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World Wildlife Fund Canada

Annual Giving
$2.6M
Grant Range
$2K - $0.1M
Decision Time
2mo

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $2.6 million in grants and funding (FY2024)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly available
  • Decision Time: Rolling basis for Arctic Species Conservation Fund (6+ weeks prior to project start); varies by program
  • Grant Range: $1,500 - $100,000
  • Geographic Focus: National (Canada-wide), with priority regions including Yukon, Northwest Territories, BC's Okanagan, Prairie Grasslands, and Maritime Provinces

Contact Details

Main Office: 410 Adelaide St. West, Suite 400 Toronto, ON M5V 1S8

Phone: 1-800-267-2632 (toll-free) | 416-489-8800 General Email: [email protected] Grant Inquiries: [email protected] Arctic Species Fund: [email protected] Website: wwf.ca/take-action/apply-for-funding/

Business Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET

Overview

World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) is the country's largest international conservation organization, founded in 1967. With 187 employees and annual revenue of approximately $25 million (FY2024), the organization directs 71 cents of every dollar to conservation efforts, investing $23 million in conservation work in fiscal year 2024. WWF-Canada's mission is guided by the best scientific analysis and Indigenous knowledge to conserve species at risk, protect threatened habitats, and address climate change. Under President & CEO Megan Leslie's leadership since 2017, the organization has pursued a bold 10-year plan to Regenerate Canada by expanding habitats, reducing atmospheric carbon, lowering industrial impacts, and reversing wildlife loss. In FY2024, WWF-Canada disbursed $2.6 million in grants to charities, Indigenous organizations, local conservation groups, academics, and WWF global programs, including $500,000 to seven Indigenous-led stewardship initiatives. The organization earned a Four-Star rating (94%) from Charity Navigator, demonstrating strong program expense ratios and financial accountability.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

1. Nature and Climate Grant Program

  • Partnership: Presented with Aviva Canada (over $2 million invested to date)
  • Grant Range: Multi-year grants; first year funded seven groups with $1 million; second round provided $1.2 million
  • Focus: Helps communities and Indigenous organizations restore degraded lands and shorelines to improve habitats and capture carbon
  • Application Method: Not currently accepting applications (program runs in cohorts)
  • Impact: Since 2021, participants have restored over 702 hectares of degraded lands and water, improving habitats for over 57 at-risk species

2. Arctic Species Conservation Fund

  • Grant Amount: Up to $25,000 CAD per project
  • Focus: Research and stewardship for Arctic wildlife including Atlantic walrus, barren-ground caribou, beluga whales, bowhead whales, narwhal, polar bears, and ringed seals
  • Application Method: Rolling basis; submit proposals to [email protected]
  • Eligibility: Universities, independent researchers, community organizations, consulting firms, government and non-governmental organizations, Hunters and Trappers Organizations
  • Impact: Over 80 projects supported since 2016

3. Go Wild Grants

  • Schools K-12: $1,500 per institution
  • Post-Secondary (Colleges, Universities, CEGEPs): $2,000 per institution
  • Focus: Support students and educators to protect and restore habitat on school and campus grounds
  • Application Method: Online applications accepted annually every fall; application period for 2025-2026 now closed
  • Contact: [email protected] | Visit wwf.ca/schoolgrants
  • Impact: Since 2015, funded 589 school and campus projects totaling $521,960

4. Living Planet Tech Challenge

  • Grant Amount: Finalists receive $25,000; up to three final recipients can receive contracts of up to $100,000 to implement technology
  • Focus: Technology-driven conservation solutions; seeks bold and transformative ideas to solve conservation challenges
  • Recent Focus: Nature x Carbon Tech Challenge focused on carbon measurement technologies for nature-based climate solutions
  • Eligibility: Academics, entrepreneurs, inventors, innovators

