Dramatic cuts to USAID funding earlier this year have slammed conservation organizations around the world. But some NGOs, like World Neighbors, have been able to continue their conservation projects with little disruption — thanks in part to their reliance on private rather than government funding. This approach, which focuses on funding from family foundations and corporate grants, has so far allowed World Neighbors to weather the unstable financial environment, Kate Schecter, the organization’s CEO, told Mongabay. Only its program in Indonesia and Timor-Leste, which received funding from USAID, was impacted. “We don’t get millions and millions of dollars from these individual donors,” she added. “However, their passion and their commitment to our mission lasts much longer than a one- or two-year grant that you might get from USAID.” In the Peruvian Andes, WN found that its project to help communities build nine qochas, artificial water bodies constructed using ancient agricultural techniques to collect and store water, faced little disruption. The project, still ongoing, has helped save more than 56,000 cubic meters (12.3 million gallons) of water, improving water access for 31,664 people in 44 communities across the regions of Apurímac and Ayacucho. “We’re not a one-sector organization,” Schecter said. “We don’t just focus on water or agriculture. We believe that if these communities are going to be self-sustaining and if they’re going to be able to operate without our support, we need to address all the issues in the community.” For these purposes, private donors work because they allow the…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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