A recording of our WildHub Festival session "Funding and Priorities: Conservation during Covid-19" on June 17th. Each of these panellists shared the challenges they are facing during these difficult times and participants gained insights in how they prioritise what is important to focus on for their organisations and/or grantees. The session was followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Target audience: Conservationists
Length: 90 minutes

Organisers: Thirza Loffeld and Louisa Richmond-Coggan (LRC Wildlife Conservation) 

Moderator: Andrea Santy (Smithsonian Institution) 

Session Take-Aways (provided by moderator Andrea Santy):

• Communicate frequently with donors is important and even more so during the pandemic. Past experience shows that those organisations that continue to fundraise during times of crisis are able to maintain a higher level of overall giving.
• Donor are approaching the current pandemic with greater openness and honest conversation. This is an opportunity for organisations to discuss what’s working and where there are challenges. Likewise, organisations are showing greater flexibility in the use of funds and shifting deadlines.
• Be strategic. Use the time to prioritise activities, identify areas for costs savings, and develop a solid short- and long-term plan. Show donors that you’ve thought critically about your activities and will use their funds wisely over the next months and years.
• Look for opportunities and be creative and agile. This may be a time to step up your programming in new areas.
• If you are working on community-based conservation, now is a time to showcase the resilience and importance of that work.
• Be clear about messaging and, when relevant, the urgency of your work.
• Look for opportunities to build new skills within your team. For those team members that may not be able to be in the field, look for other ways to engage them and show them another side of your organisation’s work.
• Approach donors and staff with trust and care. This is a difficult time for everyone.