Priority Areas

  • Species at Risk: Focus on Arctic wildlife, monarch butterflies, Canada warblers, Atlantic salmon, pallid bats, desert nightsnakes, swift foxes, Sprague's pipits
  • Habitat Restoration: Wetlands, grasslands, shorelines, agricultural lands, riparian forests, degraded industrial sites
  • Climate Action: Nature-based climate solutions, carbon capture and storage, climate refuges
  • Indigenous-Led Conservation: Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area projects, community-based stewardship, integration of Indigenous Knowledge and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit
  • Geographic Priorities: Yukon and Northwest Territories, BC's Okanagan, Prairie Grasslands, Maritime Provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island), Northern Territories, Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Research Focus: Underwater noise impacts, ship-based contaminant effects, caribou habitat and disturbance, human-polar bear conflict reduction, biodiversity inventories
  • Community Engagement: Youth involvement, community participation in land use planning, education on conservation issues

What They Don't Fund

WWF maintains an exclusion list of activities prohibited from funding, though specific exclusions were not detailed in publicly available materials. The organization has Environmental and Social Safeguards and policies covering:

  • Activities that do not align with Indigenous Peoples' rights and Free, Prior and Informed Consent
  • Projects not in line with international conservation law enforcement protocols
  • Initiatives that do not meet their ethical standards for conservation work

Governance and Leadership

Executive Leadership

Megan Leslie - President & Chief Executive Officer

  • Tenure: Since December 1, 2017
  • Background: Former Member of Parliament; lifelong conservation commitment
  • Compensation: $179,843 salary with total compensation of $201,806
  • Strategic Vision: Leading WWF-Canada's 10-year plan to Regenerate Canada

Key Quotes:

"Nature is not a luxury; it is one of Canada's defining characteristics. Its rich ecological diversity underpins our economy and is at the heart of our communities."

"I know that it's possible to fight climate change with nature. I know it's possible to bring back the habitat that wildlife needs, and to reverse wildlife loss. I know it's possible to work with Indigenous guidance and combine that knowledge with the best of science to protect and steward nature."

On decolonizing conservation:

Canada's environmental movement needs to "decolonize" itself and harness the push for conservation as a "tool for reconciliation."

Board of Directors

WWF-Canada is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprising leaders from the scientific, Indigenous, conservation, and business communities.

  • Chair: Meena Ballantyne (appointed February 2023)
  • Vice-Chair: Jamie Biggar
  • Board Member: Vince Gasparro, Managing Director & Head of Sustainable Finance at Roynat Capital – Scotiabank (20 years of leadership experience in finance and government)

The Board shapes strategic direction and policy, oversees performance and compliance, and provides governance and leadership.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Arctic Species Conservation Fund:

  • Process: Rolling basis; proposals accepted and reviewed at any point in the year
  • Submission: Email PDF application to [email protected]
  • Timeline: Submit final proposals at least six weeks prior to project start date
  • Languages: Application materials available in English, Inuktitut, and French
  • Guidance: Refer to 2025 call for proposals for detailed requirements

Go Wild Grants:

  • Process: Online applications accepted annually every fall
  • Submission: Visit wwf.ca/schoolgrants or contact [email protected]
  • Timeline: Applications for 2025-2026 grants are now closed; projects take place throughout the following school year

Nature and Climate Grant Program:

  • Process: Cohort-based program; not currently accepting applications
  • Note: Program runs in phases with specific cohorts selected for multi-year grants

Living Planet Tech Challenge:

  • Process: Challenge-based competitions announced periodically
  • Stages: Initial submission phase, finalist selection ($25,000 grants), field testing, final awards (up to $100,000)

Decision Timeline

  • Arctic Species Conservation Fund: Minimum 6 weeks from submission to project start date (rolling review)
  • Go Wild Grants: Applications reviewed after fall deadline; recipients announced in time for projects to commence the following year
  • Nature and Climate Grant Program: Multi-year cohort selection process; timeline varies by program phase
  • Living Planet Tech Challenge: Multi-stage process with finalist announcements followed by validation phase

Success Rates

Success rate data is not publicly available. However, program scale information includes:

  • Nature and Climate Grant Program: Seven groups funded in inaugural year; program expanded in second round
  • Go Wild Grants: 589 projects funded since 2015 (average of approximately 60-65 per year)
  • Arctic Species Conservation Fund: Over 80 projects supported since 2016 (average of approximately 10 per year)

Reapplication Policy

No specific reapplication policy for unsuccessful applicants is publicly documented. For program-specific guidance, applicants should contact the relevant program email addresses.

