On October 11, 2022, Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) will present the 9th annual Giving Day for Apes. Sanctuaries and rescue centers throughout North America, Africa and Asia that care for apes will raise funds, raise awareness about their work, and compete for prizes throughout the day, building on the ongoing success of this capacity building program.
Giving Day for Apes was established by Arcus Foundation in 2014 (as "Great Ape Giving Day") to provide capacity and skills training for ape sanctuaries and rescue centers in using social media. The event started small - piloted in the first year for ape sanctuaries in Africa, and in the following year for North American sanctuaries. In 2016, GFAS partnered with Arcus Foundation to co-host the first Giving Day for Apes that included participants from three continents, including for the first time Asian sanctuaries and rescue centers. The event was renamed Giving Day for Apes to signify the inclusion of gibbons (the "lesser ape"), present in a number of rehabilitation centers in their native habitat in Asia. In 2019, GFAS became the sole presenter of the event.
Each year since its beginning, Giving Day for Apes has set a new event record for fundraising, with the 2021 event raising and awarding a total of more than $960,000 through the generosity of more than 5,000 unique donors located in over 70 different countries. These donations have been especially critical as sanctuaries and rescue centers continue to meet the challenges of the COVID pandemic.
This year, the Giving Day for Apes hopes to again break fundraising records for sanctuaries and rescue centers caring for chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, orangutans, and gibbons. Even the smallest donation can help a sanctuary that is working every day to provide food, enrichment, and veterinary care to their apes; to fund needed facility expansion or maintenance; and to continue their pre-release care and post-release monitoring of apes being returned to the wild.
You can help by supporting one or more participating sanctuaries. Early donations begin on Monday September 12th at midnight EDT, with all online donations added to participants' leaderboard totals to give them a chance to win one or more monetary prizes. Let's make this the most successful Giving Day for Apes yet.
To find out more, visit the Giving Day for Apes website.
