Application window

The BASC Wildlife Fund is open to Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for major grants from 1 February 2026 until 5pm on 27 March 2026. 

We strongly encourage prospective applicants to undertake the following steps before submitting an EOI. This will help ensure your project aligns with our funding priorities and avoids unnecessary applications.

Before you apply

If you are considering applying for a BASC Wildlife Fund major grant, you must:

1. Read about who we are https://bascwildlifefund.co.uk/who-we-are/ and overview of the type projects that will be considered for support. https://bascwildlifefund.co.uk/funding/
2. Review projects that the BASC Wildlife Fund has supported https://bascwildlifefund.co.uk/our-work/
3. Read this guidance for major grants. 

Only if, having completed all three steps above, you believe your project aligns with the BASC Wildlife Fund’s objectives should you submit an Expression of Interest.

The Expression of Interest form is available at the bottom of this page.

Background

This is the guidance for major grants. If you wish to make a small grant application, please download the guidance and application form by visiting the small grant guidance page.

Applicants are welcome to discuss their project idea with us in order to help shape it.

Project eligibility

Consideration is given to projects that fall within the following general categories:

• habitat protection and restoration
• preparation of site management plans identifying conservation needs and establishing necessary management policy
• measures to involve local inhabitants/user groups in the sympathetic management of important sites/habitats
• projects that assist the UK and its devolved governments in meeting international commitments for nature recovery.

Activity and cost eligibility

Ineligible activities are:

• the purchase of land, buildings or firearms
• activities which may adversely affect people and local communities or where these communities have not provided their broad support to the project activities
• the removal or altering of any physical cultural property (includes sites having archaeological, paleontological, historical, religious, or unique natural values)
• activities that duplicate work previously funded by the BASC Wildlife Fund and/or the WHCT.

Eligible costs include:

• Feasibility and preliminaries – surveys, plans, consents, licences, welfare/health and safety/risk mitigation, management/staff employment/travel
• Project work/research – contractors quotations, specialist quotations, plant/machinery, materials, site constraints/contingencies/cost risks
• Monitoring – management/staff/travel, professional fees.

For costs with a value in excess of £5,000, three price quotations from different suppliers must be obtained and kept with financial records.

Ineligible costs include:

• financial support to third parties through sub-grants.
• debts and debt service charges (interest), provisions for losses or potential future liabilities, exchange rate losses and purchases of land and buildings

Financial support

The maximum size of a major grant is £100,000, though the amount may be lowered in some annual calls for applications.

The proposed project activities must be consistent with the amount requested. It is important to be realistic as to what can be achieved with the available amount and within the implementation period of the project.

Project duration

The maximum length of a project should be approximately 48 months beginning on the date the grant contract is signed.

Applicant eligibility

Grants are available to any individual or civil society entity (for example, charity, Community Interest Company and other not-for-profit entities), local, national or international non-governmental and governmental organisation.

An application can be submitted on behalf of several eligible project partners. Partners participate in designing and implementing the project, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead partner.

Making an application

• All applicants must first submit an Expression of Interest (EOI).
• EOIs are accepted from 1 February 2026 until 5pm on 27 March 2026.

• Only EOIs approved by the BASC Wildlife Fund will be invited to submit a full application
• If invited, applicants will normally have one month (usually during May) to submit a full application. Exact timings may vary from year to year.
• Application templates (technical and financial) are available online for submitting your proposal. The proposal must indicate how the project will be structured, managed and implemented.
• Applicants must demonstrate the capacity to manage and implement successful projects. Proposals should include a clear logical framework demonstrating how activities will lead to outputs and results.
• Proposals should concretely describe anticipated impacts of the project and how they will resolve the problem(s) or threat(s) to be addressed within the timeframe of the grant. The proposal should also include a project monitoring plan with clear measurable indicators, such as:
  – change in population numbers of target species
  – measurable reduction of known threat to target species or its habitat
  – enabling conditions for conservation such as improvement of management effectiveness.

• Applications are carefully reviewed. Decisions are normally made within eight weeks of the submission deadline, and applicants will be notified of the outcome within a further four weeks.
• A brief explanation will be provided to applicants whose proposals are unsuccessful, but further discussion cannot be entered into.
• If approved, you will be informed that the project has been selected for funding. You will be asked to address any of the issues raised during review of the project and, if so, there may be a need to modify your original proposal. Once the key issues have been addressed, you will be asked to sign a grant agreement.
• Successful applicants will be required to demonstrate the appropriate risk assessment has been undertaken for this project. You will also be fully responsible for any required insurance and other liabilities.