For environmental philanthropy to reach the places it is most needed and be most effective, better collaboration among funders is key.
In February, Synchronicity Earth held a webinar, ‘Funding together: pooling resources for conservation’, to explore how environmental funders can work together to overcome the lack of sustainable and effective funding available to smaller, locally led conservation groups in some of the most biologically and culturally diverse regions on Earth.
Sharing their insights into the lessons, challenges, and successes at this webinar were our Congo Basin Affiliate Bihini Won wa Musiti, our Youth Affiliate Swetha Stotra Bhashyam, and Kai Carter, Global Climate Initiative Director of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Our pooled funds
Synchronicity Earth currently has four pooled funds (supporting the Amphibian Programme, Freshwater Programme, Congo Basin Programme, and our Chrysalis Youth Fund) all at various stages of evolution in the number of funders and amount of funding they distribute.
There is no single or simple definition of a pooled fund; each fund is specific to its context and the type of work it supports. For us, pooled funding is better described as an approach or intention around how we fund conservation.
An illustration of some of the ideas and themes that emerged throughout the discussion by the talented visual scribe Raquel Durán. See full size. © Raquel Durán
What drives our approach?
Our pooled funding approach is driven by two main ambitions:
First of all, to increase the amount of effective funding going to priority conservation challenges, providing stronger more targeted support for the organisations and individuals best placed to help address those challenges.
Secondly, to encourage deeper engagement and learning around how to fund effectively, and better communication between and among environmental funders and with the smaller, locally led organisations working on the ground.
Though our pooled funds vary, they provide similar benefits. Donors gain access to the expertise of our Programmes Team and affiliates, are able to reach local groups more easily, can reduce time-consuming administrative burdens involved in grant management, and learn from other funders. For partners, pooled funding increases their capacity, visibility, and networking, provides critical long-term funding and core support, and reduces the administrative burden involved in writing proposals and reports for multiple separate funders.
Synchronicity Earth develops long-term relationships with partners achieving important environmental impacts in hard-to-reach areas, which contributors to the pooled funds can benefit from. Image © Ailan Awareness