Application Success Factors

WWF-Canada's Documented Priorities

1. Indigenous Leadership and Knowledge Integration WWF-Canada has made Indigenous-led conservation a cornerstone of their funding strategy. In FY2024, they disbursed $500,000 specifically to seven Indigenous-led initiatives for stewardship and protection planning. Projects that incorporate Indigenous Knowledge, Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, and support Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas are prioritized.

2. Nature-Based Climate Solutions Successful projects demonstrate dual benefits: habitat restoration AND carbon capture/storage. The Nature and Climate Grant Program specifically seeks projects that "use the unique powers of nature to both capture and store carbon" while improving wildlife habitats.

3. Geographic Alignment with Priority Regions Projects in WWF-Canada's identified priority regions have strategic advantage:

  • Yukon and Northwest Territories (high unprotected physical habitats, soil carbon, at-risk species)
  • BC's Okanagan (at-risk species hotspot, climate refuges)
  • Prairie Grasslands (threatened ecosystems with up to 30 at-risk species per habitat)
  • Maritime Provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island - worst ecological representation)
  • Northern territories and Newfoundland and Labrador (highest percentage of unprotected habitats)

4. Community Engagement and Youth Involvement Successful Nature and Climate Grant recipients mobilized significant community participation. For example, Friends of the Rouge Watershed mobilized 4,000 youth and community volunteers to plant 20,000 native trees. The Go Wild Grants specifically support student-led projects.

5. Measurable Outcomes Strong applications include quantifiable goals such as:

  • Hectares of habitat restored (e.g., ALUS restored 185 hectares over three years)
  • Number of trees/plants (e.g., Friends of the Rouge planted 20,000 trees and 8,000 wildflowers)
  • Species at risk benefited (e.g., projects improving habitats for monarch butterflies, Canada warblers, Atlantic salmon)
  • Carbon sequestration metrics and baseline calculations

6. Evidence of Research Quality and Applied Conservation For the Arctic Species Conservation Fund, WWF-Canada seeks "high-quality research and stewardship initiatives" with practical conservation applications. Preferred projects include those studying underwater noise impacts, contaminant effects, caribou habitat, and human-wildlife conflict reduction.

Recent Successful Projects as Examples

  • ALUS Canada: Restored 185 hectares of farmland; hosted 14 events educating 637 people about nature-based climate solutions
  • Kennebecasis Watershed Restoration Committee (New Brunswick): Created baseline carbon calculations on degraded riparian soils; increased tree species diversity and floodplain functions
  • Friends of the Rouge Watershed (Toronto): Mobilized 4,000 volunteers; planted 20,000 native trees and 8,000 native plants in riparian forest wetland habitat

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Align with the Regenerate Canada vision: WWF-Canada is executing a bold 10-year plan to expand habitats, reduce atmospheric carbon, lower industrial impacts, and reverse wildlife loss. Frame your project within this strategic vision.

  • Emphasize Indigenous partnership and leadership: With $500,000 dedicated to Indigenous-led initiatives in FY2024, demonstrate genuine Indigenous partnership, incorporate Traditional Knowledge, or better yet, apply as an Indigenous-led organization. Decolonizing conservation is a stated organizational priority.

  • Demonstrate dual climate and biodiversity benefits: The most competitive applications show measurable impacts on both carbon capture/storage AND species at risk or habitat improvement. Include baseline calculations and quantifiable targets.

  • Target priority geographic regions: If your project is in Yukon/NWT, BC's Okanagan, Prairie Grasslands, or Maritime Provinces, emphasize this alignment with WWF-Canada's identified conservation gaps.

  • Show community mobilization capacity: Successful projects demonstrate ability to engage hundreds or thousands of volunteers, particularly youth. Include concrete engagement strategies and numbers.

  • Arctic Species Conservation Fund offers most flexible access: With rolling submissions and a 6-week minimum review period, this program provides the most accessible entry point for eligible Arctic wildlife research and stewardship projects.

  • Go Wild Grants are highly competitive but consistent: With 589 projects funded since 2015 (approximately 60-65 annually), schools and campuses have predictable annual opportunities, though competition is significant given the limited grant amounts and nationwide scope.

References

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