A letter from our Executive Director, Dr. Teri Allendorf
Last fall, during a visit to a village in Nepal, a woman asked me how Community Conservation funded its work. She assumed the answer would involve a major institution. USAID. WWF. A large international organization with endless resources and infrastructure.
When I told her the truth, she seemed surprised.
Our work is funded by individual donors in the United States. Ordinary people choosing to support communities and ecosystems they may never personally see. And in many ways, that’s exactly why this work succeeds.
Community conservation has always been built on relationships. Not top-down directives. Not outside organizations arriving with temporary solutions. But local people protecting the places they know best, with support from people around the world who believe their work matters. That support is often more important than people realize.
Chimps from a camera trap photo taken by our partners at CBBM
Five Gorillas. Six Chimpanzees.
In Cameroon’s rainforests, Denis Ndeloh leads Community-Based Biosynergy Management, a local conservation organization working to protect Cross River gorillas and chimpanzees. Cross River gorillas are among the rarest great apes on Earth. Fewer than 300 are believed to remain in the wild.
Like many local conservation leaders, Denis faces a challenge that most people never see. Funding. Not for ambitious new initiatives or flashy campaigns. For the basics. Office rent. Electricity. Staff salaries. Reliable transportation. The infrastructure that allows conservation work to continue day after day.
Many large funders won’t support those needs. But those needs are exactly what keep organizations alive. That’s why Community Conservation provides core support funding to our partners.
Because protecting forests and wildlife doesn’t happen through good intentions alone. It happens when local teams have the stability and resources to stay in the field long enough to build trust with communities.
This year, Denis and his team returned to the Mawambi Hills.
They rebuilt relationships with local people who had long helped protect these forests. That kind of trust takes time. It cannot be rushed. Then, a few weeks ago, their camera traps captured something extraordinary:
Five gorillas. Six chimpanzees. Healthy. Moving safely through the forest. A visible reminder that conservation works best when communities have the support they need to continue the work.
As Denis told us: “Community Conservation provides core support. Not many funders do that. When 98% of our grant proposals are turned down, core support lets us actually grow the work.”
Cross river gorillas as seen from camera trap footage taken by our partners
at Community-Based Biosynergy Management (CBBM)
Why Your Support Matters
This spring, Community Conservation needs to raise $25,000 by June 30 to continue supporting our field teams. Without this funding, critical community-led conservation work could slow or stop. But with support from people like you, local leaders can continue protecting forests, wildlife, and the communities connected to them.
A $100 donation helps provide a month of salary for a local conservation staff member. It helps keep field offices running. It helps teams stay present in the communities where conservation happens. Most importantly, it helps ensure that the people closest to the land remain empowered to protect it.
If you believe community-led conservation matters, we invite you to support this work today.
Support Community-Led Conservation
You can donate online here today because conservation succeeds when communities have the resources to lead it. And because somewhere in Cameroon, five gorillas and six chimpanzees are still moving safely through the forest.