OVERVIEW: The Friedkin Conservation Fund (FCF) provides assistance to the Tanzanian government in preserving its protected areas, helps uplift rural communities, and conducts wildlife monitoring and research.
IP TAKE: FCF has taken on the responsibility of preserving million acres of protected wildlife areas that are crucial to the greater Serengeti ecosystem’s survival. It does not detail an application process.
PROFILE: Established in 1993, the Friedkin Conservation Fund was established by billionaire couple Dan and Debra Friedkin. Dan was owns Gulf States Toyota, which has exclusive rights to distribute Toyota vehicles in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma. He chairs the the Friedkin Group, a privately held consortium of businesses and investments. The Friedkin Conservation Fund provides assistance to the Tanzanian government in preserving its protected areas, helps uplift rural communities, and conducts wildlife monitoring and research.
FCF has three areas of focus: Wildlife Conservation and Anti-Poaching, Community Engagement, and Scientific Research and Monitoring. FCF conducts research and monitoring in order to make effective wildlife management decisions and promote long-term sustainability of wildlife and their wilderness. It also assists the Tanzanian Wildlife Division by providing anti-poaching teams, and addresses issues of poverty and human pressure on natural resources at a community level. Dan Friedkin is chairman emeritus of Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission and on the board of Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The couple have supported Wildlife Conservation Society, where Dan has sat on the board.
In a recent fiscal year, the foundation spent around $107,000. Grants tend to be modest, and the fund’s website restricts information about recent grantees. Grantmaking centers on conservation-related community engagement, scientific research and monitoring, wildlife conservation, and anti-pouching measures.
While the foundation maintains a website, it does not detail an application process. It appears to seek out organizations with which to partner.
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