We take a hands-on approach with our advocacy, fundraising and outreach work. These are our areas of focus.

the bulindi chimpanzee & community project (BCCP)

BCCP is a novel project that serves the environment, improves human lives, and saves wild chimpanzees living close to human populations.  The project has rapidly grown from a small pilot to a comprehensive program that helps cover school fees for children of local forest owners, protects and helps restore forest, monitors local communities of chimpanzees, and helps local human communities by improving their water sources, providing fuel-efficient stoves, modeling sustainable agricultural methods, and helping create a coffee cooperative. Read More.  

friends of chimps

Dr. Merrick, founder of ChimpSaver, serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the nonprofit, Friends of Chimps. Friends of Chimps was created in 2008 to raise support for Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Uganda that is home to 49 chimpanzees rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. Dr. Merrick has been a leader in expanding Friends of Chimps’ work and helping the organization raise more than $330,000 since 2013. Learn more at their website.

advocacy & outreach

Dr. Merrick’s book, Among Chimpanzees, has been a platform for advocacy, outreach and speaking engagements, all aimed at inspiring people to be advocates for chimpanzees – and for the African people they share forests with. The New York Times called her book, Among Chimpanzees, “A sobering and clear-eyed new book…part memoir, part travelogue and part clarion call to action.” Learn More.