Form 990 for tax year 2025

Totals

Total revenue

$4,220,471

Total expenses

$9,782,373

Contributions and grants received

$4,129,461

Grants paid

$7,163,591

Program service revenue

$0

Investment income

$89,952

Other revenue

$1,058

Total assets, end of year

$4,327,413

Total liabilities, end of year

$28,980

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$4,298,433

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$8,137,603

Management and general expenses

$1,078,148

Fundraising expenses

$566,622

Program service expenses (Part III)

$8,137,603

Program services were 83.2% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Mission and programs · 2025

• AKASHINGA DELIVERS RESILIENT NATURE CONSERVATION PROGRAMMES OF GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE THROUGH COMMUNITY-DRIVEN PARTNERSHIPS. OUR MISSION IS GROUNDED IN A PRINCIPLE AS SIMPLE AS IT IS CONSEQUENTIAL: WHEN COMMUNITIES, AND SPECIFICALLY WOMEN IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES, ARE GIVEN GENUINE AUTHORITY OVER THE ECOSYSTEMS THEY DEPEND ON, THEY PROTECT THEM. NOT BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN TOLD TO, BUT BECAUSE THEY HAVE A REAL STAKE IN THE OUTCOME.BIODIVERSITY LOSS, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND THE EROSION OF HUMAN WELLBEING ARE NOT PARALLEL CRISES; THEY ARE THE SAME CRISIS, COMPOUNDING EACH OTHER ACROSS GENERATIONS. AFRICA'S WILDLIFE CORRIDORS FACE CONVERGING PRESSURES: POACHING DRIVEN BY CRIME, POVERTY, AND EXCLUSION; HABITAT LOSS FROM AGRICULTURAL ENCROACHMENT; AND HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT THAT PITS COMMUNITIES AGAINST THE ECOSYSTEMS THEY DEPEND ON. ADDRESSING ANY ONE OF THESE IN ISOLATION IS INSUFFICIENT. ADDRESSING ALL THREE TOGETHER - THROUGH THE PEOPLE MOST AFFECTED AND MOST INVESTED - IS THE ONLY APPROACH WITH A REALISTIC CHANCE OF LASTING.CONSERVATION HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN DESIGNED FOR ECOSYSTEMS, NOT WITH COMMUNITIES. EXTERNAL ACTORS ARRIVE, IMPOSE RULES, AND LEAVE. CONSERVATION GAINS ARE OFTEN DIFFICULT TO SUSTAIN WHERE LOCAL OWNERSHIP AND LONG-TERM COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP ARE ABSENT. WILDLIFE RECOVERS TEMPORARILY AND DECLINES AGAIN WHEN THE FUNDING ENDS. WOMEN, WHO MAKE UP THE MAJORITY OF RURAL AFRICAN COMMUNITIES CLOSEST TO PROTECTED AREA, HAVE BEEN LARGELY ABSENT FROM FRONTLINE CONSERVATION LEADERSHIP. IN AN INDUSTRY WHERE WOMEN ARE OUTNUMBERED BY MEN 100 TO 1 AT AN OPERATIONAL LEVEL, THAT IS NOT A SMALL OVERSIGHT. IT IS A FUNDAMENTAL MISUNDERSTANDING OF WHO CONSERVATION IS FOR AND WHO IT MUST BE LED BY.AKASHINGA WAS ESTABLISHED TO MEET THIS CHALLENGE: PLACING WOMEN AND COMMUNITIES NOT AT THE MARGINS OF CONSERVATION LEADERSHIP, BUT AT ITS CENTRE, IN AUTHENTIC ROLES WITH REAL AUTHORITY AND LONG-TERM STAKE. OUR MODEL COMBINES WOMEN-LED FRONTLINE OPERATIONS, INTELLIGENCE-LED ENFORCEMENT, COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP, ACCESS TO HEALTH AND LIVELIHOOD SUPPORT, AND RIGOROUS ECOLOGICAL SCIENCE INTO A SINGLE INTEGRATED SYSTEM. EACH ELEMENT REINFORCES THE OTHERS. NONE WORKS WITHOUT THE OTHERS. TODAY, AKASHINGA OPERATES ACROSS 13.1 MILLION ACRES IN ZIMBABWE, MOZAMBIQUE, BOTSWANA, AND NAMIBIA. OUR WORKFORCE IS 98% LOCAL AND/OR INDIGENOUS IN THE COUNTRIES WHERE WE OPERATE, WITH 63% OF OUR WORKFORCE BEING WOMEN.AKASHINGA CONTRIBUTES TO THE FOLLOWING GLOBAL CONSERVATION STRATEGIES AT THE LANDSCAPE LEVEL: 15 OF 17 UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, THE GLOBAL 30X30 CHALLENGE, THE PROTECTING OUR PLANET CHALLENGE, AND AGENDA 2063 OF THE AFRICAN UNION.

