Finance Score: 8
Governance Score: 6
Support Score: 15
  • Low unrestricted reserves: -2
  • Strong growth: +2
  • Fundraising costs low: +3
  • Future income +5
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Gender balanced board: +3
  • Overall weighted support: +15
Overall GiG Score: 29 ?

ACTION FOR CONSERVATION

Overview

Action for Conservation run school based workshops, host residential camps, organise work placements and build online networks for young people that educate them about the environment while developing a proactive youth conservation movement in the UK.

They continue to attract major funder backing to grow their programmes including innovative intergenerational action sites across the UK. Partnerships with other non-profits have enhanced the scope of their offer to provide young people with opportunities for work placements, and they have seen young people finishing their ambassador programme go on to lead environmental youth groups and national social action campaigns.

Source: Giving is Great

Mission:

To bring the magic of nature into young people’s lives, inspiring a youth movement committed to conservation, restoration and to the Earth
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • There has been strong growth in spending over the last 5 years
  • There have been no material income shortfalls in recent years
  • Fundraising costs are unusually low relative to funds raised
  • A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers including the Government and there are significant future grants due to be received
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of gender and dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • Over half the Board have joined recently

Financial issues to consider:

  • Unrestricted reserves appear to be dangerously low at the latest year end

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?
Sources of Income ?
Y/E Income
£k
Spending
£k
Surplus/
Deficit £k
Fundraising
Cost £k
Total
Funds £k
Unrestricted
Funds £k
Mths
Rsrvs
Staff Volun-
teers
31/03/23£864£954£-91£1£283£1832.31532
31/03/22£1,228£1,130£98£1£374£2692.91117
31/03/21£423£305£118n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/20£287£280£7n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/19£200£181£20n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/18£167£82£84n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/17£62£39£23n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/16£22£17£5n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/15£19£2£17n/an/an/an/an/an/a

Financial Ratios
Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 0.1%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 0.1%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 8%
Highest pay band: £60,000-£70,000
Liabilities/Assets: 19%
Liabilities/Income: 8%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 65%
Reserves/Spending: 2.3 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 3 months
Quick Ratio: 4.6
Asset Split ?
Balance Sheet History
Established: 10 years

www.actionforconservation.org

info@actionforconservation.org

07766307675

Charity Commission for England and WalesFacebookInstagramXYouTube
UN SDGs
?
How you can help
What it does
Running workshops and events, providing learning materials, organising work experience placements, and building online networks to develop a proactive youth conservation movement in the UK with a culture of greater awareness and participation, and in the process grow the wider involvement and support of young adults, professionally, voluntarily or financially, for conservation in the future.
Listed activities
  • Arts/Culture/Heritage/Science
  • Education/Training
  • Environment/Conservation/Heritage
GiG Classification
  • Environment conservation & animal welfare advocacy
How it operates
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Throughout England And Wales,
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People

Who supports them? ?

Donations from Grant Makers ?

We have details on the following donations. Multi-year donations are allocated to the years for which they are earmarked.

