Major Donor Membership
Contacts
The 1001: A Nature Trust is an endowment fund created in 1971 to provide WWF International a financial base to maintain a sustainably managed organization. The fund aims to engage influential members of society, instrumental in bringing about change in the world, in the conservation activities of WWF.
The idea for the fund came from Dr Anton Rupert, a founding member of WWF; HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands translated the idea into reality by inviting 1000 influential personalities from around the world to join him in investing in the endowment – hence the name The 1001: A Nature Trust was adopted.A prestigious group of people
Members of The 1001: A Nature Trust represent a wide range of profiles. Whatever their personal, social or professional interests, lifetime members living in over 50 countries share the same concern for the environment and the same desire to support WWF’s efforts to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to leave their children a living planet.
Becoming a Member of The 1001: A Nature Trust
By choosing to become a member of The 1001: A Nature Trust, one decides to make a difference.People are asked to make a contribution of €25,000 to secure lifetime membership in The 1001: A Nature Trust.
They then enjoy the privilege of belonging to an international network of high-level, like-minded individuals whose financial, intellectual and social networks play an important role in helping WWF International and its global Network to repair the root causes of the planet’s degradation.
Thereafter, WWF maintains close contact with its 1001 Members in a number of different ways.
Some 1001 Members make a single lifetime commitment to support WWF through their membership contribution. Others want to go beyond that initial commitment and do more.
Members are encouraged to support WWF at their discretion through ongoing contributions such as providing additional funding, recommending new members, remembering WWF in their testaments or acting as WWF ambassadors for the environment at the highest level in their respective spheres of impact and action.
WWF also offers Members the unique opportunity to participate in the development of conservation projects tailored to their specific areas of interest.
Highlights of Membership
Members of The 1001: A Nature Trust have the unique opportunity to enjoy uncommon life experiences such as Field Trips to WWF project sites around the world and special events such as the Panda Ball, thematic seminars and dinners.Field Trips
Each year, the secretariat of The 1001: A Nature Trust organizes carefully planned Field Trips to selected destinations for its Members and friends. These trips give participants the unique chance to experience WWF’s activities first hand with high-level specialists. Not only do they allow members to see conservation in action, they also offer an important occasion to examine the variety of contributions needed for safeguarding nature – not to mention the sheer pleasure of sharing an enriching discovery journey into the world of nature conservation with other Members of The 1001.
In 2007, Field Trips were organized to the Arctic and to Mongolia. The destination selected for the November 2008 Field Trip is Papua New Guinea.
Coming up in March 2009 is an exciting Field Trip to the Green Heart of Africa (Gabon and the Central African Republic) with a rare opportunity to visit WWF project sites along African coastlands, in forests and on plains.
Special Events
WWF invites its 1001 members to prestigious thematic events such as:
- The Panda Ball
The Panda Ball is an important gala evening organized for 1001 Members and other top WWF supporters. Highly appreciated sponsoring by a wide range of individual and organizational friends of WWF allows proceeds of each of these exciting events to be set aside for targeted WWF conservation work:
- In April 2008, the Panda Ball was held in the Principality of Monaco under the High Patronage and in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco. The proceeds of the evening went to the protection of our European Natural Heritage.
- November 2008, the first Asia Panda Ball took place in Singapore in the presence of HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands. The incredibly beautiful Coral Triangle in southeast Asia with its wealth of biodiversity benefited from the earnings of the evening.
- Thematic seminars
Regular Thematic Seminars are organized around the world with conservationist experts who share their knowledge and vision with the 1001 members and their guests. In many instances, these thematic seminars take the form of business lunches or dinners initiated by a 1001 Member who would like a WWF specialist to present a specific project or success story to his friends, colleagues and acquaintances. - WWF Annual Conference
Each year WWF organizes its Annual Conference for the WWF Network on a special theme and in a different country. The 2008 Annual Conference took place in Bodrum, Turkey, and was organized around the theme of “Together for a Better Climate”. The 2009 Annual conference will be held in Manaus in Brazil. Members of The 1001: A Nature Trust are invited to attend selected sessions of these Annual Conferences. Short outings and field trips are proposed to 1001 Members before or after the Conference. More information will be available in the months preceding each Annual Conference. - Other events
Members of The 1001 are invited to the Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Award Ceremony held at London’s St James Palace. In 2008, the Medal was awarded to Her Excellency Marina Silva, former Brazilian Environment.
Additional contributions
Each year, 1001 Members are given the opportunity to make a contribution to The Prince Bernhard Scholarship Fund for Nature Conservation.
This Programme offers young scholars of the environment a chance to continue their studies or professional training in the field of conservation. In 2008, 22 scholarships were awarded to candidates in Africa, Asia-pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
These educational opportunities offered by the PBS Programme to bright young environmentalists around the world enable WWF to promote the development of a strong base of local conservation leadership and expertise. The net impact of granting a scholarship multiplies the building of human capacity and ensures a high return on investment in the education and training of local conservation leadership.
Individual Conservation Partnerships
WWF offers 1001 Members the unique opportunity to take an active part in one of its conservation projects. The Major Donors Team at WWF International will be happy to work with interested Members to match their geographical and thematic interests with an appropriate project - such as the protection of tiger habitats in a range of countries or the development of sustainable fishing practices in the Mediterranean. Wherever their specific nature conservation interests lie, WWF welcomes its Members' dedication to the organization's environmental commitments.Legacy Gifts: Help leave our children a living planet
All of us would like to leave this world knowing we are passing on a healthy and thriving planet to our family and friends. One of the most significant ways to show your support and passion for the sustainability of our planet Earth and the life it supports, is to remember WWF in your will, trust or other similar arrangement. These are gifts that last forever. WWF is pleased to discuss any of these options with members and their legal advisers.
The Future
In the immediate future, The 1001: A Nature Trust is seeking to engage the next generation to join WWF’s efforts to protect and maintain a healthy planet.To this end, members are being asked to give serious consideration to passing on their commitment to a sustainable human future to their children and grandchildren by offering them membership in The 1001: A Nature Trust. WWF’s aim is for each family that wields personal and professional influence and that counts in the world to be represented in The 1001: A Nature Trust.
Young 1001 members who are between 20 to 27 years old can reinforce this commitment by applying for training and hands-on participation in the WWF Youth Volunteer Programme.
This Programme offers motivated young people an exciting chance to spend 6 months learning, helping, sharing and teaching their specific skills to WWF colleagues at conservation project sites in different parts of the world such as Madagascar, India, Paraguay and the South Pacific.
