What Felidae Conservation Fund does

Felidae Conservation Fund is a registered U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 20-5089093), founded in 2006 and headquartered in Mill Valley, California, that conducts wild cat conservation across research, education and technology. The organization runs a portfolio of field research projects — Bay Area Puma Project, Bay Area Bobcat Project, Diablo PumaLink, Bhutan Wild Cat Health, Patagonia Wild Cats, Tsavo Cheetah, and Grand Staircase-Escalante Cougar — supported by a network of 158 remote trail cameras and a catalogued repository of more than 6 million images of terrestrial mammals accumulated over 15+ years. Its flagship technology asset is WildePod, a Python/Django cloud platform on PostgreSQL and Google Cloud that integrates MegaDetector, SpeciesNet, Amazon Rekognition, SageMaker and TensorFlow models to automate species classification and false-positive filtering of camera-trap imagery; a companion Wilde Backyard mobile program extends data collection into residential communities at the urban edge.

The organization serves multiple stakeholder groups simultaneously: individual donors (primary revenue), Bay Area K-12 schools and students (via CAT Aware), community scientists on residential properties (via Wilde Backyard), wildlife researchers and land managers (future WildePod users), and a volunteer/intern pipeline that includes software engineering and AI/ML contributors. Felidae's go-to-market is community-led, with marketing executed through content marketing, email, events, organic social, SEO around wild cat species content, and earned credibility from Candid Platinum, Charity Navigator, Great Nonprofits, and 1% for the Planet badges.

Revenue mechanics are donation-based: individual contributions processed via FundraiseUp/Stripe, stock gifts via InfiniteGiving, merchandise via the online store, with a self-reported program pass-through exceeding 90%. Operating geographies span the San Francisco Bay Area, Orange County, San Mateo County, southern Utah, Bhutan, Patagonia (Argentina), Kenya (Tsavo), Mongolia, Pakistan, Borneo, Thailand and Malaysia. Governance sits with a Board of Directors and Emeritus Directors drawn from organizations including Google, Dropbox, Magic Leap, Legence, Wells Fargo, Accenture and PwC.

Name

Felidae Conservation Fund

Legal name

Felidae Conservation Fund

Website

https://felidaefund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Felidae Conservation Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2006 that protects wild cats through field research, K-12 education, and the WildePod cloud platform using AI to classify camera-trap imagery for the Bay Area and global programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Conservation Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Support Activities for Animal Production (11521)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Wildlife Health & Conservation Disease Management (HLAMAJAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Wildlife Conservation & Species Protection (BPAGAGAB)

Keywords

• Wildlife conservation
• Wild cat research
• Camera trap monitoring
• Environmental education
• Citizen science programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Mill Valley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Primary revenue source. Felidae Conservation Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States (EIN # 20-5089093). Donations are solicited via the website with the appeal that over 90% of donations go directly to programs. Donations accepted online, by stock, and through other channels.
2. Stock Donations via InfiniteGiving: Donors can give appreciated stock via InfiniteGiving's dedicated Felidae donation portal (donate.infinitegiving.com/felidae-conservation-fund).
3. Store Sales: Felidae maintains an online store (linked from main navigation) selling merchandise/apparel to support fundraising.
4. Donation Processing via FundraiseUp: Online donation transactions are processed through FundraiseUp and Stripe, supporting both one-time and recurring contributions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Felidae Conservation Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that conducts research on wild felid species (pumas, bobcats, cheetahs, snow leopards, etc.) using GPS collars, camera traps, and scat analysis. It delivers K-12 environmental education and community coexistence programs across the San Francisco Bay Area and runs international field research projects in Bhutan, Patagonia, Kenya, Utah, and other regions. A proprietary cloud platform, WildePod, ingests remote-camera imagery and applies machine-learning models (MegaDetector, SpeciesNet) to automate species classification and false-positive filtering.

Product overview

Felidae Conservation Fund offers a portfolio of wild-cat conservation programs organized around three pillars: field research, community science, and education. WildePod is the core cloud-based platform that ingests wilderness camera imagery and uses integrated machine learning models (MegaDetector, SpeciesNet) to automate species identification and false-positive filtering for animal population research. Wilde Backyard extends WildePod-style data collection to residential properties, with AI processing of citizen-submitted wildlife images. The community/education layer is anchored by CAT Aware (K-12 outreach including the 'Puma Wild' immersive 3D game, started 2021) and Living with Lions (California/Bay Area coexistence outreach). Research projects — Bay Area Puma Project, Bay Area Bobcat Project, Diablo PumaLink Project, Bhutan Wild Cat Health Project, Patagonia Wild Cats Project, Tsavo Cheetah Project, and Grand Staircase-Escalante Cougar Project — generate the data that feeds WildePod and inform conservation advocacy. Felidae is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit (EIN 20-5089093).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wilde Pod: Cloud data platform for conservation, building a wildlife imagery database repository for use in research and land planning.
• Wilde Backyard
• CAT Aware
• Living with Lions
• Bay Area Puma Project
• Bay Area Bobcat Project
• Patagonia Wild Cats Project
• Bhutan Wild Cat Health Project
• Tsavo Cheetah Project
• Diablo PumaLink Project
• Grand Staircase-Escalante Cougar Project

