IDEA WILD Grant Application Guidelines – 2025 – 2026

How Does It Work?

Documents Required for submission of IDEA WILD Grant Application:

Please Note: Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
Submitting incomplete applications or missing documents will cause delays in the processing of your application. Please be sure to submit all required documents as directed in these guidelines.

Information for Repeat Applicants:

• If you are submitting a new application, include information on which years you’ve received funding in the past and what equipment you received.
• You must submit follow-up from your previous project before submitting a new grant application.

Follow-Up Materials:

• There are no formal deadlines or specific reporting formats.
• We’d like to receive a brief summary of the project, interesting results, how the equipment was used/was beneficial, etc. 
• Publications, posters, theses, news articles, videos, blogs, social media, etc. that result from your project are especially welcome. 
• We also enjoy high resolution photos from the field to be shared with our donors, readers of our e-newsletters and our social media followers.
  Our logo can be found here. 

Information for Applicants Asking for Funds Only:

• If you are asking for funds for field expenses instead of equipment, you MUST write this in your application. If your request changes from equipment to funds during the fulfilment process, the request will be denied.
• IDEA WILD no longer accepts requests for international money transfers:
  Due to a multitude of constraints including rapidly changing laws and requirements associated with international money transfers from a US based charity to an individual abroad, we are no longer able to offer international wire/bank transfers of any kind at this time. We are only able to send funds via a check in the mail to your US contact, or through PayPal. Your US contact can then transfer the funds to you once they have received the funds.
• If requesting funds, the chances of your application being approved are much lower. IDEA WILD is facing challenges with sending money abroad due to US international money transfer laws and is unable to fulfill every funds request as a result.
• Your request needs to specifically outline how the funding will be used, e.g. transportation (vehicle rental and gas/mileage or bus fares), lodging, meals, and anything else that might be relevant. The review committee’s decision will depend on the overall budget, conservation impact and grant competition at the time.
• If requesting funds to purchase equipment:
  First contact the supplier in your country and acquire an invoice for the requested equipment. Submit that invoice with your application. In the “Requested Equipment” section of the application, please make a note that you also attached a separate quote for the items.

Filling Out the Online Application Form

• Email address: If listing more than one email address, please list the best way to contact you first
• US Contact: Due to the uncertainty and often extra/hidden costs of international shipping, IDEA WILD uses a relay method for delivering equipment. Please provide the name, United States postal address, email address and telephone number of a person (such as visiting professor, friend or relative) who can receive the equipment and then hand deliver to you. Once a project is approved, it can take additional time to both locate equipment (particularly for specialized requests) and to deliver to your U.S. contact, who must then travel to you. Please allow ample time for all of these steps in your planning.
  Applications will not be accepted without a valid US contact.
• Start date: A project start date less than 6 months away will likely not be approved.
  We require 3-6 months to review and approve application documents. Shipping the equipment takes another several weeks to two months depending on the manufacturer’s timelines and your responsiveness to our emails. We are unable to accommodate projects that require the equipment to arrive in fewer than six months. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate requests to review applications in an expedited manner timelines shorter than six months.
• Equipment Use: IDEA WILD encourages the reuse of equipment and gives preference to requests that clearly explain how the equipment will be used when the project is finished.
• Review Timeline: Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate requests to review applications in an expedited manner.

Requested Equipment Sheet

The Online Application Form will guide you to fill out a Requested Equipment sheet in order to describe the items you’re requesting in your grant application.

• Make a copy of the Requested Equipment Sheet (go to File then “Make a copy”.)
  Do not Request Access.
• Read the instructions carefully.
• List items in order of priority (i.e. first item is most important for your project).
• The total cost of your requested equipment must be less than $1500 U.S.
• Fill out the Requested Equipment Sheet, download as PDF, and upload it to the online application when prompted.
• Click here for a sample of a completed form of “Requested Equipment”.

For Telemetry requests:
Please contact the company you will be requesting equipment from. Explain that you are requesting an equipment grant from IDEA WILD, and have the company send you an invoice to include in your application. Please include the email of the company representative you previously contacted in your application, so we can correspond with both you and the company representative during fulfillment.

