It is Happening Monday

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Walking Young Jaguar by Tambako the Jaguar. CC BY-ND 2.0
Walking Young Jaguar by Tambako the Jaguar. CC BY-ND 2.0

Back in mid December I announced that I am doing everything in my power to conduct my Master’s research in Guyana this coming summer and fall. In that post, I wrote that I would be studying people’s beliefs about jaguars in the Rupununi region of Guyana. I also said that I was planning to adopt a slightly unusual strategy to finance my field work: GoFundMe. I have now decided on a date to launch my campaign – Monday, January 9, 2017.

There are several reasons why I am attempting to fund my research through GoFundMe. One is practical. When I started my graduate program at Humboldt State University, I was under the impression that I would be conducting the field work for my Master’s thesis/project late next year. But now it appears that I will be starting it this summer. This means that I have limited time to apply for grants, which makes crowdfunding an attractive option. But this is not my only motivation for creating a GoFundMe campaign.

In addition to practicality, I would like to explore lesser-used avenues for financing conservation research. I am not the first person to use crowdfunding to pay for their field work, but it is still an underutilized strategy. Conservationist and fellow blogger Jonaton Borling recently funded his work in Brazil using Indiegogo, so I know it can work. Therefore I would like to try my hand at crowdfunding my Master’s thesis/project, in order to test this relatively new financing opportunity.

So unless something dramatic happens before then, I will be launching my GoFundMe campaign on Monday, January 9. I still do not have a perfect idea of how much money I will need, but time is of the essence. As such, I am going to set my goal at $10,000: higher than what I will likely need. This will allow me to be sure that I have all of the funds I require. But do not worry, I will donate every penny I do not use to NGOs who are dedicated to conservation and/or livelihood assistance in Guyana. I will upload proof of these donations here and on my GoFundMe page, so that you can be sure of my honesty.

Please help me to make this campaign a success. I have never attempted to raise so much money for myself before, so I am quite nervous. As such, I would greatly appreciate any support you could offer: whether it comes in the form of a donation or of helping to spread the word. This is going to be a challenge, but with your help I know it can work.

Please check back on Monday!

Published by Josh Gross

Wildlife, social science, conservation, and scicomm.

20 Thoughts

  1. Good Luck dear Josh, I wished to could support and help you. I hope and wish you find support and help. This is so exciting. I can almost understand you. There is an idea in my mind, what about a wild magazine, or any internet magazine sites, they can write for them all this experience in Guyana and they can pay money for this, at least it could be a good support. Just an idea… My fingers crossed. Love, nia

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Hello Nia, and thank you! Sharing my campaign on your blog once it goes live would be an excellent way to help!

      The wild magazine idea is a good one. I’ve already spoken with the editor-in-chief of SIERRA, the magazine of the Sierra Club. He’s interested in seeing a story pitch once I return, but if I get paid for that it would not be until long after I get back from Guyana. I still need money to get me there, which is where the GoFundMe campaign will come in.

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  4. Josh, I wish you all the best with your fund-raising and for your Masters research! I hope you still find time amongst your research to post all of your interesting finds and this incredible journey on your blog :-)

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thanks Laura! I probably won’t be able to maintain this blog while I’m in the field, because of uncertain internet access. But when I return I’ll have a lot to write about.

      On another note, I’ve talked loosely before about finding a second author; ideally someone I can meet in “real life.” That is yet to happen, but if it does it might be a good way to keep this blog active while I am away.

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      1. I didn’t even think of that, but yes your internet may be quite limited… that’s not necessarily a bad thing either. Totally immersed in nature and people, it will be quite an adventure.
        I think it’s a great idea to have someone who you can partner with to maintain your blog, all the best!

        Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thanks B! Haha yea, I know I can update my posts via email. But I’ll probably be in areas where I won’t have reliable access to the internet, or where the internet is for work-related purposes only. So even emailing for ‘fun’ will be difficult.

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