Major supporters in last 5 years
Esmee Fairbairn£761,383
Garfield Weston Foundation£250,000
OVO Foundation£181,500
Dulverton Trust£135,000
John Ellerman Foundation£100,000
Joseph Rowntree Foundation£100,000
Energy Saving Trust Foundation£40,000
The EQ Foundation£21,000
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Action for Conservation
£600,000 23/04/2024
60
Towards unrestricted core costs to support work to inspire and empower young people from all backgrounds to protect and restore the natural world across the UK
Energy Saving Trust Foundation - Youth Climate Action Fund
£40,000 07/12/2023
24
Engaging young people experiencing inequality on action related to the climate emergency
OVO Foundation - Climate Changers - Action for Conservation
£16,500 04/09/2023
This grant will be used as a one-off uplift payment of £16,500 (10% of Action for Conservation’s total grant from 2020 - 2023) in recognition of the continued rising costs associated with staff ....more
John Ellerman Foundation - core costs
£100,000 27/07/2023
core costs
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Action for Conservation
£41,383 28/06/2023
Towards project costs to understand how intergenerational mapping methodologies could support holistic bio-cultural recovery in the Upper Usk River catchment
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (2 Years) award
£150,000 26/06/2023
24
up to £150k to be spread over 2 years
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Action for Conservation
£22,500 06/02/2023
Towards unrestricted core costs as a Cost of Living Uplift
Dulverton Trust - Action for Conservation Core Funding
£135,000 19/10/2022
Action for Conservation Core Funding
The EQ Foundation - Grant to Action for Conservation
£16,000 16/05/2022
Big Give Green Match
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (2 Years) award
£50,000 18/03/2022
24
Unrestricted
The EQ Foundation - Grant to Action for Conservation
£5,000 15/05/2021
Unrestricted
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (2 Years) award
£50,000 12/03/2021
24
Unrestricted
Joseph Rowntree Foundation - Grant to Action for Conservation
£100,000 28/11/2020
24
Youth Environmental Action Project
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Action for Conservation
£60,000 23/10/2020
24
Towards Core costs To deliver 'Race for Nature', a partnership initiative that uses the Government's Kickstarter programme to place young people from Visible Minority Ethnic (VME) backgrounds into ....more
OVO Foundation - Climate Changers - Action for Conservation
£165,000 13/07/2020
This grant will be used to deliver Action for Conservation's WildEd workshops focusing on environmental improvement projects in schools.
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Action for Conservation
£37,500 05/05/2020
6
towards unrestricted core costs as a COVID-19 Fast Response grant
OVO Foundation - OVO Gives Back - 2019-2020
£20,000 01/08/2019
This grant was used to cover the staff, travel and venue hire and various material costs of AFC WildED programme including secondary school workshops and Conservation Camps.
Dulverton Trust - Core costs for North East expansion
£105,000 12/06/2019
Core costs for North East expansion
Dulverton Trust - Core costs for North East expansion ? Big Give Christmas Challenge 2019
£10,000 12/06/2019
Core costs for North East expansion ? Big Give Christmas Challenge 2019
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Action for Conservation
£500,000 30/04/2019
60
Towards unrestricted core costs to enable a suite of work to inspire and empower young people aged 12-18 to engage in environmental issues and work towards change across the UK
The Funding Network - AFC Programme Expansion
£17,966 18/06/2018
We aim to scale our existing three-part programme across the UK, strengthening our regional presence to facilitate youth leadership and embed our approach and impacts in local communities.
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Action for Conservation
£60,000 07/08/2017
24
Towards the salaries and other costs of the director and programme manager to empower young people to engage and make a difference on nature conservation and environmental issues.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (2 Years) award
£30,000 24/07/2017
24
Action for Conservation Core Programme Costs
Dulverton Trust - AFC Work Programme (Core Costs)
£15,000 14/06/2017
AFC Work Programme (Core Costs)
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How do they operate?

WildED Programme

Objectives: To educate young people about nature conservation and provide opportunities for their involvement in related projects

Intervention period: One school year

Beneficiaries: Young people aged 11-17, with an emphasis on young people from underrepresented backgrounds living in underserved urban areas

Description: The WildED Programme is delivered in secondary schools and youth groups in under-resourced urban areas across the UK. Through inspiring workshops and hands-on activities, young people learn about environmental issues globally and close to home, and design and deliver action projects in their community that benefit nature and people locally. This year they have piloted a new annual delivery model and additional ‘inspiration’ days where young people can take practical action with a community partner to inspire and motivate them as they deliver their own independent projects

Residential Camps

Objectives: 1. Provide transformational experiences in nature 2. Build young peoples connection to a like-minded peer group 3. Give young people the skills, knowledge and motivation to lead change as they return home to their communities

Intervention period: One week

Beneficiaries: Young people aged 12-16 from diverse backgrounds, with a particular emphasis on those from underrepresented and/or underserved communities

Description: Residential camps allow students to spend time connecting and learning how to protect nature alongside other young people from across the UK. They include conservation activities and careers advice spearheaded by young conservation professionals, the Action for Conservation team and partner organisations. Students return ready to drive change in their local community and make a difference to nature

