The EAF is dependent for its income, for the execution of land purchase, lease and emergency actions, on grants and donations. It reacts quickly and flexibly to acute requests for international funding and avoids bureaucracy and minimises overheads by linking its secretariat directly to one of the partner organisations, EUCC -The Coastal Union.

In 2004, the main sponsors of the Fund were the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Matra Fund; Programme International Nature Management (The Netherlands), NC-IUCN – The Netherlands Committee of the World Conservation Union (with support of the Netherlands Postal Code Lottery), Frankfurt Zoological Society, and Stichting DOEN.

In 2005, main sponsor of the Fund are NC-IUCN – The Netherlands Committee of the World Conservation Union (with support of the Netherlands Postal Code Lottery) and the Frankfurt Zoological Society.