Free Rivers Fund (2024)

23/05/2024

For everyone, who does not entirely understand what the Free Rivers Fund is about - we made a little series and will explain how the FRF works! First up: What is the Free Rivers Fund?

The Free Rivers Fund connects the river community and the paddlesports industry to activists fighting for free flowing rivers. As a registered non-profit organization the FRF takes donations and supplies those as grants to activists on the ground.
We believe that local activists fighting for their rivers know best what needs to be done and distributing much needed funding to them will have the greatest impact. These grants enable the campaigns, protests and legal battles required to protect our last untouched rivers.

Find our more, become a partner or apply for funding: www.freerivers.org

📸 thanks to 2024 Grantee ( Solutions4you / Danilo Novovic)

07/05/2024

The Free Rivers Fund's headquarters are in Tyrol - a tiny county of Austria that is not only home to many stunning rivers but also home of more than 1000 hydro power plants - and counting. When we are not working for river conservation with the Free Rivers Fund, we are fighting our very own battles right here with WET - Wildwasser erhalten Tirol. A currently planned mega project is threatening to divert 80% of the water out of Oetz valley: it would dry out one valley, flood another for a reservoir, and altogether affect 5 rivers in 4 valleys.

WET made a film about it and it is now online:
Down to the last drop -Tyrol and its hydropower

www.wet-tirol.at/drop (English dubbed version)
www.wet-tirol.at/tropfen (German OT)

03/05/2024

Applications for the 2024 Students for Rivers Camp are open until May 10th!

The SRC Camps by the River Collective are interdisciplinary river conservation camps that unite young university students for river celebration and protection. Bachelor, Master and PhD students in various fields of study are welcome - students from the Balkan region are particularly encouraged to apply and will be prioritised for available scholarships!

Find out more and apply:
https://rivercollective.org/src/neretva/

The Neretva is a 230 km long river flowing through Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia before its confluence with the Adriatic Sea. It is a precious natural and cultural heritage that connects history, nature, and people - and threatened by plans for 70 dams in its catchment area.

📸 River Collective

29/04/2024

Are you in the Balkans right now?! Then join on May 1st -5th for their Protest Camp to protect the Komarnica River!

The Balkans are already riddled with hydropower and even the last wild and free rivers of Europe are under threat. The Komarnica River is one of those: a gem of a river in Montenegro, threatend by hydropower development - but Free Rivers Fund Grantees / are fighting fiercely to protect it.

The annual protest camp is dedicated to the preservation of the Komarnica and a place where all lovers of wild and untouched nature will come together: with various activities for all levels of experience, the possibility of trying different outdoor sports, creative workshops, local foods, camping under the stars and live music. The camp is also a meeting place for local and regional experts, activists and organisations dedicated to the protection of rivers in the Balkans - to share experiences and discuss strategies for the long-term preservation of Komarnica.

See you in Pošćenje, in Šavnik on the first of May!

EuroNatur | Save the Blue Heart of Europe | Balkan River Defence

24/03/2024

Do you want to know what last year's projects achieved, what exactly they paid for with their grants and where your donations went? Say no more - check out our very first Annual Impact Report! Including all projects 2023, last year's highlights and what the Free Rivers Fund achieved last year.

Download the full report: https://freerivers.org/fund/annual-reports/

📸 thanks to 2024 FRF Grantee RiverLov

21/02/2024

11/02/2024

We are happy to announce the 2024 Free Rivers Fund Grantees! 🥁 We have chosen 11 projects from 11 different countries, thereof 8 brand new projects and 3 continued Grants.

