Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF)’s First for Wildlife Endowment recently made its first ever grant disbursements following approval from its Board of Directors. The endowment was established in 2015 to support the long-term implementation of the Foundation’s mission to ensure the future of wildlife through conservation, education and hunting. The generosity and passion for wildlife among SCIF supporters is shown by the almost 400% growth of the endowment from 2015 to its current balance of over $3.5 million.
“It’s a historic day for SCIF,” said SCI Foundation President, Craig Kauffman. “The vision of our leadership and successful development efforts, thanks to our dedicated donor base, is finally being realized.”
The first funds will be applied to SCIF’s newly developed conservation strategies focused on African leopard conservation, grizzly bear management and chronic wasting disease risk assessment. In recent years, the organization’s leadership with input from membership surveys identified these issues as priority focal areas, representing a significant shift in the way SCIF implements its conservation mission to increase impact.
This endowment funding comes right after a matching grant contribution from SCI Foundation’s Hunter Legacy 100 Fund Endowment, combining for an unprecedent investment in the organization’s conservation program and long-term commitment to these strategies. With this support, these funding mechanisms have set up SCI Foundation for continued success through the challenging COVID pandemic and beyond.
Over the years, the First for Wildlife Endowment is funded by the contributions of SCI members and other hunter-conservationists that have made a commitment to the future of wildlife. A special thank you goes to all our donors for making this historic moment happen.
To completely fund these three critical strategies for the next five years, however; it will take all of us working together. To this end, we are asking that everyone step up and contribute, as we have always done in the past showing your undying commitment to the future of wildlife as hunter-conservationists. Help us continue to be “First for Wildlife.”