Women in Raptor Research & Conservation (WRRC) is a community of women and allies who study, protect, and work with birds of prey. What started as a Facebook group has grown into a network of field techs, students, biologists, rehabbers, and educators, plus a yearly meetup at the Raptor Research Foundation conference that gets bigger every year.

Our shirt is back for the first time since 2018! It features an original American Goshawk illustration by Casey Girard (Riverthrushstudio.com). We knew this shirt would be popular, so we waited until we could make sure the money raised would go toward something meaningful for our community.

The fundraiser is hosted by the Avian Behavior Conservancy (ABC), a nonprofit that manages the funds and helps oversee how they?re awarded.

Where your purchase goes:

• Fees to support the annual conference gathering. A dedicated space and appetizers, so everyone can attend for free and the venue gets proper notice.
• Early-career award(s). $250 toward a first big piece of field gear (binoculars, boots, a tent), plus a one-year Raptor Research Foundation membership.
• Research support award(s). Small grants to put toward raptor research supplies like transmitters, bands, and field equipment for your research project.
• Our next artist. We feature a new artist with each shirt, and we pay them fairly for their work. Part of what we raise will fund the design for our next one..
• Your ideas. We know there are needs in our community we haven?t thought of yet. If you have an idea for how these funds could help, please fill out this form WRRC Community Ideas and we?ll consider it.

The number and size of awards will depend on how much we raise, so every shirt counts!

These plans are still taking shape. Once the shirts ship and the funds are in, we?ll spend the coming year finalizing details and opening applications. The WRRC team is a very small, all-volunteer team, so it may take some time, but it will happen, and we?ll share updates with the community along the way. For early-career awards, we plan to choose recipients by lottery from short applications, with priority for people facing barriers to entering the field.