We ’ re excited to share the news that iNaturalist is now an independent nonprofit !
Scott Loarie
NEWS
Current Address : iNaturalist Reprinted from : https :// bit . ly / 3NUADxD
We have exciting news ! iNaturalist is now an independent 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) nonprofit .
This is a big day for iNaturalist . Since launching in 2008 , the iNaturalist team and organization has evolved , and we ’ re thrilled about this next milestone . iNaturalist began as a master ’ s project at the University of California , Berkeley , became a LLC , then joined the California Academy of Sciences in 2014 . In 2017 , iNaturalist became a joint initiative with the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society . Today , iNaturalist is now an independent , USbased 501 ( c )( 3 ) nonprofit organization .
Over the past 15 years , the incredible contributions from the community have made iNaturalist into one of the world ’ s most powerful nature platforms .
So far , the iNaturalist community has :
• Created over 145,000,000 verifiable observations ( adding about 1 million per week !)
• Grown to 2.7 million contributors
• Observed more than 430,000 species
We thank the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society for incubating iNaturalist as it grew dramatically over the last 9 years . We owe immense gratitude to these partners for their investment , support , and stewardship . We look forward to collaborating with both organizations in the future .
Support iNaturalist
Very soon we will announce a generous grant that will give independent iNaturalist a solid start . The financial support of the iNaturalist community made our evolution possible and will be vital for long-term sustainability . Your donation now will celebrate this exciting milestone and further secure iNaturalist ’ s future . Thank you !
Humble Origins , Outsized Impact
Since launching in 2008 , iNaturalist has become an indispensable tool in the global effort to preserve biodiversity . The data collected by our dedicated community is vital for conservation decisions and has contributed to over 3,700 scientific papers . By becoming an independent non-profit , we ’ re securing the future of the platforms so many have come to rely on .
Moving Forward Independence represents an important , natural , and exciting milestone . iNaturalist ’ s focus has always been on building community and understanding biodiversity . By directing resources , organization , fundraising , and communications solely towards iNaturalist ' s mission and vision , we ’ ll be able to operate even more effectively , paving the way for future improvements and growth . You can read about our new board of directors and explore our Community FAQs to learn more .
Many , Many Thanks to the iNaturalist Community
iNaturalist owes its success to the incredible community . Anyone who has observed , identified , donated , or used our products has contributed to building the wealth of biodiversity knowledge that we ’ ve curated together . From the bottom of our hearts , thank you for being part of this community . We are excited about what lies ahead and cannot wait to embark on this new chapter with you ! Stay tuned for more updates .
The way you experience iNaturalist won ’ t change with our new organizational structure . The iNaturalist team and infrastructure have seamlessly migrated to the independent organization with the support of our partners , and we ' ll continue collaborating with organizations around the world to support the iNaturalist Network .
Figure 2 . Back ( left to right ): Alex Shepard , Sylvain Morin , Patrick Leary , Tony Iwane , Scott Loarie , Yaron Budowski , Abhas Misraraj . Front ( left to right ): Angie Ta , Amanda Bullington , Carrie Seltzer , Johannes Klein , Ken-ichi Ueda
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