🌊 This year's Grantees are:

Salvemos Chilina, Rio Chili, Peru
Nicoleta Nour, Sava River, Slovenia
Aetomilitsa Residents Initiative, Sarantaporos River, Greece
Hijos del Rio, Jondachi River, Ecuador
Spasimo Ričinu, Rječina River, Croatia
Amazonian Rivers Initiative / Ríos to Rivers, Beni River Basin, Bolivia
RiverLov, Komarnica River, Montenegro
Dejan Furtula, Rzav River, Bosnia and Herzegovina

We continue the support of:
Varig vern av Raundalselva, Raundalselva, Norway
The Grand Salmon - A Source To Sea Journey, Snake River Basin, USA
Iván Morales, Pueblos Unidos de la Cuenca Antigua por los Ríos Libres, Antigua River Basin, Mexico

📸 Jemec

None of this would be possible without:
NRS | NRS Europe | Palm Equipment | S2S.AT | Denk Outdoor Kajakshop | Paddle People | HIKO SPORT | Lutz paddelt | Lettmann GmbH | Los Leones | Level Six | outdoordirekt | Prijon GmbH | Rheinraft | ROBfin designs | Spade Kayaks | Sport Schröer Kanu • Kajak • Outdoor | The Packraft Trail | AKC - Alpiner Kajak Club | Olaf Obsommer | Galway Fest | Kayak Session Magazine | King of the Alps - 2023 Extreme Kayak World Championships | RiverAppAntigua

02/02/2024

Application is closed! This year we've received 38 qualified applications from 23 countries on 5 continents 🙌 Reading about all these planned hydropower projects is devastating - but reading through the applications about amazing projects, determinded activists and the hard work some people put into the fight for their rivers makes everything a lot better! It shows once again that there is a need for this kind of funding - and it motivates us to keep doing what we are doing!

We are working through the applications and will announce the 2024 Free Rivers Fund Grantees soon - so stay tuned!

If you want to support us, you can do so here: https://freerivers.org/support/

📸 Miloš Jakobi

Thanks to:
NRS | NRS Europe | Palm Equipment | S2S.AT | Denk Outdoor Kajakshop | Paddle People | HIKO SPORT | Lutz paddelt | Lettmann GmbH | Los Leones | Level Six | outdoordirekt | Prijon GmbH | Rheinraft | ROBfin designs | Spade Kayaks | Sport Schröer Kanu • Kajak • Outdoor | System X Europe | The Packraft Trail | AKC - Alpiner Kajak Club | Olaf Obsommer | Galway Fest | Kayak Session Magazine | King of the Alps - 2023 Extreme Kayak World Championships | RiverApp

08/01/2024

⚠ LAST CALL ⚠ Application closes on January 10th!

Are you fighting for free flowing rivers and need support? APPLY NOW to become a Free Rivers Fund Grantee in 2024 and get funding for your project!

We provide financial aid for people that protect rivers from dams and hydropower development. Any project, activist group, grassroots initiative, organisation or person can apply: you do NOT need to be a registered organisation! 🙋

IF YOU ARE FIGHTING FOR FREE FLOWING RIVERS, PLEASE APPLY‼

More info and online application form:
https://freerivers.org/apply/regular-grant/

📷 Free Rivers Fund Grantee 2023 'Boana El Chalten' (Argentina)
(c) Araceli Rodriguez

15/12/2023

The core of the Free Rivers Fund is to unbureacraticly give financial support to river conservation activists and groups on the ground - because usually they know best what to do and what they need.

With FRF Grantee Save the Austari-Jökulsá (Iceland) it was a bit different - their founder knew he had to do something against the proposed hydro schemes on the river he lives at, works and plays on - but he didn't know how and where even to start. We took him on nonetheless and apart from the financial support, we consulted with him, helped him start his campaign and got him in contact with the right people to help him out further. On top of it, FRF partner NRS Europe offered to get involved even more and went to Iceland to produce a film about the Austari-Jökulsá and the campaign to protect it - we can't wait for its release!

