What Wild and Free Foundation does

Wild and Free Foundation (WFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2014 by Matt Bracken and Rohan Nel and registered in New York, USA (EIN #47-2266595) and as a Section 18A public benefit organization in South Africa (PBO #930061358). Its stated mission is to reduce poaching of the African rhinoceros by empowering rural youth and communities surrounding national parks and wildlife reserves through sport and economic opportunities, creating what it terms a 'prosperous perimeter' that lowers the economic incentive to poach. The organization shifted away from ranger-focused anti-poaching support in 2016 toward a community-empowerment model after recognizing that punitive approaches did not address the underlying economic drivers of poaching.

WFF's core program is the Rhino Cup Champions League (RCCL), an amateur football league for rural African youth launched in Sabié, Mozambique in 2016-2018 and expanded through partnerships with Save the Rhino Trust (Namibia, 2021), Painted Dog Conservation (Zimbabwe, 2021), and Peace for Conservation (Tanzania, planned 2024). The league operates on 7-month seasons with weekend matches and now spans 84 men's, women's, and youth teams and over 1,700 players and coaches, drawing 5,000+ players and spectators per weekend and 16,000+ spectators per Mozambique season. Reported program impact includes a 90% reduction in poaching-related arrests and deaths of young men in villages hosting RCCL teams, alongside economic uplift for 400+ widows and 1,000+ orphans through informal businesses at match venues.

The business model is entirely donor-funded: WFF generates revenue through individual donations, organizational grants, fundraising events, and community fundraising in the United States via its website (wildandfreefoundation.org). There is no product pricing or fee-for-service revenue. Go-to-market is community-led: a 6-person local committee of community leaders runs each league, with WFF providing funding, training, branding, and content. Marketing and donor acquisition rely on regional Instagram accounts, the WFF Logbook blog, an award-winning documentary ('The Rhino Cup' by Myles Pizzey), the #CHANGINGLIVES hashtag campaign, and word-of-mouth within rural communities.

Name

Wild and Free Foundation

Legal name

Wild and Free Foundation

Website

https://wildandfreefoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wild and Free Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that reduces African rhino poaching by running the Rhino Cup Champions League, an amateur football league serving rural youth in communities surrounding national parks across Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and (planned) Tanzania.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Conservation Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Amateur & Grassroots Sport Associations (Community/Youth Governing Orgs) (MPAKAFAF)

Keywords

• Wildlife conservation services
• Community football league
• Anti-poaching initiatives
• Rural youth empowerment
• Nonprofit conservation programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in the USA and a Section 18A public benefit organization in South Africa, Wild and Free Foundation operates entirely on donations from individuals, organizations, and fundraising events. The organization raises funds through events, direct donations on its website, and community fundraising initiatives in America.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Wild and Free Foundation runs the Rhino Cup Champions League (RCCL), an amateur football league located in rural African communities surrounding national parks and wildlife reserves in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. The RCCL engages local youth through sport (men's, women's, and youth divisions) and creates economic opportunities (jobs, prize money, small businesses at match venues) to reduce the economic drivers of rhino poaching. The foundation raises funds entirely through donations and grants to support the league and conservation messaging.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rhino Cup Champions League (RCCL): An amateur football league in rural Africa for young men and women located in communities surrounding national parks and wildlife reserves, aimed at reducing poaching through sport and economic opportunities.
• Rhino Cup Youth Champions League Namibia (RCYCL)

