1. How has partnering with CAF America through a Friends Fund helped Tusk expand its fundraising efforts in the U.S.?

Being able to offer a tax-effective option to donate to Tusk via CAF America has presented an obstacle-free route for us to grow our donor-base within the U.S., from the West Coast to the East. This route is also available online, enabling us to direct all our supporters to the same donate link – from wherever they are in the world – and they can then select the option that
works best for them. Donors to Tusk have enjoyed making charitable gifts to Tusk at CAF America via various methods, such as wire, check, stocks, and grants from family foundations, as well as DAFs.

2. Can you share any specific success stories or initiatives that were made possible through the support of U.S. donors via your Friends Fund?

In 2020, as the world was gripped by the Covid pandemic, the Wildlife Ranger Challenge was born through a partnership between Tusk and Natural State to ensure that Wildlife Rangers could continue their vital work on the frontline of conservation, at a time when the cessation in international tourism was seriously impacting their local economies. More than 100 Ranger teams from across Africa competed against each other in a number of training challenges, culminating in a half-marathon while wearing their 22 kg packs. These teams and their respective organizations raised funds in support of their efforts, all of which have been matched by the initiative’s founding donor Mark Scheinberg.

Having the Friends Fund made it so much easier to secure a significant level of support from the U.S., and to unlock the matched funding. The Wildlife Ranger Challenge has continued ever since, and has evolved to help increasingly professionalize the Wildlife Ranger sector within Africa. Now in its fifth year, the event has so far generated more than $21 million. Meanwhile, the Friends Fund has also enabled Tusk to hold more events and build our donor-base in the U.S. In September this year, we held our first event on the West Coast, in Silicon Valley, attracting a whole new audience to our cause.

3. What challenges has Tusk faced in raising awareness about wildlife conservation, and how has the Friends Fund partnership helped address those challenges?

When the world is facing so many challenges, including war, poverty, and the impacts of climate change, one of the greatest challenges for Tusk is to stress the importance and relevance of protecting wildlife in Africa to people, which can seem so far away to so many. Having the Friends Fund partnership gives us the platform from which to get our message out across the U.S. Donors to Friends of Tusk at CAF America are reassured to know that Tusk has a fiscal 501(c)(3) pathway within the U.S. for gifts that can maximize impact for conservation in the field with Tusk’s strong reputation for low overhead.

4. How has the ability to offer U.S. donors tax-deductible donations impacted your ability to secure funding for critical projects?

Many U.S. individuals and organizations new to the Tusk donor family in recent years were only able to support Tusk because of the option to give or grant via Friends of Tusk at CAF America. Our most benevolent donor continues to support Tusk because he can do so tax-effectively via CAF America. His support is all dedicated to a very special wildlife reserve in Zimbabwe, which has been incredibly successful in preventing elephant and rhino poaching, thanks in no small part to this support. Meanwhile, as already mentioned, offering our U.S. donors the option to make tax-deductible donations has made a significant contribution to the success of the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, which not only kept Rangers employed during the Covid pandemic, but is now improving their levels of professionalism, standards, and welfare. Having the Friends Fund has also enabled us to attract significant new partnerships within the U.S. for the Wildlife Ranger Challenge. In the past two years we have welcomed the Disney Conservation Fund and San Diego Zoo and Wildlife Alliance as new sponsors to the event, while EJF Philanthropies have been important sponsors since the event’s inception.

5. What role does Tusk’s Friends Fund play in supporting long-term conservation goals across Africa?

The funds we now receive through the Friends Fund from our U.S. supporters make a significant contribution to the growing levels of funding we can provide to our project partners across Africa. Tusk’s mission is to accelerate the impact of African-driven contribution. We invest in the best grassroots conservation initiatives by partnering with leading and emerging conservationists across Africa, helping to increase their profile and maximize their impact. Tusk currently supports more than 50 partners across 20 African countries, and thanks to the Friends Fund we can keep expanding that project portfolio and provide higher levels of funding for ever greater impact. In this way we’re continuing to empower the grassroots conservation movement
across the continent.

6. What advice would you give to other international organizations considering opening a Friends Fund with CAF America?

Since partnering with CAF America, we haven’t looked back. The Friends Fund has given Tusk the most cost-effective, donor-friendly option for us to secure donations in the U.S., and we would thoroughly recommend it to any other organization considering it.