WildLIGHT

WildLIGHT’s mission is to advance public education and understanding of wildlife, biodiversity and the natural world by recognizing, supporting and sharing outstanding conservation communication through film, literature, journalism, photography, education and other creative media.

Charitable Purposes

The advancement of education and the protection of the environment. The WildLIGHT award will be beneficial to the community, improving public understanding of, and engagement with, wildlife and nature conservation through exceptional communication.

We aim to build the first year around four deliverables:

1. 1. A professional landing page with the mission, eligibility rules and nomination deadline.

   2. A jury whose expertise and independence are publicly visible.

   3. A strong citation and profile of the winner, including links to their work.

   4. An annual impact report showing the number and geographic spread of nominations, the recipient’s work, funds raised and how the award was administered.

Qualified Leadership

Greg Cumming’s experience in conservation leadership and international fundraising will be particularly valuable in attracting founding sponsors, respected jurors and nominations from around the world. A fundraiser since 1990, Cummings has raised money in the United States, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Canada for causes ranging from wildlife conservation to mental health. As director of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund UK, he set up dozens of innovative, grassroots projects in troubled parts of the world—many of which are self-sustaining to this day.

Annual Budget

A $5,000 prize should not require a large organization. The challenge is covering the prize, administration and enough communications work to make the award visible. We are currently seeking a Canadian charity—preferably one with a 501(c)(3) in the United States—that agrees to administer WildLIGHT as one of its programs. Donations would flow through the charity, which would handle charitable receipting, financial controls and reporting. Meanwhile we would establish WildLIGHT’s identity, award criteria and selection process, subject to the charity’s oversight.

Endowment

Should we decide to continue the prize indefinitely, we aim to eventually establish an endowment. At  4% interest, an endowment of $125,000 would generate $5,000 per year before investment costs and inflation. That would cover the prize alone, not the running costs.

For the first year, however, we will focus on securing a sponsor or a small group of founding donors rather than immediately pursuing an endowment.

The name gives us room to build something bigger than a prize. It could become an annual recognition program, a showcase for outstanding conservation storytelling, and eventually a network of communicators whose work helps change public attitudes and behaviour. Let there be WildLIGHT!

Going Forward

We will draft a written policy covering eligibility, jury independence, conflicts of interest, how the $5,000 may be used, and whether the winner is receiving a prize for past work or funding to produce future work.

In addition, we need to:

1. 1. Check whether the name WildLIGHT is available and whether there are conflicting trademarks.

   2. Recruit the the award jury — three to five independent jurors with relevant expertise.

   3. Decide how the award jury and approve the winner.

   4. Establish a separate bank account and basic bookkeeping procedures.