It's amazing to see how far the project has come in just one year and we are excited to see where this goes. You can find out more about the Austari-Jökulsá: https://www.savetheaustarijokulsa.org/
.. and sign their petition here:
https://www.change.org/SaveTheAustariJokulsa

📸 FRF Grantee 2023 Save the Austari-Jökulsá (c) Viking Rafting Iceland

20/11/2023

APPLY NOW to become a Free Rivers Fund Grantee in 2024 and get funding for your project! We provide grants for activists and conservation groups that commit to fight to protect rivers from dams and hydropower developments. ✊

IF YOU ARE FIGHTING FOR FREE FLOWING RIVERS, PLEASE APPLY‼

⚠ Application open until Jan. 10th 2024. More info and online application form:
https://freerivers.org/apply/regular-grant/

📸 FRF Grantee 2022 Save the Antigua River Basin (c) Ivan Morales

08/11/2023

Another one of the 2023 Grantees are the Futaleufú Riverkeeper (Chile) and their campaign "Por las aguas del Futaleufú". They have been working for years towards making the Futaleufú a River National Park: the "Reserva de Caudal" would ensure that this river keeps flowing freely forever. It seems they are closer to that goal now than ever before and have submitted an officially proposal for the Futaleufú River to become a River National Park to the Chilean authorites. You can support their cause by signing and sharing their petition:

https://porlasaguasdelfutaleufu.cl/firma-aqui/

(they homepage is Spanish only - but you do know that your browser has a translating function? go, figure it out - we believe in you!)

📸 Futaleufú Riverkeeper

23/10/2023

Are you fighting for free flowing rivers and need support? Please apply! We provide financial aid for people that protect rivers from dams and hydropower development. Any project, activist group, grassroots initiative, organisation or person can apply: you do NOT need to be a registered organisation! 🙋

Application open until Jan. 10th 2024. More info and online application form:
https://freerivers.org/apply/regular-grant/

📷 Free Rivers Fund Grantee 2023 'Boana El Chalten' (Argentina)
(c) Araceli Rodriguez

15/10/2023

... we'll continue with the introduction of the 2023 grantees - among them an awesome team in Voss (Norway) fighting for the Raundalselva. These volunteers are campaigning against a proposed combined hydropower/ flood prevention scheme - and for a free Raundalselva River.

The Raundalselva is spectacular - it is one of the few virtually unaltered rivers in Western Norway and is one of the few protected Norwegian rivers.

Apart from giving finacial support, we've tried something new this year: FRF Partner Palm Equipment stepped up, went to Norway and produced a short documentary together with and about the campaign - and we couldn't be more stoked about the result.

Find out more about the Raundalslva campaign and watch the film here:

https://raundalselva.com/en/let-the-river-live/

La elva leve! Let the river live! 💙

📸 Raundalselva
.. check out all 2023 projects:
https://freerivers.org/projects/

09/10/2023

📢 Application is open for 2024 Grants! If you need financing for a river conservation project and want to be one of the Free Rivers Fund Grantees 2024 - APPLY NOW!

https://freerivers.org/apply/regular-grant/

Applications are really easy - all you have to do is fill out a short online form. You do NOT need to be a registered NGO, anyone can apply. Application is open until January 10th 2024, grantees will be chosen by the end of January.

📸 Free Rivers Fund Grantee 2023: Save the Austari-Jökulsá / Viking Rafting Iceland

06/10/2023

In case you are wondering what is going on here:
Free Rivers Fund Grantee Raundalselva are trying to save their home river.
Free Rivers Fund Partner Palm Equipment made a film about it.
Together we are trying to protect the Raundalselva. 💙

Watch 'Let the River live' 👇

Join us in the fight for a free Raundalselva: www.raundalselva.com

Become a Free Rivers Fund Supporter:
www.freerivers.org

06/10/2023

Let the river live! The Raundalselva in Norway is under threat of a proposed dam.

Join us in the fight at https://raundalselva.com.

