Our Mission:

protect endangered wildlife from further extinction, by SUPPORTING PROJECTS THAT EMPOWER communities most impactED BY THEM

We protect animals in crisis and improve wildlife conditions by funding projects helmed by their guardians on-the-ground. We place a lens on the interdependency between animals and local communities. Through funding short and long-range projects, community involvement and education impacts sustainability measures and increases the survival rates for all.

We share this planet with all its wildlife and if we are to survive, we must find a way to do this harmoniously. We fund and mentor local initiatives that are often outside the scope of the larger wildlife organizations, and who are too often overlooked so not provided the same financial ground cover. However, our experience has shown us that these community projects, improve conditions for the villagers and endangered species fairly rapidly, promoting good-will and project success, which leads to more opportunities for these initiatives.

We believe in the power of a common goal, and we endeavor to connect nonprofits with each other, and to communities that are aligned with their mandates to form a conservation community. We help tear down the self-imposed walls between NGO’s and unite us to focus in solving these critical issues.

History

Over and Above Africa was created in 2017 after Founder, Kerry David, attended a “Save the Elephants” fundraiser. That night she learned of the total devastating number of wildlife slaughtered for commercial (illegal) poaching and the tragic human/ wildlife conflict (population growth that pushes animals into smaller and smaller areas, until they are forced to interact with humans, all too often with deadly outcomes).

The presentation that night was exquisitely shot in beautiful 4K clarity, from a drone flying high over Africa's majestic landscape. However, it also revealed the bloody remains of elephants, giraffe and rhinos from poaching, which was devastating.

The drone’s mission was to protect the animals below it by reporting back in real time to ranger stations, any imminent danger. It had the ability to notify and deploy rangers well before the poachers arrived, giving the animals a fighting chance. This “protective eye in the sky” is how we found our name: "Over and Above Africa".

Kerry was struck by the idea that rather than trying to raise $1 million from just 5 wealthy philanthropists, that we could offer $5 membership plans to 1 million people. Our model proved successful immediately and has scaled up every year as donors choose higher and higher monthly subscriptions to support the initiatives we fund.

As a professional filmmaker, Kerry realized that what Over and Above Africa could bring to the crisis was a short film of every project we backed. This not only shows our donors how their funds are positively impacting African communities and their wildlife, but served as an “awareness tool” to amplify the critical issues African wildlife face.

The mini-docs of our projects can be viewed here: PROJECTS

We encourage everyone to share these short docs with friends and family members, co-workers and colleagues. It’s the purest way to convey the very real threat of extinction many endangered species face.

Everyone at Over and Above Africa is a volunteer. We are not wildlife specialists, or zoologists - we are regular people, just like you. We care deeply about protecting the remaining animals and wildlife on our planet. Please join us, we can’t do it alone!

At only $5 a month entry point, we encourage everyone to participate and become a part of the solution!