When possible, please provide links to equipment from a reputable source, or one of our preferred suppliers.
Listed below are some suggested websites for frequently requested equipment items:
(Requests for equipment from companies located outside the U.S. may increase the time necessary to ship those items or may not be approved.)

If Your Project is Approved:

• IDEA WILD will only pay for shipping expenses to your U.S. contact.
• Please have your U.S. contact confirm that the equipment received is in good working condition before delivering to you.
• We avoid shipping during December, the month of U.S. winter holidays.
• Once an approved project is completed, each recipient is expected to submit follow-up materials to report on how the equipment was used.
• IDEA WILD prioritizes refurbished, used, and recycled yet high-quality equipment when available for donating to our applicants. This allows us to fund more projects and reduce the environmental impact of research equipment.

Average Budgets Approved for Various Equipment Types:

• Average laptop budget  $250-$500
• Average DSLR – $450
• Average Microscope – $250-$550
• Average Trail Cameras (Donated from a preferred supplier partnership)  $20-$40
• Average Binoculars  (Donated from a preferred supplier partnership) $100
• Average Spotting Scope (Donated from a preferred supplier partnership $250
• Average GPS $60-$100

If you choose to request an item from this list that exceeds the allotted budget, you’ll want to specify your reasons for needing an item with a high price point.

IDEA WILD funds equipment for projects that:

Tips for a Successful Grant Submission:

Listed below are considerations IDEA WILD makes when reviewing applications. Keeping these in mind will help you build a successful application package.

IDEA WILD project/application approval considerations

• Main Considerations
  1. Grant amount
  2. Project title
  3. Applicant’s credentials
  4. Status of species

• “Most Likely” to be funded – basic criteria includes all of these:

1. 1. 1. Less than $1000
      2. Well written & good methodology
      3. Not asking for cash
      4. Equipment easily accessible; Equipment costs at time of application are low
      5. Start date later than six months from date received
      6. Working on degree (more likely to produce) and usually applicant has master’s degree or higher
      7. Good justification that matches requested list
      8. Only gear (not borrowable items like shovels)
      9. Repurposing/redistribution is trackable
      10. Good address for equipment transport volunteer

Extra Points (not in any order):

1. PROJECT considerations
   1. 1. Unique, innovative
      2. Wide or exponential impact and/or change in consciousness
      3. Current extractive issue, climate extreme event, corridor project, migratory stopover
      4. IUCN/CR status (LC usually outcompeted by EN/CR)
      5. Extremely rare or endangered plants
      6. Contributing to national database that’s widely accessible
      7. New protected area or in a new state/area or new species!
2. APPLICANT considerations
   1. 1. National coming from a rare country
      2. National from Global South who received scholarship to study in Global North
      3. Also receiving funding from Rufford, Mohammed Bin Zayed Foundation, Conservation Leadership Program, New England Biolabs Foundation, Bird Life International or other prestigious conservation funder
      4. Connections with expert(s) or partnering organizations
      5. Lots of community engagement and activities
      6. Impressive track record
      7. Founder of Non-Profit Org or gov’t program officer
      8. Women in science!
      9. IDEA WILD team, Board or donors have visited
      10. Lots of experience with species
3. APPLICATION considerations
4. 1. 1. Amazing recommendation letter
      2. Lots of references
      3. Works with a big team
      4. Two applicants applying together

Projects likely to be denied

1. 1. 1. Asking for luxury items
         (overly expensive camera or laptop that doesn’t match the goals of project)
      2. Poorly written
      3. Outside mission
         (e.g., health, agriculture, aquaculture, disease, pure science not applicable to direct conservation efforts)
      4. Non-national without a local connection
      5. US national from Global North with access to own travel and research resources including equipment (unless in rare country)
      6. Outcompeted by others within same country that have higher priority
      7. Applications asking for funds rather than conservation or research equipment
         (only 5% of funds applications are approved as opposed to 65% of gear applications)