I am celebrating my 5-year anniversary in leading Legacy Landscapes Fund!

I almost forgot as it is again a busy time here and we are looking forward to new colleagues, new grantees and new landscapes to join in 2026. But what a fantastic time these five years have been: Building an organization from scratch, a conservation start-up based on careful analysis of what gaps need to be filled in conservation funding globally.

Many brilliant minds were involved in conceptualizing this fund, I was lucky enough to be entrusted to bring all of this to life. Long-term conservation funding, delivered in a programmatic, flexible and trustful manner to enable those conservation actors on the ground to work with financial security over 15 or even 50 years! Coming from conservation practice myself, I know that this is a paradigm shift in doing business. It allows long-term thinking, addressing the very big conservation problems, it allows learning and innovation, it allows deep relationship-building with all stakeholders and it allows cohesive local teams with more job security.

LLF took off in early 2021 with a generous starting capital from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and a lot of support from KfW. The first months of the organization were spent in corona times at my kitchen table. I had a feeling that there were insurmountable piles of things to do, processes to create, discussions to have, problems to solve and hurdles to overcome. And at the same time, there was a feeling of enthusiasm, motivation and conviction that LLF is a great instrument which can support those on the ground more meaningfully.

Five years later – LLF is hiring new members for our team, has an office space in Berlin, we are now supporting 15 immensely important landscapes for global biodiversity and local livelihoods, we have accumulated biodiversity funding capital of about 400 million USD, our support covers an area equivalent to the size of Sweden, we spent about 16 million USD in 2025 with a minuscule admin rate of 4%, LLF will co-develop 6 new programs with future grantees in 2026, we have an inspiring group of international public and private donor supporters and gain traction as an impactful funding model for inclusive conservation.

All of this was possible because of:

• Trustful donors who put money into an instrument in infancy stage
• The freedom to pilot ideas, start the work, re-adjust, learn and evolve
• A global group of advisors, friends, and experts who gave their time, dedication, brain and time capacity to support, brainstorm and help to make this work
• Grantees who learn together with us, trust us, criticize us, and help us get better
• A world-class team of motivated, bright, diverse, outspoken, hard-working and dedicated people who contribute to LLF with their hearts and brains every day in Berlin

🌿Thanks to all of you and onwards with purpose!