Our Approach

QRFN is a rapid response fund that matches scientific expertise, funding, and urgent conservation needs at a speed unmatched by traditional funding mechanisms. Our goal is to ensure that any significant land deal – especially those that protect the last homes for rare and endangered species – has access to the necessary funds.

While our grants are not always enough to complete an entire transaction, we aim to provide catalytic funding that can secure a property, demonstrate commitment, enable an initial payment, and buy the time needed to raise remaining funds. By filling urgent funding gaps at critical moments, we help conservation partners move quickly when opportunities might otherwise be lost.

Our overarching objective is to protect the world’s most important sites for biodiversity by supporting conservation efforts that:

• Protect populations of globally Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable species;
• Require urgent action; and
• Protect globally significant unprotected sites identified by the Global Safety Net, with a priority for Conservation Imperatives sites (also known as Species Rarity sites) – the 1.2% of the terrestrial surface where protection can prevent most extinctions.

To achieve these objectives, we strive to:

• Provide a rapid response, delivering a decision and funding on timelines that match the urgency of conservation opportunities, often within as little as two weeks
• Engage our volunteer Expert Review Panel, comprising over 60 leading biodiversity experts, to provide timely review and scrutiny of solicited proposals;
• Support local organizations with a demonstrated capacity to deliver;
• Put 100% of contributions into the land deals; we don’t fund overhead, management, or restoration costs.
• Leverage donor funds by engaging our advisors, networks, and partners to help with fundraising.