The International Elephant Foundation makes grants for the conservation and research of elephants. Eligibility extends to organizations and individuals internationally — including students, scientists, and institutions. The Foundation supports in situ or ex-situ conservation of African or Asian elephants or their habitats. Most awards are about US$15 thousand for one year. The application deadline for short pre-proposals is 01 August 2025. Click here
The International Elephant Foundation’s Elephant Conservation and Research Funding Support Program is now open for Application Submissions.
To be considered for funding in 2026, applicants are required to complete and submit the Online 2026 IEF Grant Application which is due:
NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2025, 11:59pm PST.
On average IEF funds 20 to 25 projects annually. The average Grant Award is $15,000 per year.
IEF is interested in supporting effective, sustainable conservation projects that will make a positive impact for elephants, habitats and the communities that share their land. The application must show that the project goals, methods and intervention are perceived to be or known to be functionally effective, ethically and culturally appropriate, feasible, and the relevant stakeholders are included in the project development and activities. IEF will not fund activities or interventions that have been proven to be ineffective. Therefore make sure you research the methods you are proposing to see what has already been tried and how it has been tried.
General Information and Instructions
To help guide you through the online application we have created a copy of the application in a Word.doc file.
We STRONGLY SUGGEST you use this Word.doc file to prepare your draft answers for copying/pasting into the form versus typing into the online form as it is quite lengthy.
Criteria for funding
To guide you in your project submission, the following criteria have been established:
IEF prefers to support annual and multi-year projects that address:
- Human-Elephant Conflict prevention and mitigation
- Habitat conservation and management;
- Conservation education and community outreach;
- Transfrontier or transboundary elephant conservation;
- Elephant protection programs including anti-poaching patrols, infra-structure development, security, investigation and prosecution;
- Reducing and preventing the ivory and bushmeat trade; and
- Research into elephant diseases.
Before you begin to write your proposal, consider that IEF prefers to fund:
- Community-based programs that show promise for future growth;
- Projects that have an immediate and measurable effect on elephant conservation;
- Projects that can be accomplished and their success initially evaluated within a year, or two years if the proposal indicates a longer timeframe;
- Project investigators’ CV demonstrates experience or a strong indication of their ability to be successful; and
- Project investigator has established field-based operations in the project area.
As you prepare your budget, these are some items that IEF will not fund:
- Out of country travel to project site;
- Purchase of guns and ammunition;
- Paid informants;
- Tuition fees for Advanced Degrees; and
- Overhead, indirect, contingency, and miscellaneous costs.
Files that you are expected to upload:
(Type) / Description
(image) / Country Project Location
(image) / Specific Project Location
(image) / Elephant(s) in Project Location
(document) / Copy of Organization/Entity Country Recognition – if appropriate
(document) / Investigator and Co-Investigator(s) CV
(document) / Permit(s), Letter(s), Endorsement(s)
(document) / IACUC – if appropriate
The online application form will guide you through the process of providing the information we are seeking that is valuable to us in determining if IEF will fund your project. We are primarily interested in content, clarity, and well-thought-out methodology. Reviewers will base their evaluations only on the information presented in this application.
