World Wildlife Fund (WWF), international organization formed to raise money for conservation projects, est. 1961. The international organization, believing that its name no longer reflected the scope of its activities, became the Worldwide Fund for Nature in 1986, but the affiliated groups in the United States and Canada retained the original name. The organization now typically refers to itself as WWF—The Conservation Organization, or simply WWF. It has been responsible for international agreements on conservation and has supported research on endangered species, including the giant panda, its symbol.