Wild Animal Initiative
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersMinneapolis, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Wild Animal Initiative firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Wild Animal Initiative
- Legal name
- Wild Animal Initiative, Inc.
- Website
- https://wildanimalinitiative.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Wild Animal Initiative industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Animal Welfare Research
- NAICS
- Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Advocacy, Policy & Public Awareness (Animal Welfare) (BPAGAIAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Animal Welfare & Advocacy Organizations (AFAEALAC)
Keywords
Where Wild Animal Initiative is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Minneapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Wild Animal Initiative business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Others, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Funding: Wild Animal Initiative is a nonprofit organization sustained by donations and charitable funding from the Effective Altruism Animal Welfare Fund, Animal Charity Evaluators Recommended Charity Fund, Navigation Fund, and other donors. They publish annual financial statements and Form 990s demonstrating transparent financial operations.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Wild Animal Initiative product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Wild Animal Initiative is a nonprofit research organization that advances the field of wild animal welfare science through an integrated Research Program (in-house investigations producing peer-reviewed publications), a Grants Program (Challenge Grants of $50,000-$100,000 and smaller Seed Grants), Fellowships with mentorship for early-career researchers, Outreach Services (events and researcher community), and a peer-reviewed publication Library. Its products are not sold commercially; they are funded programs offered to the research community.
Product overview
Wild Animal Initiative is a nonprofit research organization that operates as a platform offering multiple interconnected programs to advance the scientific field of wild animal welfare. Its core offerings consist of: (1) a Research Program that conducts internal research and produces peer-reviewed publications; (2) a Grants Program providing funding through Challenge Grants ($50,000-$100,000, up to 5 years) and Seed Grants to external researchers; (3) Fellowships that provide mentorship and supplementary stipends to early-career researchers; (4) Outreach Services supporting professional needs of researchers including events and community access; (5) a Library containing peer-reviewed publications; and (6) a Researcher Community platform for collaboration. These programs work together to explore wild animal welfare science, fund research projects, build the research community, and disseminate scientific knowledge.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Research Program Internal research program in which Wild Animal Initiative's team investigates key questions in wild animal welfare science and produces research papers for scientific journals.
- Grants Program Funding program that supports research projects showing promise of rapidly accelerating progress in the field of wild animal welfare research. Includes Challenge Grants of $50,000-$100,000 (up to 5 years) and Seed Grants for smaller projects. Application process includes Expression of Interest, full proposal, external expert review, and final selection.
- Fellowships Supplementary stipends and mentorship offered to postdoctoral researchers and PhD students pursuing long-term careers in wild animal welfare research, integrated with Challenge Grant projects.
- Outreach Services Programs that support the professional needs of researchers pursuing wild animal welfare research, including events and researcher community membership.
- Library Repository of peer-reviewed publications produced by Wild Animal Initiative researchers and grantees.
- Researcher Community Community platform for researchers to connect, collaborate, and engage with wild animal welfare science initiatives.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $700,000 distributed across 26 new projects in 2023
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Wild Animal Initiative
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Wild Animal Initiative technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Wild Animal Initiative partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K)minorWild Animal Initiative awarded a $6,500 international research grant to SKUAST-K PhD scholar Misba Rehman to study welfare indicators for the critically endangered Kashmir Loach fish species. The project is led by Dr. Syed Talia Mushtaq as Principal Investigator.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Wild Animal Initiative competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Rethink Priorities: Rethink Priorities is an EA-aligned research organization that produces detailed analyses across animal welfare, including wild animal welfare. They share WAI's EA-aligned funding base, research-driven operating model, and overlapping researcher talent pool.
- Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics: The Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics at the University of Queensland is an academic research center producing rigorous welfare science across species. As an academic host for the kinds of researchers WAI funds, it is a close partner and overlapping scientific community.
- Brighter Green: Brighter Green is a nonprofit policy and advocacy organization that produces research on animal welfare, ecosystems, and sustainability. It overlaps with WAI on the intersection of animal welfare science and broader environmental policy advocacy.
Broad incumbents
- Humane Society International: Humane Society International is a large established animal welfare organization operating globally. While focused predominantly on farm, companion, and captive wildlife welfare, it engages in wild animal welfare science and policy, making it a broader mission-aligned incumbent.
- Faunalytics: Faunalytics is a long-established animal welfare research nonprofit that produces evidence-based analyses for the advocacy community. While broader than WAI's wild-animal focus, it shares the model of producing research that informs funders and advocates in the animal-welfare space.
- Albert Schweitzer Foundation: The Albert Schweitzer Foundation is a European animal welfare nonprofit that funds research and advocacy on animal welfare topics, including wild animal welfare. It shares WAI's research-funding model and overlaps on its EA-adjacent grantmaking approach.
- The Humane League: The Humane League is one of the largest EA-aligned animal welfare organizations, primarily focused on farmed animal advocacy. While its core mission is farmed animals, it shares WAI's EA funding ecosystem, research-driven strategy, and emphasis on evidence-based interventions.
Direct peers
- Animal Ethics: Animal Ethics is a nonprofit that explicitly advocates for and conducts research on wild animal welfare — almost the same niche as Wild Animal Initiative. Both organizations target the moral and scientific case for wild animal welfare interventions and contend for the same researcher community.
- Wild Welfare: Wild Welfare is an international nonprofit focused on improving welfare standards for wild animals in captivity and trade contexts. While WAI is primarily science-focused and Wild Welfare is more field-intervention oriented, both target welfare of wild animals as a distinct cause area from companion or farm animal welfare.
Others
- Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE): ACE is the EA-aligned evaluator that has recommended WAI for six consecutive years. ACE itself is a research-driven nonprofit and operates a Recommended Charity Fund that channels donations to vetted animal welfare charities — WAI included — making it both a credibility validator and a financier.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Wild Animal Initiative social profiles
Digital presenceWild Animal Initiative financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Wild Animal Initiative leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Wild Animal Initiative funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Wild Animal Initiative 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 Wild Animal Initiative
What does Wild Animal Initiative do?
Wild Animal Initiative is a nonprofit research organization that advances the field of wild animal welfare science through an integrated Research Program (in-house investigations producing peer-reviewed publications), a Grants Program (Challenge Grants of $50,000-$100,000 and smaller Seed Grants), Fellowships with mentorship for early-career researchers, Outreach Services (events and researcher community), and a peer-reviewed publication Library. Its products are not sold commercially; they are funded programs offered to the research community.
Is Wild Animal Initiative a public or private company?
Wild Animal Initiative is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Wild Animal Initiative founded?
Wild Animal Initiative was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Wild Animal Initiative based?
Wild Animal Initiative is headquartered in Minneapolis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Wild Animal Initiative make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Charitable Funding.
Who are Wild Animal Initiative's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Rethink Priorities, Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics and Brighter Green. Broad incumbents are Humane Society International, Faunalytics, Albert Schweitzer Foundation and The Humane League. Direct peers are Animal Ethics and Wild Welfare. Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) is listed as an others.
Does Wild Animal Initiative have an API?
No public API is recorded for Wild Animal Initiative.
What industry is Wild Animal Initiative in?
Wild Animal Initiative's product category is Animal Welfare Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAIAJ, Advocacy, Policy & Public Awareness (Animal Welfare), with a secondary code of AFAEALAC, Animal Welfare & Advocacy Organizations. Its NAICS code is 813312 and its SIC code is 8731.