  Expenses $7,553,528 · Grants $6,894,921

• LEAD RANGERAKASHINGA'S PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LEAD RANGER PROGRAMME - OPERATING UNDER THE NAME LEAD CONSERVATION, AND KNOWN PREVIOUSLY AS RANGER CAMPUS - STRENGTHENS THE CAPACITY OF CONSERVATION ORGANISATIONS TO PROTECT NATURE THROUGH TRAINING, COACHING, AND MENTORING IN FIELD OPERATIONS, STRATEGIC PROBLEM SOLVING, AND THE LEADERSHIP SKILLS PROACTIVE WILDLIFE PROTECTION REQUIRES. DELIVERED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE THIN GREEN LINE FOUNDATION, THE PROGRAMME EXTENDED MENTORSHIP BEYOND AKASHINGA'S OWN RANGER TEAMS TO A GROWING NETWORK OF PARTNER ORGANISATIONS ACROSS EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA.THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF 2025, THE PROGRAMME DELIVERED SIX TRAINING COURSES AND MENTORSHIPS, TOTALLING 1,770 HOURS OF INSTRUCTION TO 84 LEARNERS, 32 OF THEM WOMEN, ACROSS COHORTS INCLUDING THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN WILDLIFE COLLEGE, WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY INDIA, CHEWORE CONSERVATION TRUST AND VICTORIA FALLS ANTI-POACHING UNIT, AND PARTNER ORGANISATIONS IN KENYA AND INDONESIA. CURRICULUM SPANNED FIELD PROBLEM SOLVING, GIS-BASED MAPPING, AND OPERATIONAL READINESS. POST-TRAINING EVALUATIONS FOUND LEARNERS APPLYING NEW SKILLS DIRECTLY IN THE FIELD, INCLUDING LIFE-SAVING FIRST AID ADMINISTERED DURING REAL OPERATIONAL INCIDENTS.IN MID-2025, THE PROGRAMME WAS FORMALLY ESTABLISHED AS ITS OWN INDEPENDENT ENTITY. THIS TRANSITION MARKED THE PROGRAMME'S EVOLUTION FROM AN AKASHINGA-PARTNERED INITIATIVE INTO A FREESTANDING ORGANISATION CARRYING ITS TRAINING MODEL FORWARD INDEPENDENTLY.

  Expenses $280,758 · Grants $226,887

• EDUCATION AND OUTREACHWHILE FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON FIELD WORK AND ON THE GROUND RESULTS, WE ALSO SEEK TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE IMPORTANT ISSUES OF CONSERVATION, WILDLIFE PROTECTION, AND ITS CLIMATE IMPLICATIONS, AS PUBLIC OPINION AND PRESSURE PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN BRINGING AN END TO POACHING AND PROTECTING NATURE. THE UNIQUENESS AND SUCCESS OF AKASHINGA GENERATES EMPATHY AND MEDIA INTEREST.IN 2025, AKASHINGA'S EDUCATION AND OUTREACH EFFORTS SPANNED A BROAD RANGE OF CHANNELS - INCLUDING THE ORGANISATION'S WEBSITE, SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, MEDIA COVERAGE, NEWSLETTERS, AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGNS - TO RAISE AWARENESS OF CONSERVATION ISSUES AND BUILD SUPPORT AMONG DONORS, PARTNERS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN THE UNITED STATES AND INTERNATIONALLY. AKASHINGA'S DIGITAL PRESENCE CONTINUED TO GROW, WITH SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT REACHING NEW AUDIENCES ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS AND WEBSITE TRAFFIC DRIVEN BY A COMBINATION OF ORGANIC SEARCH, NEWS COVERAGE, AND DONOR COMMUNICATIONS. THE BRAND & MARKETING TEAM PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED CONTENT HIGHLIGHTING RANGER STORIES, ECOLOGICAL MILESTONES, AND COMMUNITY IMPACT, POSITIONING AKASHINGA'S MODEL AS A COMPELLING ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL CONSERVATION APPROACHES. MEDIA COVERAGE, PODCAST APPEARANCES, AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS BY ORGANISATIONAL LEADERSHIP EXTENDED PUBLIC REACH AND REINFORCED AKASHINGA'S CREDIBILITY WITH CONSERVATION AND PHILANTHROPY AUDIENCES. THESE OUTREACH EFFORTS ARE INTEGRAL TO AKASHINGA'S REVENUE GENERATION STRATEGY, INFORMING AND CULTIVATING THE DONOR BASE THAT SUSTAINS PROGRAMME DELIVERY ACROSS ALL FOUR COUNTRIES.

  Expenses $236,436

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION UNIT (EPU)DUE TO THE SENSITIVE NATURE OF THIS WORK, THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION UNIT (EPU) IS A LESS-PUBLICIZED PROGRAMME. ITS FOCUS IS COUNTERING ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE THROUGH COUNTER-TRAFFICKING INVESTIGATIONS, EARLY WARNING, AND INCIDENT RESPONSE. WORKING WITH NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS, STATE AUTHORITIES, AND PRIVATE AND NGO STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS ZIMBABWE AND MOZAMBIQUE, THE EPU MAINTAINS SUSTAINED PRESSURE ON ILLEGAL NETWORKS TO IDENTIFY, DISRUPT, AND PROSECUTE ORGANISED WILDLIFE CRIME.

  Expenses $66,881 · Grants $41,783

As filed on the 2025 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

No itemized grants to organizations on this return.

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2025

Filed

26 August 2026

IRS schema version

2025v4.2

Source object

202612389349302151

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

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