Small Grants Programme — Research Program

The Small Grants Programme is run by The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund. It provides project grants to individual conservationists, community initiatives, and organizations working on the conservation of animal, plant, or fungus species worldwide.

Applicants carry out the proposed work in their own project locations and set the project’s intended start and end dates. The current round promises a response by the end of December 2026 for complete online applications submitted by the deadline.

Benefits & funding

Applicants may request up to US$5,000 or more than US$5,000 up to a maximum of US$25,000.
Funding supports the specific conservation activities and budget presented in the application.

Eligibility

Individuals, community projects, and organizations may apply; the form does not state a nationality, residency, gender, age, degree, or experience threshold.
Projects may be based worldwide and must focus on conserving one or more animal, plant, or fungus species.
Applicants must identify the target species, its conservation status, the main project country and location, objectives, prior related work, planned dates, next conservation step, and budget.
Applicants are responsible for obtaining any authorization, permits, or licences required for the work.

Can you apply?

Open to all applicants

No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.

Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.

We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

1
Start a new application through the Fund’s online grant portal.
2
Select the request band, provide applicant and project details, and describe the target species, conservation status, location, objectives, prior work, planned dates, and next step.
3
Upload the mandatory biography or CV, supply a target-species JPEG, add one to three external references, address permits, and enter an itemized US-dollar budget.
4
Submit by midnight GMT on 15 October 2026 to receive a response by the end of December 2026.

Program timeline

15 October 2026, midnight GMT
Application deadline for a response by the end of December 2026.
Applicants should receive a response.
End of December 2026
Applicant-defined dates
Proposed project activities start and end according to the dates entered in the application.