Raundalselva
Free Rivers Fund
Palm Equipment

05/10/2023

You are still not entirely sure why we need to protect rivers and what the Free Rivers Fund is about? Here is a video of our conference talk on river conservation at The Paddle Sport Show last week: on river conservation, what the Free Rivers Fund does and how it works, about our recent projects and grantees and why especially water sports brands should get involved in river conservation - have a look!

🎥 The Paddle Sport Show / Kayak Session Magazine

04/10/2023

We had a blast at The Paddle Sport Show - thanks for giving us the stage and providing space for river conservation at the show. 💙

Special thanks to FRF Grantee 'Save the Austari-Jökulsá' for joining our conference talk and representing their project and cooperation with NRS Europe

As well as Palm Equipment presenting their partnership with us and their cooperation with FRF Grantee Raundalselva

We were stoked to finally meet again some of our partners and also were able to get some new partners on board. Stay tuned!

📸 The Paddle Sports Show & Anne Steinkogler

16/09/2023

Free Rivers Fund goes The Paddle Sports Show - and we hope to see you there!

Just drop by our booth, get to know us and the Free Rivers Fund. If you want to rather have a 1:1 meeting please let us know and we will fix an appointment!

We will also host a conference on Thursday, Sept 28th. at 2 pm where we will be talking about how the Free Rivers Fund works, introducing us and showcasing some of our recent achievements and projects, talk about river conservation, how everyone can get involved and our plan for the future of the FRF.

In all of this we will be accompanied by Benjy from 'Save the Austari Jökulsá' - a grassroots river conservation group from Iceland that we support this year. Benjy will give some insights about his project and how the FRF was able to support him - to give you first hand insights and context on what the FRF is about and how it works.

Hopefully see you in Strasbourg!

📸 The Paddle Sport Show

05/05/2023

Time to introduce you to this years Free Rivers Fund Grantees! First up: 'Save the Austari-Jökulsá' - a river name we can't pronounce and a classic tale of river conservation: one kayaker trying to protect the river he lives at and works on as a raft guide from massive hydropower development.

The Austari-Jökulsá is a free flowing river in northwest Iceland, known for its world-class whitewater and iconic among locals and tourists alike. It is under threat to be diverted for a hydropower project and Benjamin Rowlands has taken initiative to help protect this river. We are super happy to support him and grateful that Save Our Rivers jumped in as well to help him take off!

read more:
https://www.kayaksession.com/save-the-austari-jokulsa/

and sign the petition!
https://www.change.org/p/save-the-austari-jökulsá

Viking Rafting Iceland

01/05/2023

At this year's Galway Fest NRS Europe donated €150 each in the names of the overall winners to the Free Rivers Fund. We are super stoked about this idea and hope it will gain popularity with other kayaking events!

Thanks to NRS for beeing one of our main contributers from day one, thanks to the people organising Galway Fest for delivering an awesome festival and always making sure to support us along the way and a huge congrats to the overall winners:

🏆 1st Womens Expert Class Overall: Aoife Hanrahan

🏆 1st Mens Expert Class Overall: Lucien Scheiber

📸

09/04/2023

09/02/2023

For once, we need your support: Help us save our homeriver! Please sign the petition to save the Oetz in Austria: https://stubaiwasser.at/stop-kaunertal-project/
.. and even more important: CREATE YOUR OWN POST and ask your followers to sign the petition! Campaign assets to use: https://bit.ly/savetheoetz

In case you didnt know - the handful of people running the Free Rivers Fund are also running WET - Wildwasser erhalten Tirol and are actively fighting for their own home river: the Oetz River in Tyrol / Austria, home of the Oetz Trophy and threatened by the biggest hydropower project in the Alps in decades. The whole idea of the Free Rivers Fund was born because we realised how hard it is for grassroots activists to acquiere funds and we wanted to do something about it - and here we are!

