Wright Burt Foundation Gifts Aussie Ark $5.33 million

This is a major conservation milestone for the nation, with funds directly powering Aussie Ark’s three-year conservation master plan for the breeding & rewilding programs for 17 native species facing extinction.

Conservation organisation Aussie Ark is proud to announce the largest philanthropic donation in its history, receiving a $5.33 million gift from the Wright Burt Foundation, part of the Foundation’s $120 million commitment to conservation efforts across Australia.This landmark investment will help accelerate Aussie Ark’s ambitious three-year conservation masterplan, supporting breeding and rewilding programs for 17 of Australia’s most iconic and threatened species, including the Tasmanian Devil, Eastern Quoll, Broad-headed Snake, Rufous Bettong, Littlejohn’s Tree Frog and Manning River Turtle.

The Wright Burt Foundation’s donation will contribute to a broad range of Aussie Ark initiatives, including the construction of threatened-species facilities and habitats, the expansion of insurance populations, captive breeding, genetic restoration, ecological monitoring, rewilding and ongoing in-situ surveillance.

Australia’s wildlife and natural environment need us now more than ever. Gifts of this scale create vital momentum, helping to accelerate critical conservation work while strengthening collaboration with individuals, institutions, universities, governments and non-government organisations to secure better outcomes for Australia’s most vulnerable native animals and the habitats they depend on.

“We are profoundly grateful to the Wright Burt Foundation for choosing to make such a significant investment in conservation across Australia,” Aussie Ark Director and co-CEO Liz Gabriel said. “This gift is part of a much broader commitment to organisations working to protect our country’s wildlife and natural environment. Aussie Ark is humbled to stand alongside them in this national movement, and we are inspired by the responsibility this generosity places in our hands.”

“For Aussie Ark, this investment is a catalyst for even greater conservation impact and will make a significant contribution to our ambitious three-year conservation masterplan,” Ms Gabriel said. “It will help us strengthen and expand vital breeding, rewilding, habitat restoration and monitoring programs for some of Australia’s most threatened wildlife. This gift will accelerate critical work, but the scale of the challenge requires all of us. We encourage others to join this journey and contribute wherever they can.”

“We are tremendously thankful to the Wright Burt Foundation for this extraordinary show of support,” Ms Gabriel said. “Aussie Ark is committed to translating this investment into ambitious, action-based and measurable conservation outcomes for threatened wildlife and the places they call home.”

As part of the Wright Burt Foundation’s $120 million commitment to conservation across Australia, this $5.33 million donation is both a major boost for Aussie Ark’s work and a powerful catalyst for Australian wildlife conservation. It will help bring forward urgent action at a time when threatened species and their habitats need decisive, sustained support.

“Like so many Australians, our concern for the environment grows by the day. All our efforts, including those of philanthropy, business, government and the broader community need to increase to reverse this decline,” Alexandra Burt, Wright Burt Foundation said.

“These ten organisations, along with many others, are already doing extraordinary work to protect Australia’s wildlife and the places they call home, and we want to help strengthen and accelerate that work.”

Aussie Ark extends a huge thank you to the Wright Burt Foundation, and encourages its donors, supporters and partners to continue supporting the organisation as it continues to deliver action-based measurable conservation outcomes for Australia’s threatened species for decades to come.