The Fun Part of Funding
Posting a request for proposals is the fun part of philanthropy – giving creative people the chance to get funds to accomplish their goals is what we like to do. At JRS, we work hard all year to add value to…
JRS’ Grant-making: Transparency-fueled Adaptability
The Transparency Talk blog of the Foundation Center's initiative "Glass Pockets" featured JRS' grant-making and grant-management approach as described by Don Doering, JRS' Executive Director. The blog, In Pursuit of Better Outcomes Through Transparency-Fueled Adaptability, describes how JRS' mission to…
Learning by Doing: New Policy Research Grants
It's a sunny Friday afternoon here in Seattle and I'm reflecting on the past week. A highlight was the JRS announcement of our first policy research grants for three projects to research the policies in sub-Saharan Africa that shape the demand…
Falling into fear of Ebola or rising to the occasion?
In the last week, two of our grantees have cancelled workshops due to fears of the current Ebola virus outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone that has claimed over 1,000 lives. One workshop was to be in an unaffected…
What is Biodiversity Informatics Policy?
This is the question I asked myself last year when I joined JRS. I knew that private U.S. foundations often powerfully serve their missions by advancing policy research and analysis. But what would that mean for JRS? Last Friday, JRS…
Happy Earth Day 2014
Earth Day 2014 is today - a day to celebrate the beauty of the earth and to take action as human activity relentlessly erodes the biodiversity that supports life. According to the Earth Day Network, one billion people worldwide will…
Getting to Know JRS Trustee Aaron McNevin
Aaron McNevin has been a member of the JRS Biodiversity Board of Trustees since 2009. He is currently the Director of Aquaculture at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) where he began creating standards for responsible aquaculture in 2004, which in…
Happy Taxonomist Appreciation Day!
JRS is always happy to be on the leading edge, so we are excited to learn that March 19th is a brand new holiday, Taxonomist Appreciation Day! Taxonomist Appreciation Day is the invention of Dr. Terry McGlynn, Associate Professor of Biology, California…
A little JRS History: Rockefeller Foundation Makes $375,000 Biodiversity Information Grant
It's old news but good news: In November 1924, the Rockefeller Foundation awarded a grant for $375,000 over ten years to the fledgling journal, Biological Abstracts. Biological Abstracts was to be the first major American journal in the United States to…