Our Purpose

Maliasili exists to support high-potential local organizations to accelerate the benefits they bring to people, ecosystems, and climate change.

Our mission is to accelerate community-based conservation through local organizations.

Our work is ultimately designed to address the damage and degradation of natural ecosystems—and their value for biodiversity, wildlife, and climate—that is accelerating around the world. Our purpose is to expand, strengthen, and sustain community-based approaches to conservation and natural resource management.

We believe that talented, motivated, and committed local organizations are key agents of change in the design, facilitation, and support of community-based conservation approaches that drive community stewardship and benefits from land and resources. We believe that through strengthening these organizations, they will be able to increase their individual and collective voice and influence, achieving more sustainable conservation outcomes.

We believe that improved conservation practices through community action and stewardship will scale and spread through more capable, influential, and resilient local organizations.

Our partners’ work will result in safeguarding critical ecosystems that provide value for peoples’ livelihoods, generate nature-based economic opportunities, protect numerous endangered species, and store vast amounts of carbon in forests and other natural systems.

Our Theory of Change

Our Theory of Change has three core desired outcomes—stronger local organizations, outstanding leadership, and greater resources and influence at the local level—which are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. We believe that empowered and effective local organizations will drive greater change and that an organization’s empowerment stems from a combination of clear purpose, skilled team members, confidence in their impact, compassionate and capable leadership, sufficient resources, and connections to decision-makers.

The Outcomes We Seek

Stronger Local Organizations. We believe that if we invest in the organizational development of local organizations through holistic, multi-year partnerships that enhance their strategy, people, implementation, and funding, then these organizations will become more capable and resilient. We believe that investments in organizational development create a positive feedback loop between organizations seeing results towards their mission and feeling empowered to do more.

Outstanding Leadership. We believe that all organizations need outstanding leadership to meet their full potential. Our programs seek to cultivate and support such leadership, which requires not just the skills to guide an organization’s work, but also the self-awareness and empathy to support themselves and their team members, as well as their ability to foster partnerships necessary to grow their work.

Greater Local Influence and Resources. We believe that local organizations are key to driving conservation success, and are deserving of more recognition, trust, and funding on a systemic level. We work to amplify our partners’ voices, influence, and access to resources and ultimately to catalyze shifts in power, influence, and funding towards our partners and other local organizations.