Youth Ambassador Programme

Objectives: To empower young people to lead projects for the benefit of nature in their communities, and have a voice in environmental decision-making at local and national level

Intervention period: One year

Beneficiaries: Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds

Description: Following on from the WildED programme and Residential Camps, young people participate in a mentoring scheme where they further develop conservation skills and knowledge to help them take action in their communities and become Ambassadors for environmental action

Intergenerational Action Sites

Objectives: To support young people to have meaningful engagement and decision making capacity in landscape-scale nature restoration projects

Intervention period: Ongoing

Beneficiaries: Young people

Description: Our Intergenerational Action Projects put our Ambassadors and other young leaders in the driving seat of influential, replicable and ground-breaking projects at scale, underpinned by youth-centred decision-making processes, that equip them with the skills to avert climate and ecological breakdown and seed a greener and fairer future for us all. The Penpont Project, our flagship intergenerational initiative, supports a Youth Leadership Group (YLG) of AFC Alumni and local young people to work in equal partnership with tenant farmers, landowners, and scientists to restore bio-cultural diversity and build climate and ecological resilience across a 2,000-acre estate

Sectoral Change

Objectives: To inspire and support a youth environmental movement that shifts culture, shapes environmental policy and transforms conservation practice nationally

Intervention period: Ongoing

Beneficiaries: Young people, the environmental sector and wider society

Description: The active contributions of all young people across all of their programmes form the basis of their Sectoral Change work, which seeks to create a revitalised, diverse and effective environmental sector that puts young people at the heart of change

How effective are they?
Outputs
Outcomes
Y/EWildED Workshops deliveredStudents participating in WildED WorkshopsStudent-led environmental change projects complete% of Participants now aware how their behaviour impacts the environment
30/03/20231521,34526058%
30/03/2022541,08019059%
30/03/20215781613774%
Commentary: High quality educational workshops in their main programme have given students an in-depth awareness of environmental issues teachers may be unable to provide, and which they can share with friends and family. Core behavioural changes in young people are where they primarily measure impact and their hopes are that by instilling values in nature and conservation, young people will cause systematic change in the long term. The number of students continuing to attend group camps and volunteering activities highlight the enthusiasm the programme infuses, and partner charities providing practical, real-life experiences drive home the impact humans are having on nature
See what you could achieve with a donation of: £
How do we calculate this?

Who works here?

  • HENDRIKUS VAN HENSBERGEN
    Founder/Chief Executive
    Appointed: June 2014
Hendrikus has previously worked as a government policy adviser and studied at Bristol and Oxford University, with an interest in Evolutionary Biology.
  • LAURA KRAVAC
    Head of Programmes
    Appointed: October 2020

How is it governed?

Trustees (9)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split
Based on 8/9 persons

  • ALEX MILLS Appointed: 2014
  • AYLA STYLE Appointed: 2024
  • DAVID MACDONALD CBE (Chair) Appointed: 2014 Occupation: Zoologist/Conservationist
David is a zoologist and sine graduating from Oxford University, has been an active wildlife conservationist. He is the Director of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford which he founded in 1986, and holds a Senior Research Fellowship at Lady Margaret Hall with the Title of Distinction of Professor of....more
  • DR ROBERT MACFARLANE PHD, FRSL Appointed: 2014
  • JOHN HEW FANSHAWE Appointed: 2015
  • MALWINA SZYMANSKA Appointed: 2024
  • TAMAR OKUNHON Appointed: 2024
  • YETUNDE KEHINDE Appointed: 2022
  • YUSRA MOTIN Appointed: 2024
Legal constitution
  • Charity registered in England & Wales on 03/06/2014, number: 1157297
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Complaints handling
  • Conflicting interests
  • Financial reserves policy and procedures
  • Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
  • Internal risk management policy and procedures
  • Paying staff
  • Risk management
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Trustee expenses policy and procedures
  • Volunteer management
Filing Record
9 returns made; all on time
Main office

15 Wytham Street
OXFORD
OX1 4SU

Objectives

TO EDUCATE CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT NATURE CONSERVATION AND TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN RELATED PROJECTS.

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving

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