Status: ROLLING | Verification: VERIFIED | Last verified: 30 September 2026.
The Rufford Foundation provides staged small grants for nature conservation projects, with a strong focus on early-career conservationists and field-based work in developing countries.
Deadline: Rolling / applications accepted throughout the year.
Grant stages: first grant up to GBP 7,000; second grant up to GBP 8,000; booster grant up to GBP 12,000; completion grant up to GBP 18,000.
What a strong project looks like
Rufford funding is intended for practical nature-conservation work with clear biodiversity value. Applicants should be directly involved in delivering the project and show a realistic field-based plan, conservation need and pathway to measurable outcomes.
How to apply
Applications are submitted through the Rufford Small Grants application system. The Foundation’s staged model allows successful grantees to progress to larger grant levels over time where their work develops successfully.
Open the Rufford application portal and review the current grant-stage structure.
Should you apply?
Best fit for: early-career conservationists leading practical field-based biodiversity work in eligible developing-country contexts, with a focused conservation problem and direct implementation role.
Probably not a fit if: the proposal is mainly academic research with weak conservation action, the applicant is not directly involved in delivery, or the budget is too broad for the relevant Rufford stage.
Africads application tips: define the conservation threat precisely; connect field activities to measurable biodiversity outcomes; and keep the budget tightly matched to the stage and scope of the proposed work.
Before you apply: Check whether the conservation project itself is fundable
Use the Africads Program Fundability Checker to test whether the conservation problem, intervention logic, evidence, measurable outcomes and cost structure form a credible project before submission.
Need proposal support?
If you want an independent review of the conservation case, outcomes, budget and donor fit, request Africads proposal support.
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