One new project helps restore the habitat of red pandas, like this guy!

Quarters for Conservation (Q4C), the Zoo’s initiative that allows guests to “vote” on one of three conservation projects to receive funding, is changing in the new year.

Beginning in January 2020, the projects will remain the same throughout the year instead of rotating every quarter, as they did in the past.

Each of the three recipients, which are nonprofit conservation organizations, will receive $14,000 in funding. The project that receives the most “votes” by the end of the year will be awarded an additional $1,500, the second-most popular project will receive an additional $1,000 and the third-most popular will be given an additional $500.

The 2020 recipients are Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, which aims to restore the habitat of red pandas in Nepal; Reef Check Malaysia, an organization that works to protect coral reefs in southeast Asia; and Talarak Foundation, which focuses on conserving the Visayan warty pig, Visayan spotted deer and Negros bleeding-heart in the Philippines.

We are hopeful that this change will not only allow us to build stronger relationships with our conservation partners, but also give our guests the opportunity to connect more deeply with Q4C projects over the course of the year.

This change comes as we restructured the Brevard Zoo Conservation Fund in its entirety, which is supported by the Zoo’s admissions and memberships. In addition to the three annual Q4C recipients, we also created a new level of funding called the “Seed Grant” for small, up-and-coming conservation organizations; these grants of $1,000 each for five organizations a year will allow us to build relationships with relatively newer, smaller partners. Our friends at Florida Wildlife Hospital & Sanctuary will also receive $5,000 per year.

Although our 2020 Q4C recipients have already been selected, conservation organizations will be able to apply annually for this grant with a deadline of September 1.