Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is celebrating World Wildlife Day and the theme of 'Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet', by announcing the establishment of the Australian Wildlife Endowment Fund, which will provide crucial funding to restore nature and protect wildlife across the country.
Working with specialist asset investment advisers at JANA, the Endowment Fund creates a permanent capital base to deliver sustainable, recurring income over the long term to fund AWC's conservation work, and also provide capital to support transformative conservation opportunities..
"Due to the scale of the biodiversity and climate crises, restoring a rich, resilient Australian landscape will take many decades of committed and collective effort," said Nick Butcher, Australian Wildlife Conservancy Board Chair. "To protect wildlife and habitats, AWC must dramatically scale up our funding resources to deliver our important conservation work."
"Establishing the Endowment Fund has transformative potential to push beyond the limitations of annual funding into long term financial sustainability and support the transformational scale of our investment in biodiversity restoration."
The Endowment Fund was set up with 'seed capital' of $5M from AWC's balance sheet and funding from the Martin Copley Will Trust. Supported by engagement with current and prospective donors, AWC's target is to grow the Fund to $100M in 10 years.
The Fund's strategic asset allocation creates a diversified investment portfolio across multiple asset classes. It's permanent capital matches AWC's long term commitments as a responsible manager and custodian of land for conservation.
"Through prudent investment management, informed by JANA's independent expert investment advice, AWC aims to grow the Endowment Fund capital base over time, which will allow us to significantly invest in transformational action for wildlife," added Mr Butcher. "Our ambitious goals for the Endowment Fund match our ambitious goals for conservation impact."
