The Rufford Foundation, formerly the Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation, is a trust based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

that funds nature conservation projects by small or medium-sized organizations in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

History

The present foundation was the result of a merger in August 2003 between the Rufford Foundation and the Maurice Laing Foundation. Sir

Maurice Laing Sir John Maurice Laing (1 February 1918 – 22 February 2008) was a senior executive of British construction company John Laing. He was the first president of the Confederation of British Industry in 1965–66. Early life Laing was born in Car ...

(1918–2008) established the Maurice Laing Foundation in June 1972, while his son John Hedley Laing established the Rufford Foundation in June 1982. The Maurice Laing Foundation used to support research into complementary health treatments. This is no longer an area of focus for the present foundation. The Rufford Small Grants Foundation provides Rufford Small Grants for Nature Conservation. It was established in 2007, providing grants of up to £25,000 for small programmes and pilot projects in developing countries that conserve nature and biodiversity. John Laing founded both the Rufford Foundation and the Rufford Small Grants Foundation. In 1999 his Rufford Foundation began to support the annual Whitley Awards and in 2000 he became a founder trustee of the Whitley Fund for Nature.

Grants

Most of the grants from the foundation go to nature conservation, the environment, and sustainable development in developing countries. The foundation also gives support to HIV/AIDS projects run by the

Elton John AIDS Foundation The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is a nonprofit organization, established by musician Sir Elton John in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United Kingdom to support innovative HIV prevention, education programs, direct care and s ...

. The foundation provides some funding to health and medicine projects and social welfare initiatives in the UK. In the year ending April 2011 the foundation earned £2.352 million and spent £2.666 million on charitable activities. Grants from the foundation average £20,000 – 50,000. Nature conservation projects that received support from the foundation in 2010/2011 included: *

Bat Conservation Trust The Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) is a registered British charity dedicated to the conservation of bats and their habitats in the UK. BCT was founded in 1991 and is the only national organisation solely devoted to bats. Its vision is a world where ...

Botanic Gardens Conservation International Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) is a plant conservation biology, conservation Charitable organization, charity based in Kew, Surrey, England. It is a membership organisation, working with 800 botanic gardens in 118 countries, wh ...

Compassion in World Farming Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) is a campaigning and lobbying animal welfare organisation. It campaigns against the live export of animals, certain methods of livestock slaughter, and all systems of factory farming. It has received cel ...

Environmental Investigation Agency The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is an international NGO founded in 1984 in the United Kingdom by environmental activists Dave Currey, Jennifer Lonsdale and Allan Thornton. At present, it has offices in London and Washington, D.C. ...

Environmental Justice Foundation The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) founded in 2001 by Steve Trent and Juliette Williams that promotes the non-violent resolution of human rights abuses and related environmental issues in the Globa ...

FIELD Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

Fauna and Flora International Fauna & Flora is an international nature conservation charity and non-governmental organization based in the United Kingdom. Founded as the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire, the society created some of the first ga ...

* Forest Research *

Global Canopy Programme Global may refer to: General *Globe, a spherical model of celestial bodies *Earth, the third planet from the Sun Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 198 ...

Global Witness Global Witness is an international NGO that investigates environmental and human rights abuses. The organisation campaigns for greater representation of people affected by the climate crisis in climate decision-making. They have offices in Lon ...

* Last Great Ape Organisation *

Madagasikara Voakajy Madagasikara may be: *The Malagasy name for Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast ...

Orangutan Foundation Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ' ...

Phoenix Fund Phoenix Fund (Фонд "Феникс") is a Russian wildlife and forest conservation organization serving regions of the Russian Far East, especially Primorski Krai and Khabarovsk Krai. This area includes globally significant biodiversity, inc ...

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

Southern African Wildlife College Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express ...

TRAFFIC Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

* Whitley Fund for Nature *

Wildlife Conservation Nepal Wildlife refers to undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also ...

Wildlife Protection Society of India Wildlife refers to undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also ...

Wildlife Trust of India The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is one of India's leading wildlife conservation action institutions. It works closely with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under the Government of India, as well as with the respective sta ...

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Charities based in London Organizations established in 1971