Conservation Strategy Fund
Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) is an international non-profit founded in 1998 that applies economic analysis and decision-support tools to conservation outcomes for governments, NGOs, and communities across 70+ countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersSebastopol, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Conservation Strategy Fund does
Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) is an international non-profit organization founded in 1998 that applies economic analysis to conservation decision-making for governments, conservation NGOs, and indigenous and local communities across more than 70 countries. Its work centers on quantifying the economic value of natural ecosystems and integrating those values into infrastructure, land-use, and environmental policy decisions — for example, a 2020 PNAS study found roughly 45% of 75 planned Amazon road projects lacked economic justification, implying up to $7.6 billion in potentially wasted spending.
CSF's core product portfolio comprises the Calculator Hub (launched at COP16 in October 2024, including the Mining Impacts, Indigenous Land Management Costs, and Deforestation Impacts Calculators), the Numbers for Nature Training Institute (an online learning platform launched March 2022 offering virtual and self-paced courses), and the Roads Filter (a 17-variable multi-criteria analysis tool for Amazon road projects). The underlying technology is domain-specialized economic modeling rather than software-as-a-service — most publications and tools are distributed free of charge.
The organization is funded primarily through foundation grants (Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts) and charitable donations, with named institutional partnerships spanning The Nature Conservancy, the International Whaling Commission, IUCN-PAPACO, the Conservation Finance Alliance, IPAM, and FCDS. Distribution combines direct training delivery, free online access to tools and publications, and partner-led MOOC distribution. CSF has published 300+ research papers and trained 7,000+ professionals through its capacity-building program.
Conservation Strategy Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Conservation Strategy Fund
- Legal name
- Conservation Strategy Fund
- Website
- https://conservation-strategy.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) is an international non-profit founded in 1998 that applies economic analysis and decision-support tools to conservation outcomes for governments, NGOs, and communities across 70+ countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Conservation Strategy Fund industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Conservation Economics Consulting
- NAICS
- Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Educational Services (8200), Forestry (800)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Forestry, Land Use & REDD+ Programs (BPADALAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Climate Finance, Carbon Markets & MRV Systems (BPADALAB), Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)
Keywords
Where Conservation Strategy Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sebastopol
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Conservation Strategy Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Grants and Donations: CSF operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through grants from foundations and charitable donations. The organization received the MacArthur Foundation award for creative and effective institutions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free resources and publications |
| Other | Monthly | Donation-based support |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Conservation Strategy Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) is an international non-profit that provides economic analysis, strategic insights, and capacity-building training to support conservation and sustainable development. Its core deliverables include the Calculator Hub (economic impact calculators for mining, deforestation, and indigenous land management), the Numbers for Nature Training Institute (online courses for conservation professionals), and the Roads Filter (a multi-criteria tool evaluating infrastructure projects in the Amazon).
Product overview
Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) is an international non-profit that provides a portfolio of economics-based tools and training for conservation. The core offerings include the Calculator Hub (featuring Mining Impacts Calculator, Indigenous Land Management Costs Calculator, and Deforestation Impacts Calculator), the Numbers for Nature Training Institute (online learning platform), and the Roads Filter (strategic analysis tool for Amazon road projects). These products work together to provide decision-makers with economic tools to advance conservation goals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Numbers for Nature Training Institute: A training platform launched in March 2022 providing accessible learning opportunities in economics and finance for conservation professionals. The Institute offers courses in virtual and self-paced formats.
Products and services
- Calculator Hub An online platform providing economic tools for environmental decision-making, including calculators that quantify environmental and economic impacts of mining, deforestation, and indigenous land management. Targeted at policymakers, conservation organizations, and government agencies.
- Numbers for Nature Training Institute An online learning platform that delivers accessible training in economics and finance for conservation professionals through virtual and self-paced courses, including a free Introduction to Protected Areas Financing course.
- Roads Filter A strategic multi-criteria analysis tool that uses a comparative index to evaluate the environmental, economic, social, and cultural implications of road construction projects across the Amazon region.
Quantifiable outcome
- Study found 45% of Amazon road projects lacked economic justification, potentially saving $7.6 billion USD in wasted funding
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Conservation Strategy Fund
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Conservation Strategy Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Conservation Strategy Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Austral University Academy of Protected Areas (AUA)coreCollaboration with CSF's Numbers for Nature Institute to develop and deliver the free online course Introduction to Protected Areas Financing.
- Austral Patagonia Program at Austral University of ChilecorePartnered with CSF and AUA to develop the free online course Introduction to Protected Areas Financing for strengthening capacity in conservation financing.
- International Whaling Commission (IWC)coreCSF worked with IWC to develop a replicable research framework for assessing the economic role of cetaceans in ecosystem services, producing policy guidelines and case studies.
- IUCN Programme on African Protected Areas & Conservation (PAPACO)coreCSF developed online courses on sustainable funding for protected areas in Africa as part of IUCN-PAPACO's MOOC Conservation platform, contributing to capacity building for African protected area managers.
