Our Crowdfunding Groups
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the 2017 BugGuide Fall Fundraiser! We met and exceeded our initial fundraising goal for BugGuide with your help! While we did not reach our longer-term goal to provide a staff person for BugGuide, we did raise $22,471 from 311 people who care about BugGuide's future. We will use the funds to launch BugGuide 2.0. We anticipate a contract being in place by January 1, 2018. If you have not had a chance to watch the videos about BugGuide, you can see them at the following links. Thanks to our intrepid videographer Brandon Kleinke.
Again, heartfelt thanks for your contribution to this important resource.
Best regards, Laura Jesse Iles and John VanDyk
"I've never seen a crowdfunding project move so quickly!" The ISU Foundation was astounded at the outpouring of support for BugGuide funding. We have reached our initial goal in only two weeks! Thank you so much for all who have donated.
On http://bugguide.net the fundraising thermometer goes all the way up to $90k. That's because our ultimate goal is to have a dedicated staff person working on the site.
When Laura and I presented a BugGuide poster at the national meeting of the Entomological Society of America, we were able to interact with many people. There were two themes that we encountered throughout the day.
First, people were genuinely thankful for BugGuide. Many had never created an account or been involved with the community but still relied on BugGuide heavily for insect identification and information. They were enthusiastic and appreciative.
Second, they were shocked to hear that BugGuide does not have any staff. "But it's such an important resource for entomology!" they sputtered. We agree! If this fundraiser is wildly successful, we can start to think about staffing.
How you can help: In your own words, make a post to social media using the #bugguide hashtag and the following link: https://bit.ly/2fG0tFH Share what BugGuide means to you. Spread the word! And thank you for your support. - John
In today's Science Ask-Me-Anything Series on Reddit, the featured guest is Morgan Jackson who co-authored a research paper about using social media to support young, aspiring scientists with the #BugsR4Girls hashtag. Morgan has this to say about BugGuide:
Thank you to everyone who has donated so far to maintain and improve this important resource!
These insects are very noticeable when they all emerge at the same time. Your donation to Bugguide at this level will also be noticeable when combined with all the other donations. Six legs rule!!
Will it be a hard winter or not? How will we know without the woolly bear? Your donation at this level will help keep BugGuide warm all winter by paying for an hour of an undergraduate student.
These tiny bugs have a very large bite. A donation at this level will have a large impact on BugGuide by buying an hour of graduate student time.
This confident dragonfly swoops in and gets the job done. A donation at this level pays for one hour of a professional developer to bring BugGuide 2.0 to fruition.
Many grants require matching funds. Giving at the Seed Bug level gives BugGuide a pool of matching funds that can be leveraged to obtain outside funding.
Stealthy and difficult to find, it only takes one of these to amaze and enthrall, and to make a big difference. Help BugGuide introduce a love for the natural world by giving at this level.