How we fund
Since our founding in 2009, Synchronicity Earth has given grant funding to over 180 conservation organisations and individuals. We have supported a wide range of partners, including small, locally led, community-based groups and individuals, more established regional and national organisations, and larger international NGOs operating globally.
Central to our approach is a desire to nurture meaningful, long-term relationships with people and organisations working to address overlooked and underfunded conservation priorities, creating space for mutual learning to help us achieve our common goal to protect and restore nature where it is most threatened.
Building partnerships
We consider every organisation and individual we give funding to as a ‘partner’. Our aim is to build long-term, two-way, trusting relationships. We often provide core funding and support for organisational development and we also fund ‘start-up’ initiatives that will address key gaps in conservation action.
We work with our partners to assess compatibility and alignment in our goals: Can the funding we offer have meaningful impact? Does a potential partner’s objectives align with ours? Are we able to have honest and open dialogue with them? What type of funding would be most beneficial and over what period of time?
Synchronicity Earth aims to fund the majority of its partners over the long term, recognising the sustained action required to bring about real change and positive impact. We also aim to provide core and flexible funding wherever possible, allowing funding to be directed to areas where it is most needed. In line with this, where there is a need, we are happy to work with partners to strengthen and develop their organisations, providing support to better enable them to fulfil their objectives and helping us to meet our own charitable objectives.
In the field with Instituto Curicaca. Image © Chis Scarffe
Our partner selection process
In general, we do not issue calls for proposals, and it is unusual for Synchronicity Earth to accept grant proposals from organisations or individuals that we do not know.
We recognise that funding demand far outweighs supply, but we are reluctant to promote a system in which small organisations with limited resources are expected to spend much of their time completing lengthy application processes for grants which they are often unlikely to receive.
Our approach to identifying partners to work with has grown out of years of experience working with a range of organisations and individuals; but it is also constantly evolving. We always try to apply what we learn from our grant partners and other allies, and we welcome feedback and questions on our processes. We have implemented a number of changes in recent years to account for smaller, one-off, and early-relationship grants, and we are in the process of formalising these.
How we fund: key steps
We work with our network of affiliates, advisers, and existing partners to identify organisations or individuals who might align with the objectives of our programmes. The first step is to make contact with potential partners for an initial discussion. Following this, we speak to others in our network to gather their thoughts and opinions.
The next stage in the process is our ‘trust indicator’ assessment. This is designed to help us build an initial understanding of the organisation and how it works both internally and with its other external stakeholders. Through this process, we aim to develop a picture of the skills and expertise of the staff, the objectives of the organisation and the approaches used to achieve these objectives.
We undertake an ‘organisational health assessment’. The aim of this process is to ensure we understand any risks involved in providing funding, that the necessary legal and ethical policies and procedures are in place or being developed, and that we understand the leadership structure of the organisation and how it functions.
Each of our programme strategies is approved by our Board, so in most cases, each ‘programme lead’ can propose funding for partners who align with the programme strategy, and that funding can then be approved by our Head of Conservation Programmes. In some cases, for example where the grant is to a new partner, or where the amount is over £25,000, approval is required from our Board. Once funding is approved, then the funds are committed in principle.
If our Board approves funding, we return to the partner to request an overview of the proposed work they plan to carry out with the funding available (which can include covering core costs). This workplan is then reviewed internally, and subject to a final sign off before funds are paid.
On average, bringing on a new partner takes four to six months to complete, but this is dependent on a number of factors, including our own and the potential partner’s capacity and time; the urgency of the funding need and the amount of funding we currently have available.
Synchronicity Earth provides long-term support for partners, for example, DGPA, led by Patrick Saidi (pictured), in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Image © Chris Scarffe
Learning as we go
In identifying partners to work with, we do not have a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ system and we understand that no organisation or individual will have everything running perfectly at all times. We also recognise that there are diverse approaches to conservation, to running a successful programme or organisation, and to understanding impact.
Working with a broad range of organisations, from very small groups or individuals to large international organisations, we know that one size does not fit all: each organisation has its priorities and context taken into account as we begin to build our relationship.
Until this partnership, everything was project-based, salaries and staff never guaranteed. Because these bigger issues have been resolved, we can talk about other challenges.
Read more about our approach
15 years of Synchronicity Earth: An interview with our Co-Founders
As Synchronicity Earth celebrates 15 years since it was founded, Nina Seale speaks to our Co-Founders, Adam and Jessica (...)
Meeting partners where they are – a Vietnam photo story
To properly respond to partners' needs, we must understand the increasingly complex contexts they face. Our Asian Specie (...)
Good news from the DRC!
The type of environment news that makes the headlines can be disheartening. But when we take a closer look, there are s (...)
In it for the long haul: Transforming the crocodile from villain to hero
Wildlife corridors through oil palm plantations. Local communities saving the world’s rarest crocodile from extinction (...)
In it for the long haul: Bringing biodiversity to oil-palm country
Wildlife corridors through oil palm plantations. Local communities saving the world’s rarest crocodile from extinction (...)
Towards better climate funding: centring Indigenous Peoples and local communities
“Money earmarked for Indigenous people that sits in a bank because of worries about Indigenous ‘capacity’ is wate (...)
In it for the long haul: Saving the giant squeaker frog
Wildlife corridors through oil palm plantations. Local communities saving the world’s rarest crocodile from extinction (...)
Meet our Latin America affiliate, Grace Iara Souza
Over the past 18 years, Dr Grace Iara Souza has developed a deep understanding of the impacts of global environmental go (...)
Rethinking African conservation funding
“The most important things in the world that need doing cannot be done by large organizations. They will be done by ma (...)
On a learning journey to support locally-led conservation
Sophie Grange-Chamfray, Synchronicity Earth Knowledge and Learning Manager, reflects on what she has learnt through her (...)
Placing trust at the heart of environmental philanthropy
With a wave of new pledges of large grants to environmental organisations, as funders, we need to reflect on how our phi (...)
My World Conservation Congress was in Kinshasa
Cliquez ici pour lire cet article en français. Merline Touko Tchoko, Cameroonian communications expert and Synchronici (...)
A new Biocultural Diversity Programme
The Biocultural Diversity Programme (formerly the Flourishing Diversity Programme) is a new Synchronicity Earth programm (...)
Guardians of nature in the Congo Basin
Sophie Grange-Chamfray, Knowledge & Learning Manager at Synchronicity Earth, dives into the importance of local com (...)
Same disease, different challenges
Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is taking a terrible toll: lives are being lost and families devastated; there i (...)
If we’re going to talk climate, we need to talk conservation
2020 is a big year for climate action. It is the start of a decade of climate action. But if we're talking climate, we n (...)
Funding better conservation, funding conservation better
Most people would agree that protecting the natural world for future generations should be high on our list of prioritie (...)
If you would like to learn more about our funding approach and processes, please contact: programmes@synchronicityearth.org.