizations can submit a concept note through Rainforest Trust’s online form.
Concept notes are accepted at any time and are generally reviewed within 1–2 months.
Applicants do not need to pay a consultant or intermediary to apply. Rainforest Trust only reviews applications submitted directly by eligible organizations.
Step 3: Submit a Full Application
If the concept note is successful, the applicant will be contacted and invited to submit a detailed application through Rainforest Trust’s online portal.
Rainforest Trust may provide guidance to help eligible applicants refine their project structure and application.
Application Deadlines
Feasibility Awards and Projects Below USD $250,000
Rolling basis – applications may be accepted and funded throughout the year.
Protected or Conserved Area Creation Awards of USD $250,000 and Above
Applications are considered according to three annual deadlines:
- 1 March
- 1 July
- 1 October
Applicants seeking USD $250,000 or more are encouraged to submit their concept note approximately four months before the relevant application deadline.
Why Apply?
This is a major opportunity for conservation organizations working directly to protect important ecosystems, endangered species, forests, carbon-rich habitats, Indigenous and community territories, and marine environments.
Unlike many conservation grants focused primarily on research or restoration, Rainforest Trust specifically supports projects that can lead to lasting legal protection or conservation of important land and marine areas.