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC)coreCSF partnered with TNC to measure and communicate the economic value of ecosystem services in South Africa's Amathole Strategic Water Source Area, providing evidence for water and biodiversity policy.
- Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA)coreIn 2024, CSF joined forces with CFA to strengthen implementation of impactful conservation finance solutions that realign incentives to serve both people and nature.
- Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM)coreCSF partnered with IPAM (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia) and FCDS to conduct landmark research analyzing 75 planned road projects in the Amazon, published in PNAS journal.
- Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development (FCDS)corePartnered with CSF and IPAM on the landmark Amazon road projects study analyzing economic, environmental, and social impacts of 75 planned highway projects.
- Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE)minorPartner organization in the Roads Filter strategic analysis of road projects in the Amazon.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Conservation Strategy Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Rare: A behavior-change conservation organization that combines training programs, tools (RarePride, Fish Forever), and on-the-ground campaigns to drive sustainable fishing and protected-area outcomes. Similar capacity-building-plus-tools model, also serving practitioners globally with comparable headcount.
- Earth Economics: A small non-profit research and technical assistance organization that conducts ecological economics analyses and develops tools to value natural capital. Highly comparable niche to CSF - economics-based conservation tools and ecosystem service valuations, with similar organizational scale and nonprofit/grant-funded model.
- Resources for the Future (RFF): An independent, non-profit research institution that conducts economic analysis on environmental, energy, and natural resource issues. Closest analog to CSF in mission and method - rigorous economics applied to conservation and natural resource policy decisions - though RFF skews more toward U.S. energy/climate whereas CSF is global and biodiversity-focused.
- International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED): A UK-headquartered policy research non-profit working on environment and sustainable development in low- and middle-income countries. Very comparable shape to CSF: small, research-driven, independent, grant-funded, working globally with practitioners and governments on environmental economics and policy.
- Forest Trends: A non-profit focused on leveraging market forces and finance to conserve forests. Shares CSF's focus on valuing forest ecosystems and developing innovative conservation finance mechanisms; collaborates in adjacent ecosystems (REDD+, biodiversity credits) and overlaps in target customers (governments, multilaterals, NGOs).
Broad incumbents
- The Nature Conservancy: The world's largest conservation NGO and an active CSF partner (e.g., the Amathole SWSA project). Comparable in some analytical offerings (econ valuation, watershed analyses) but with vastly greater resources, a global field-presence network, and growing in-house economic tools.
- World Resources Institute (WRI): A large global research organization that produces data-driven tools, platforms (e.g., Global Forest Watch, Resource Watch), and policy analysis on environment and development. Overlaps with CSF on conservation economics, decision-support tools, and capacity building, but at vastly greater scale and a broader portfolio (climate, energy, cities).
- Conservation International: A large global conservation NGO whose work spans policy, scientific research, field programs, and finance (e.g., Blue Carbon, biodiversity credits). Operates in many of the same geographies and markets as CSF, with overlap in valuation of nature and conservation finance, but with much greater scale and a broader thematic footprint.
Emerging players
- UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN): A UNDP-hosted global program that develops and implements biodiversity finance plans in 40+ countries. Overlaps with CSF on conservation finance methodologies and capacity building (David Meyers was formerly its Sr. Technical Advisor) and competes for the same donor mindshare and country-level mandates.
Others
- IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature): A large international membership-based conservation union that sets policy standards (Red List, protected-area categories) and convenes programs such as IUCN-PAPACO, which partners with CSF on training. Serves overlapping practitioner and policymaker customers and acts as both partner and convener in the same conservation ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Conservation Strategy Fund social profiles
Digital presenceConservation Strategy Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Conservation Strategy Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Conservation Strategy Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Conservation Strategy Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Conservation Strategy Fund
What does Conservation Strategy Fund do?
Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) is an international non-profit that provides economic analysis, strategic insights, and capacity-building training to support conservation and sustainable development. Its core deliverables include the Calculator Hub (economic impact calculators for mining, deforestation, and indigenous land management), the Numbers for Nature Training Institute (online courses for conservation professionals), and the Roads Filter (a multi-criteria tool evaluating infrastructure projects in the Amazon).
Is Conservation Strategy Fund a public or private company?
Conservation Strategy Fund is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Conservation Strategy Fund founded?
Conservation Strategy Fund was founded in 1998. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Conservation Strategy Fund based?
Conservation Strategy Fund is headquartered in Sebastopol, United States, in the North America region.
How does Conservation Strategy Fund make money?
One revenue line is on record: grants and Donations.
Who are Conservation Strategy Fund's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Rare, Earth Economics, Resources for the Future (RFF), International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Forest Trends. Broad incumbents are The Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute (WRI) and Conservation International. UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) is listed as an emerging player. IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) is listed as an others.
Does Conservation Strategy Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for Conservation Strategy Fund.
What industry is Conservation Strategy Fund in?
Conservation Strategy Fund's product category is Conservation Economics Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADALAF, Forestry, Land Use & REDD+ Programs, with a secondary code of BPADALAB, Climate Finance, Carbon Markets & MRV Systems. Its NAICS code is 813312 and its SIC code is 8731.