Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center
A Future for Gorillas, Built on Community
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center is the only sanctuary for critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas, a subspecies only found in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the world’s largest primate, and are poorly studied because field research in DR Congo has been impeded by decades of insecurity. It is both an umbrella and a flagship taxon, with populations living in some of the highest conservation value regions of DR Congo, but is suffering a catastrophic decline in population. The principal cause of the decline of Grauer’s gorillas is increased bushmeat hunting fueled by the expansion of “conflict mineral” mining and the presence of armed groups. While people living near Tayna do not hunt gorillas, they use gorilla habitat to collect wood. GRACE is working with local communities to promote the understanding, appreciation, and conservation of wild gorillas and their habitat.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Gorilla Rescue, Rehabilitation & Release
GRACE Center cares for critically endangered orphaned Grauer’s gorillas rescued from poaching. Despite operating in one of the most remote, poor and difficult areas of the world, GRACE has become an award-winning, GFAS-accredited facility that the local Congolese community call “an oasis of hope.”
GRACE has spent over a decade successfully rehabilitating rescued Grauer's gorillas that were orphaned from poaching and integrating them into a surrogate family group. At GRACE, these gorillas are cared for and prepared for eventual reintroduction whenever possible.
Gorilla Conservation
We conserve Grauer’s gorillas in the critical biodiversity hotspot around Tayna Nature Reserve through monitoring and capacity building, to enable Congolese leadership in gorilla rehabilitation and conservation.
Conservation Education & Community Engagement
We implement conservation education and community engagement programs that promote awareness, foster empathy, and seek to increase conservation knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. GRACE partners with communities to uplift and empower people living near priority gorilla habitats with a focus on building pride and appreciation for gorillas, forests, and conservation.
Where we work
External reviews

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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of people influenced to undertake conservation action
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of African descent
Related Program
Conservation Education & Community Engagement
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
GRACE conducts outreach by in-person and radio programming. In the past 3 years in-person outreach has been limited by COVID-19 and Ebola in the region.
Number of animals rehabilitated
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Gorilla Rescue, Rehabilitation & Release
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
GRACE has rehabilitated and currently provides excellent care for 14 rescued Grauer's gorillas. We work alongside Congolese communities to advance the conservation of wild gorillas and their habitat.
Number of IUCN Red List species with habitats in areas affected by operations
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Gorilla Conservation
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
8 primate species identified in nearby Tayna Nature Reserve listed on the IUCN Red List category critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable and near threatened.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
GRACE's mission is to provide excellent care for rescued Grauer’s gorillas and work alongside Congolese communities to promote the conservation of wild gorillas and their habitat. The ultimate goal is to reintroduce rescued gorillas back into the wild.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
More than just a sanctuary, GRACE also works with local communities on conservation education, forest protection, & sustainable livelihoods to help secure a future for orphan gorillas and their wild counterparts and to foster a peaceful coexistence between humans & gorillas.
In pursuing our mission, GRACE aims to:
• Maintain an excellent facility in the DRC for rescued Grauer’s gorillas
• Prioritize the welfare of every individual gorilla and maximize the possibility for gorilla reintroductions in
the future
• Develop and implement education programs that promote gorilla and forest conservation in North Kivu
• Invest in skill building to help Congolese become leaders in gorilla rehabilitation and conservation
• Assist local communities with developing sustainable ways to coexist with wildlife while addressing their
own development needs
• Build effective partnerships with local, regional, national, and international partners to promote a coordinated and collaborative approach to solving conservation challenges in DRC
• Lead scientific effort to determine potential release sites and assess habitat suitability of selected site
• Organize population viability analysis for selected site
• Screen gorillas for reintroduction candidacy using health, behavioral, and personality assessments
• Lead effort to develop and test remote monitoring systems for post-reintroduction gorilla monitoring
• Collaborate with partners to design and train staff for transitional holding facility at selected release site
Since we’re committed to using clean, renewable energy whenever possible, our forest enclosures and nearly all of our daily operations run entirely on solar power.
We also established a farm in 2015 to ensure the gorillas in our care have a steady supply of food that doesn’t deplete the environment around GRACE. We grow natural gorilla vegetation, such as elephant grass, to supplement what the gorillas forage for themselves in the forest.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
GRACE is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization in the U.S. (EIN 46-2308758) and operates in the DRC.
Six employees are based in the U.S. and 38 are based in DRC. GRACE has an U.S. office in Colorado and an office in Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu. The Goma office is staffed by an administrator. All other DRC employees are based in Kasugho region at GRACE Center, located in Lubero territory, North Kivu. GRACE’s entire DRC staff are Congolese nationals.
The organization is governed by Boards of Directors. Technical expertise and training support are provided by volunteer advisory groups and outside volunteer and hired consultants.
GRACE has 3 strategic program pillars that support our vision:
1. Rescue, Rehabilitation & Release: We maintain an award-winning sanctuary in DR Congo to care for Grauer’s gorillas rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, and we are working to release suitable candidates back into the wild.
2. Gorilla Conservation: We conserve Grauer’s gorillas in the critical biodiversity hotspot around Tayna Nature Reserve through monitoring and capacity building, to enable Congolese leadership in gorilla rehabilitation and conservation.
3. Conservation Education & Community Engagement: We implement education and community engagement programs that uplift the communities around gorilla populations and promote local understanding of and appreciation for gorillas, their habitat, and conservation.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our sanctuary already provides a wonderful second chance for gorillas rescued from wildlife trafficking.
Our 14 rescued gorillas have formed a surrogate family group considering their early start.
They continue to be evaluated individually to determine who are good candidates for reintroduction.
In regard to Conservation, in early 2021, GRACE and Réserve des Gorilles de Tayna (RGT) completed the first-ever great ape survey of the entire 900 km2 Tayna Nature Reserve. The successful completion of the survey represents far more than an assessment of the great ape populations in the reserve – it is a milestone for community-led conservation in the region. The GRACE team worked hand-in-hand with local communities to address past challenges of working in this remote area, in the face of hardships brought about by years of insecurity, disease outbreak, and travel restrictions.
In regard to Conservation Education and Community Engagement, after conducting a pre-assessment survey of community members, GRACE distributed solar-powered radios to 21 Barazas (families of traditional landowners) and launched a special 4-week radio campaign focused on the connection between human health and gorilla health. After GRACE distributed radios, listenership increased among the Barazas. In addition, post-assessment data showed a significant increase in conservation knowledge, including the connection between practicing good hygiene and keeping both gorillas and people healthy. We are excited to report that radio is effective at sharing conservation messages, and we are using this data to plan future campaigns!
In addition, in May 2021, GRACE hosted a five-day workshop led by invited guest Joseph Zambo, from Projet Équateur at Woodwell Climate Research Center. Attendees from GRACE and Réserve des Gorilles de Tayna (RGT) learned participatory methods in community engagement and management of natural resources.
This year, GRACE DR Congo Director Jackson Mbeke and our farm managers Louise and Faustin traveled to Bukavu in South Kivu province to meet with Dr. Augustin Basabose and his NGO, Primate Expertise. GRACE team members learned about their community conservation efforts, including their program called “Ape Trees,” in which seeds from gorilla feces are used in reforestation projects. This experience provided an excellent exchange between the two organizations.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center
Board of directorsas of 09/22/2023
Laura Maloney
Adisa
Term: 2020 -
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
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