How Your Gift Works

How Your Gift For a Living Planet Works

Together we are finding long-term solutions to benefit people and nature.

All the gifts on this website are needed, and will make a huge difference to WWF’s conservation work, both with these individual gifts and to our global conservation goals.

Because WWF is working with local communities, researchers and some of the foremost experts around the world, our staff are able to tell us what items they need to make the biggest difference.

At WWF, we address global threats and work to protect endangered species and habitats in more than 100 countries.


Fun gifts that help WWF save the planet – perfect!

It’s easy.

When you buy a gift from panda.org/gifts you will be sent to a page where you can download a personalized certificate. That's it!

The certificate's got both your name and theirs so that they can proudly display the gift that you chose for them. You could even frame it for them before you give it to them.

And then WWF staff make your gift happen. A polar bear really will get a tattoo because of your gift, and we really will be rehabilitating turtles so that they can be re-released into the ocean.

Prices start at $15 and are offered online at panda.org/gifts. You can choose to pay in US Dollars or Euros and the certificate you download at the end is personalized with their and your name.

Why are these gifts only online?

Because WWF’s Gifts for a Living Planet are only available online, WWF won’t mail you or the recipient anything in the post. We’ll email you a link to a PDF version of the certificate, which means you can always access it from your inbox. If it gets misplaced or damaged before you see your friend, simply print it out again.

This easy and hassle-free approach means no additional shipping costs, and even better, no excess packaging or mailing – Not only does your money go further, because the automated system helps to lower administration costs, but the ecological impact of these gifts is smaller.


What if WWF raises more than is needed?

It’s true, we can only replace so many goats for herders in Mongolia, or give so many polar bears tattoos, and it’s hard to predict just how popular each of these gifts will be.

We’ve set up processes to ensure that even if we sell too many of any of our Gifts for a Living Planet, your money will still be directed to the most related activity within the program you’ve chosen. If you give a polar bear a tattoo, your money may also go towards other polar bears conservation activities, such as our work in the Arctic and our work to combat climate change.

The only exception to this is with the Name that Turtle, Watch it Go! gift. In the very unlikely event that we sell more gifts than we have satellite turtle trackers, somebody from WWF will contact you directly to discuss alternative options. Because this gift is so specialized – both for you and WWF’s program staff, however, it is more likely that WWF will offer a new gift at panda.org/gifts before we sell more than we can offer.

We need to ensure we can still respond flexibly to varying needs across the world as they occur. So in some cases we may sell more gifts than we have direct need for during the program’s period. If this happens, WWF will always spend your money on a related item, or something that works toward achieving the same conservation goals in the same realm as the gift you chose.

This approach means that our experts can use items that are most appropriate to the project’s needs at that time – maximizing the chances of finding – and implementing – long-term sustainable solutions.

In the event that excess money is raised for one gift, and other WWF projects fall short of funds, WWF reserves the right to transfer some of the excess money raised to the projects that are underfunded.


If you don't mail cards or toys, what do we get when we buy a Gift for a Living Planet?

Each Gift for a Living Planet comes with a personalized certificate tailored to the gift you just bought.

You can download and either print the PDF version of the certificate for the person, or send it to them via email so that they can print it themselves.

The certificate is a great conversation piece, and something to be proud of. The next time you see the person, don’t be surprised if you find the certificate on the wall in their office or on the fridge.

Preview a sample certificate here.


Will my money really fund the same gift I choose?

Absolutely.

At WWF we have set up systems to ensure your money goes where you direct it.

If WWF sells more gifts than we need for a particular gift, your money could go to support activities that support the same or similar projects, but the money will still be directed to help whatever project it is you’ve chosen.


What else is included in the price of my gift?

We include any related coordination, transportation and some costs that are directly related to research, training and equipment in the price of the gift.

We are also obliged to include the cost of producing and administering the Gifts for a Living Planet program in the overall cost of these gifts.

WWF promises to make the best use of our supporters’ money by making the biggest possible difference to projects that need it most around the world. We have chosen gifts that are simple, yet vital to achieving conservation around the world.


What’s the most important gift to buy?

All of the gifts have been identified as essential – both to WWF’s overall conservation goals, and by the staff that are working on each of the projects.

Many of our projects are under-funded and in desperate need of support.

The more gifts  we sell, the more success we will see in our long-term goal to save nature.

Of course, there is great need to expand our projects around the world and there were many projects that we weren’t able to include in our Gifts for a Living Planet program this year.

You can make your gift go further by making an additional donation that we will direct to other WWF projects that desperately need funding. This money ensures that WWF is able to continue our work on a global scale to protect and preserve endangered wildlife and habitat and to combat growing international threats like global warming.

To add an additional contribution that will be directed to some of WWF’s projects that need it most, enter the amount you would like to donate when you come to the field that asks “My extra contribution is”.

Unique WWF Gifts
Send a Turtle to Rehab » buy now! » learn more...
Give a Polar Bear a Tattoo! » buy now! » learn more...
Chilies, Dung and Engine Oil » buy now! » learn more...
Send a Child to Nature Club » buy now! » learn more...
Buy a Goat, Save a Leopard » buy now! » learn more...
Put a Cork In It! Plant a Tree » buy now! » learn more...
Invest in a Gorilla's Paradise » buy now! » learn more...
Name that Turtle - Watch It Go! » buy now! » learn more...
Give a Panda Room To Grow » buy now! » learn more...