Products and services

• CAT Aware

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 90% of donations go directly to programs (fundraising efficiency)
• +4 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe processes Felidae's donation payments online. The privacy policy notes Stripe's PCI-DSS compliance and refers donors to Stripe's privacy policy for payment-card handling.
• FundraiseUpcoreTechnology or IntegrationFundraiseUp is the donation platform Felidae uses to accept online contributions; cited in the privacy policy as a third-party service provider.
• InfiniteGivingcoreTechnology or IntegrationInfiniteGiving hosts Felidae's dedicated stock-donation portal (donate.infinitegiving.com/felidae-conservation-fund), enabling donors to give appreciated securities.
• WildePod.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWildePod is Felidae's dedicated project website (wildepod.org) hosting the cloud-based platform for processing wilderness camera imagery used in animal population research. Future status; project start 2026.
• One Percent for the PlanetcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFelidae is a One Percent for the Planet Nonprofit Partner / Environmental Partner. The 1%FTP logo is displayed on the homepage and links to Felidae's directory profile.
• Charity NavigatorminorOthersFelidae holds a Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating (Transparent_2026 badge displayed on the homepage; EIN 205089093 linked to the Charity Navigator profile). Independent charity-rating organization.
• Great NonprofitsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFelidae is listed on Great Nonprofits and has received Top-Rated Awards in 2023 and 2025 (displayed badges link to its profile). Peer-review-based nonprofit rating.
• Candid (formerly GuideStar)minorOthersFelidae holds Candid's Platinum Seal of Transparency (displayed on the homepage; links to its Candid/GuideStar profile). Independent nonprofit accountability evaluator.
• Animal Charities of AmericaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFelidae is listed in the Animal Charities of America directory (id=20-5089093). Logo and link displayed on the homepage.
• Oakland ZoocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRecurring event partner. Felidae has tabled at Oakland Zoo Earth Day activities since at least 2011 and 2012 with puma education displays; event photos on the outreach gallery confirm an ongoing partnership.
• David Brower CenterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHosted the California Wildlife Festival event in Berkeley, CA (with NWF involvement), per outreach event photography.
• California Academy of SciencesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFelidae tabled at the California Academy of Sciences in March 2011 as part of its Bay Area events & outreach program.
• Lawrence Hall of Science (UC Berkeley)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFelidae has delivered outreach presentations at Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, CA, including live demonstrations.
• Whole Foods Market (Mill Valley)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFelidae participated in the Whole Foods Mill Valley Grand Opening event in 2011.
• Bay Area Science Festival / AT&T ParkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFelidae tabled at the Bay Area Science Festival at AT&T Park in November 2012.
• Cornerstone SonomaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFelidae delivered a community presentation at Cornerstone Sonoma in December 2012.
• Stitch Fix (project contributor affiliation)minorOthersAbhay Kashyap, a Wilde Pod project contributor, is a Data Scientist/Software Engineer at Stitch Fix; affiliation noted on the Wilde Pod project page.
• MasterClass (project contributor affiliation)minorOthersAbhimanyu Vasishth, a Wilde Pod project contributor, is a Software Engineer at MasterClass; affiliation noted on the Wilde Pod project page.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Born Free Foundation: International wildlife charity focused on wild animal welfare and conservation of big cats, with sanctuaries for lions and other felids. Shares Felidae's wild cat conservation scope and Felidae board member Chris Draper was formerly Head of Animal Welfare & Captivity at Born Free.
• World Wildlife Fund (WWF): One of the largest international conservation NGOs, with broad big cat (snow leopard, tiger, cheetah, jaguar) programs that overlap Felidae's Bhutan, Tsavo, and Patagonia project geographies.
• The Nature Conservancy: One of the largest environmental nonprofits globally, with active land conservation and applied science programs overlapping Felidae's habitat connectivity, puma corridor, and Patagonia projects (Elisa Bravo also worked there).
• National Audubon Society: Major US conservation nonprofit focused on birds and habitat; Felidae board member Elisa Bravo served as Country Director for Colombia at Audubon, and the organizations overlap in Latin America biodiversity and education programming.
• Wildlife Conservation Society: Global wildlife conservation nonprofit running large-scale field research and AI-enabled camera-trap programs (e.g., Wildlife Insights) that compete directly with Felidae's WildePod platform ambition.

Regional players

• WildCare: Bay Area wildlife rehabilitation, environmental education, and advocacy nonprofit; overlaps with Felidae's education programs and shares Bay Area donors (a WildCare Director of Advancement sits on Felidae's board).
• Nine Lives Foundation: California-based cat welfare nonprofit led by Felidae board member Jo McDermott (President of the Board). Overlaps with Felidae in feline-focused mission and California donor base.

Direct peers

• Panthera: Global wild cat conservation nonprofit focused on the world's 40 wild cat species, with field research and policy advocacy closely paralleling Felidae's Bay Area Puma, Bobcat, Tsavo Cheetah, and Patagonia projects. Direct overlap in big-cat research, camera-trap monitoring, and policy engagement.
• Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS): Wildlife sanctuary and conservation nonprofit focused on captive wild animals including big cats. Felidae board member Chris Draper served as PAWS CEO, creating close programmatic overlap with Felidae's wild cat sanctuary and advocacy work.
• Mountain Lion Foundation: US-based nonprofit dedicated to protection of mountain lions and their habitat, with a strong California policy and public education orientation that closely mirrors Felidae's Puma Project, PumaLink, and Living with Lions programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/felidaefund
• Facebookfacebook.com/felidaefund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1112169

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Felidae Conservation Fund