24/01/2023

We are happy to announce the 2023 Free Rivers Fund Grantees! 🥁 We gave 13 grants this year, twice as many as last year and by far the most we have ever given in one year. 🤯 The quality and quantity of this year's applications has blown us away and for the first time the number of projects that met our criteria were considerably more than we could afford to fund. But don't you worry - we made it work! 💪 In 2023 we will concentrate on finding more donors and generating more funds to be able to do more next year! 🌊 This year's grantees are:

Voss Naturvernlag (Raundalselva, Norway)
Citizen Associaten for the Neretvica River: Buturovic-Polje (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Futaleufú Riverkeeper (Chile)
Save the Austari-Jökulsá (Iceland)
Darby McAdams' film project on the Batoka Dam (Zambezi)
Dibang Resistance (India)
World and Danube (Serbia)
Protect Río Grande (Spain)
Călin Dejeu (Basca Mare & Jiu River, Romania)
Save the Drin River (Albania)
The Grand Salmon - A Source To Sea Journey (USA)
Skrbuša Defence (Montenegro)
Rivières les sentinelles (France)

We will tell you more about each of those projects in the coming week, so stay tuned!

📸 Katja Jemec / Oetz Trophy

Thanks to:
AKC - Alpiner Kajak Club | denk-outdoor.de | Galway Fest | HIKO SPORT | Lutz paddelt | Kayak Session Magazine | King of the Alps - 2023 Extreme Kayak World Championships | Lettmann GmbH | NRS | NRS Europe | Olaf Obsommer | outdoordirekt | Paddle People | Palm Equipment | Packraft Europe | Prijon GmbH | Rheinraft | RiverApp | ROBfin designs | S2S.AT | Spade Kayaks |Sport Schröer Kanu • Kajak • Outdoor | WhiteWater Slaves Lofer e.V. | ZET Kayaks

19/01/2023

Application is closed! We've received 34 applications from 26 countries on 5 continents. Reading through all the planned hydropower projects and threats to free flowing rivers all over the world can be disheartening. At the same time we are absolutely blown away by the quality of the applications, the variety of the forms of activism, the determination, the creativity and the hard work people all over the world are putting into fighting for their rivers. Thank you so much!

We are working through the applications and will announce the 2023 Free Rivers Fund Grantees as soon as possible.

If you want to support us, you can do so here: https://freerivers.org/support/

📸 Anne Steinkogler

Thanks to:
AKC - Alpiner Kajak Club | denk-outdoor.de | Galway Fest | HIKO SPORT | Lutz paddelt | Kayak Session Magazine | King of the Alps - 2023 Extreme Kayak World Championships |Lettmann GmbH | NRS | NRS Europe | Olaf Obsommer | outdoordirekt | Paddle People | Palm Equipment | Packraft Europe | Prijon GmbH | Rheinraft | RiverApp | ROBfin designs | S2S.AT | Spade Kayaks | Sport Schröer Kanu • Kajak • Outdoor |WhiteWater Slaves Lofer e.V. | ZET Kayaks

07/01/2023

16/12/2022

The Balkan River Defence needs your help ✊ specifically Calin and Catalin from Romania fighting for the Basca Mare River. Please donate 10 minutes of your time and support their cause in sending an open letter to EU officials - all info in the link below! 👇

Calin and Catalin have been fighting for years for the Basca Mare River and are now facing an emergency government ordinance to resurrect controversial hydropower plants from decades ago, many of which have since been deemed illegal – including the Basca Mare River. This ordinance would exempt the construction of hydro plants from environmental assessments (!!) and allow the Romanian state-owned energy company to approve their own feasibility analyses. 👀 Help us tell the relevant EU officials to do their job!

https://balkanriverdefence.org/news/basca-mare-dam-plans-resurrected/. if you have a river to save: Free Rivers Fund Grant Applications are on - deadline is the 10th of January 2023!

📸 Balkan River Defence / Katja Pokorn

BASCA MARE DAM PLANS RESURRECTED Romanian state-owned energy company wants 9 illegal dams in protected areas.

24/10/2022

12/10/2022

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