Founded in 2007, International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC) strives for the long-term preservation of nature and biodiversity across the world. ICFC focuses on projects in tropical regions, where it reports that nature is most at risk and conservation is least funded. International Conservation Fund of Canada works with local partners and Indigenous groups to protect vital land and species across South America, Asia, and Africa. In F2020, the charity spent $5.4m on 44 conservation projects ($5.0m on 37 projects in F2019). ICFC's headquarters are in Chester, Nova Scotia.

ICFC groups its projects into four main program areas. These include Land Conservation, Threatened Species, Shorebird Initiative, and Marine and Freshwater Conservation.

Land Conservation projects were 49% of program spending in F2020. These projects fund local field partners that protect natural areas from illegal hunting, mining, and development projects. To date, ICFC reports that it has protected over 15 million hectares of land. In the Amazon, ICFC partnered with Kayapó Indigenous groups to remove and confiscate equipment from 40 armed gold miners in F2020. In Costa Rica, ICFC helped to deploy 234 camera traps across a 190 km path to monitor wildlife and deter hunters. It also helped plant more than 18,000 trees, bringing its total to 350,000 trees planted over seven years in Costa Rica.

Threatened Species represented 39% of program spending in F2020. These projects fund anti-poaching groups and protect areas known to shelter endangered species. In F2020, ICFC’s Mali Elephant Project recruited 595 new guards to protect around 350 remaining desert elephants. In Nepal, it also purchased 160 acres of land surrounding the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve during the year. This area protects habitats for endangered bird species, such as the estimated 1,000 Bengal floricans remaining in Nepal.

Shorebird Initiative projects were 6% of program spending. The initiative aims to combat habitat loss and human disturbances that harm shorebirds. International Conservation Fund of Canada funds local ranger patrols to monitor and protect shorebird habitats. In F2020, ICFC paid for guards at six shorebird migration sites across Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, and China. In total, its sites protected around 60,000 birds during the year.

Marine and Freshwater Conservation was 5% of program spending in F2020. ICFC aims to protect water bodies that are prone to overfishing and pollution. The charity currently protects 22,000 hectares of Lake Malawi and 11,354 hectares of Kep Bay in Cambodia. In Nicaragua, ICFC supports two local hatcheries for five at-risk sea turtle species. In F2020, its hatcheries held a total of 22,620 eggs and released 19,608 hatchlings into the wild, at a survival rate of 87%.

The remaining 1% of spending went to small conservation projects that each cost less than $20k per year. These included projects in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Madagascar, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

International Conservation Fund of Canada received $6.3m in donations in F2020. Administrative costs are 5% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 2% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 7%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 93 cents go to the cause. This falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

ICFC has $6.3m in total funding reserves, which results in a program cost coverage ratio of 117%. This means the charity can cover 14 months of annual program costs with its existing funding reserves.

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to International Conservation Fund of Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 16, 2021 by Eric Zhao.