The African Bird Club has been funding bird conservation in Africa since 1994 and has made grants totalling more than £700 000 to over 370 projects in 53 countries and territories. Its awards programme is aimed at small to medium-sized work that often struggles to find funding elsewhere.
Conservation Awards of up to £3 000 are made to individuals normally resident in an African country or to institutions based there. Almost any project with a clear conservation objective can be considered, including surveys and monitoring of birds and their habitats, education projects or training courses, guides to the birds of an area in local languages, support for local bird clubs, and awareness of conservation issues.
Expedition Awards of up to £5 000 are reserved for larger, more ambitious projects outside the applicant’s home country. The expedition must take place on mainland Africa or related islands, be conservation-based with a strong bird component, and be associated with an academic institution, a conservation NGO, a natural history/bird club, or the government of the host country.
You may submit only one proposal in any funding round, and you may not apply for both awards at the same time. Proposals are peer-reviewed by an independent Conservation Committee, which then advises the club’s trustees. A project must not start before the decision date, so work proposed in this round must begin after February 2027.
Download the Conservation Award or Expedition Award application forms from the club’s website at www.africanbirdclub.org/apply-for-an-award. No other form of application will be considered. Completed forms must be emailed to conservation_fund@africanbirdclub.org by the end of October 2026.
