Philosophy

Sometimes the best solutions are found by looking at what’s working rather than what’s wrong.

We want to find small, local conservation groups making uncommon progress in their communities. We want to connect them to our network and forge ambitious new projects and partnerships. And we want to tell their stories so others can draw inspiration from their remarkable examples.

This is why our motto is Look Far and Light the Way.

Strategy

Lookfar’s strategy is predicated on helping small, local groups that are especially capable of doing the most with the least so they may act ambitiously and opportunistically – particularly with novel approaches that, when successful, can be replicated and scaled.

Small, local groups possess a deep understanding of the landscapes and the communities in which they operate. Working so close to the ground, they have no need for bureaucracy and little time for self-promotion. They are skilled and ambitious – rising to confront complex challenges, devising innovative new strategies, facing all manner of risk and hardship, and forging the next generation of environmental heroes. 

Many small, local organizations lack the time and resources to pursue the kinds of institutional funding opportunities needed to sustain their effectiveness and enhance their impact. In this way, they represent overlooked and underutilized assets in the struggle to protect biodiversity and combat climate change. 

Their work may not always scale in terms of geographic extent, but if done right it can scale in other ways – including by sustaining results over the long term and by integrating an environmental ethic into a region’s local economy and driving progressive changes to law and policy.

WORK

Since its founding in 2016, Lookfar has played a major role for foundations in the Netherlands and Switzerland in creating and managing grant portfolios and has built an extensive network of small, local groups around the world engaged in first rate conservation work. 

This has afforded Lookfar significant experience in grantmaking and invaluable insights into what works and what does not work when attempting to identify, evaluate, fund, and manage highly ambitious projects in highly threatened ecosystems.

In its work with small, local groups, Lookfar partners primarily with organizations operating in highly biodiverse and highly imperiled regions in Latin America, Africa, and Asia — co-developing projects to deliver clear, measurable, and lasting benefits for the environment and surrounding communities.

To sustain impact, enhance resilience, and build self-reliance, Lookfar focuses its work with its partners in the following areas:

• Projects – Design projects and identify and secure grant funding opportunities.

• Network – Build coalitions of small, local groups to strengthen each organization, amplify impact, and ensure long-term sustainability.

• Finance – Develop socially entrepreneurial business models to create alternative revenue streams for conservation initiatives.

• Storytelling – Craft compelling stories to raise awareness, share accomplishments, and inspire greater ambition and action.