At any point in time, Wise Ancestors is in conversation with several communities around the globe who are interested in our model and in exploring the possibility of co-creating Conservation Challenges with us. Typically, the costs associated with initial community engagement and project alignment work with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities are borne by the participants. This places an unreasonable burden on community partners and fails to respect the expertise and commitment of time and resources required to build lasting partnerships. Additionally, traditional funding models tend to support only fully developed projects, favoring well-resourced institutions and creating imbalances that can lead to extractive practices or rushed timelines.

In recognition of this unmet need, we’re launching Conservation Challenge 0 - Groundwork For Collaboration Fund 2026 to establish a dedicated fund that supports critical early engagement work. Donations made to this fund will compensate potential partners for their time and expenses during which we discuss:

• community conservation priorities,
• species of focus for a Conservation Challenge,
• nature of the proposed work to be performed,
• free, prior and informed consent,
• governance (attribution, storage, etc) of genomic data, samples and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).

With your support, we can establish an ethical model for conservation—one that honors Indigenous expertise and knowledge from the very beginning. We invite you to take part by learning more and donating here.

Have a question? We’d love to hear from you, please fill out this brief form or email info@wiseancestors.org and someone from our team will contact you.