# The Fore launches Nature Recovery Fund

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2026/11/09/the-fore-launches-nature-recovery-fund/
- Published: 2026-11-09T13:26:30+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The Fore, the UK’s venture philanthropy fund for high-potential small charities
and social enterprises, has launched a Nature Recovery Fund to support conservation
organisations restoring habitats and protecting wildlife across the UK.**

## Three organisations, up to £52,000 each

Funded by an individual philanthropist who wants to help Britain’s wildlife flourish,
the fund will give three grassroots conservation organisations **up to £45,000**
each in unrestricted funding over up to three years. Each will **also receive £7,000
worth** of professional mentoring, training, skilled volunteering and practical 
support, bringing the total package to up to £52,000 per organisation.

The fund will focus on rewilding and nature restoration: organisations that restore
and connect natural habitats, work with landowners and local communities, and encourage
wider participation in conservation.

## Advertisement

![Mary Rose Gunn, smiling in red top](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2026/
11/mary-rose-gunn.jpg)

Mary Rose Gunn, CEO

**Mary Rose Gunn**, Founder and CEO of The Fore, said:

> “Some of the most promising solutions to Britain’s environmental challenges come
> from smaller charities and social enterprises with the passion, expertise and 
> local knowledge to make a real difference. Yet many struggle to secure the funding
> and practical support they need to grow and reach their full potential.”

## How and when to apply

Registration for the Spring 2027 funding round opens at 12pm on Wednesday 25 November
2026 and closes at 12pm on Friday 4 December 2026. Applicants will go through The
Fore’s Dragons’ Den-style funding process, culminating in funding panels in April
2027, when the successful organisations are expected to be selected. Details are
on [The Fore’s website](https://www.thefore.org).

## Why environmental causes need funding

The Fore points to the RSPB’s **State of Nature Report** 2023, which found the abundance
of monitored wildlife species in the UK has fallen by an average of 19% since 1970,
with about one in six species assessed in Great Britain threatened with extinction.
It also cites Big Give’s Green Match Fund Annual Impact Report 2025, which found
only 5% of UK public charitable giving goes to environmental causes.

The new fund builds on the £315,000 The Fore has awarded through its Sustainability
and Environment Fund since December 2024. Organisations previously supported include
Youngwilders, a youth-led nature recovery initiative that has created 348 acres 
of new habitat and mobilised more than 1,600 young people since connecting with 
The Fore in 2023.

 * **[Big Give’s Green Match Fund raises £8.1 million](https://fundraising.co.uk/2025/04/29/big-gives-green-match-fund-raises-8-1-million/)(
   29 April 2025)
 * **[Funding opportunities and developments for charities in June 2026](https://fundraising.co.uk/2026/06/12/funding-opportunities-and-developments-for-charities-in-june-2026/)(
   12 June 2026)
 * **[Applications open for 2025’s Big Give Green Match Fund, plus more funding news](https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/11/06/applications-open-for-2025s-big-give-green-match-fund-plus-more-funding-news/)(
   6 November 2024)**