Products and services

• Rhino Cup Champions League (RCCL) Flagship amateur football league operating in rural communities surrounding national parks and wildlife reserves in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Provides men's, women's, and youth divisions, recruiting local coaches and referees, hosting weekend matches during 7-month seasons, distributing prize money, and stimulating informal businesses at match venues. Designed to reduce poaching incentives by creating economic opportunities and fostering community custodianship of wildlife.
• RCCL Women's League (Mozambique) Women's division of the Rhino Cup Champions League in Mozambique, launched to provide rural schoolgirls and young women with the same sport, leadership, economic, and conservation benefits as the men's league.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% reduction in arrests and deaths of young men related to poaching in villages with soccer teams
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Peace for ConservationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Planned partnership for 2024 to expand the RCCL into Tanzania's Serengeti ecosystem. Peace for Conservation has run Soccer for Conservation since 2016 promoting conservation messages near Serengeti National Park and Kijereshi Game Reserve. The expansion will target the Eastern Black Rhino family including 'Mama Serengeti'.
• Save the Rhino Trust (SRT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership established in 2021 to expand the Rhino Cup Youth Champions League (RCYCL) into Namibia. SRT's annual World Rhino Day Soccer Tournament was converted into the RCYCL Namibia program targeting the Kunene/Etosha ecosystem where over 1/3 of Africa's remaining black rhinos reside. The 'Y' for Youth was added at the government's request.
• Painted Dog ConservationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership established in 2021 to expand the RCCL into Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park area. Painted Dog Conservation's annual Veterans Day Soccer Tournament was converted into RCCL Zimbabwe with 20 men's teams and training clinics for girls.
• Protrack Anti-Poaching Ranger TrainingminorOthers · 1 January 2011Co-founder Matt Bracken became the first American to graduate from Protrack Anti-Poaching Ranger Training in South Africa in 2011. This initial training led to the founding of Wild and Free Foundation and the concept of community-based conservation through sport.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Peace for Conservation: Tanzania-based NGO running Soccer for Conservation since 2016 near Serengeti and Kijereshi Game Reserve, now partnering with WFF to launch RCCL Tanzania. Nearly identical sports-based community conservation model in adjacent geography.
• Wild Tomorrow Fund: Wildlife conservation NGO focused on securing and restoring habitat for threatened species in Southern Africa, with explicit community partnership programs. Comparable as a smaller, donor-funded conservation organization working in the same geographies.
• Save the Rhino Trust: Namibia-based rhino conservation NGO that actively partners with WFF to convert its annual World Rhino Day Soccer Tournament into the RCYCL Namibia program. Directly comparable as a community-based conservation organization protecting African rhinos in the Kunene/Etosha ecosystem.
• Big Life Foundation: East African community-based conservation NGO that employs Maasai rangers and partners with local communities to protect wildlife across the Kenya-Tanzania border. Highly comparable in combining community empowerment with anti-poaching outcomes.
• Peace Parks Foundation: Transboundary conservation NGO operating across Southern Africa, including the Kavango-Zambezi and Great Limpopo transfrontier areas that include park-perimeter communities around Kruger, Hwange, and Etosha. Comparable in mission and operating geography to WFF.
• Painted Dog Conservation: Zimbabwe-based conservation NGO partnering with WFF to convert its Veterans Day Soccer Tournament into RCCL Zimbabwe. Directly comparable in combining community sports engagement with wildlife (painted dogs and rhinos) conservation around Hwange National Park.

Broad incumbents

• World Wildlife Fund (WWF): One of the largest global conservation organizations, with active rhino and community-based conservation programs in Southern and East Africa. Overlaps with WFF's mission and geography but at vastly greater scale and with traditional anti-poaching methodologies.
• African Wildlife Foundation: Large pan-African conservation organization that operates across multiple ecosystems and species, including community-based conservation programs. Comparable in mission but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic scope than WFF.

Others

• Wildlife Conservation Network: Conservation incubator that funds and supports small, field-based conservation entrepreneurs including several African wildlife NGOs. Comparable as an enabler of small conservation NGOs and a potential funding channel for WFF-style initiatives.

Emerging players

• Laureus Sport for Good Foundation: Global foundation using sport to address social and environmental challenges, including conservation-linked programs. Comparable as a funder and validator of the sport-for-impact model that WFF operationalizes through the RCCL.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/rcclmozambique

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Wild and Free Foundation