Biology Fortified, Inc. has tirelessly brought crucial scientific information and insightful commentary to discussions about agriculture, food, and biotechnology. As a small non-profit organization our funding has primarily come from donations from our readers and supporters, and sporadically as the need arose. We cannot express our gratefulness for the support we have received through the years with words alone! To support strong science communication into the future, we are introducing a new program of Sustaining Memberships, and we hope that you will consider becoming one today!
Today, the communication landscape is changing. New conversations have arisen about the topics that we frequently write about on our blog, and there are greater needs for educational resources about biotechnology from concise infographics to in-depth resources like GENERA. Our experience investigating, writing, and talking about genetically engineered crops and animals has taught us that there are countless stories waiting to be told that can broaden the public’s knowledge and perspective of the benefits and drawbacks to this constantly developing technology. Something that is often missed when just reporting and analyzing scientific information – and that is the impact that these issues have on the lives of individual people. We want to make a more dedicated effort to bring these human stories to light – all across agriculture. We want to seed the world with real human stories.
There is also a critical need for more science communicators, from scientists who want to expand their skills, to science enthusiasts and writers who want to learn more and teach others. Recent events involving personal attacks against prominent and effective scientists-communicators have put a chilling effect on the emergence of a new crop of important voices. Biology Fortified is rising to the challenge of supporting, encouraging, and training a new community of science communicators to meet this important need. We are close to launching this new program which will create a community of practice on a national level to share resources, tools and experiences for effective science communication.
Sustaining these two programs in addition to what we already do will take dedicated time. Writers, artists, travel, photography, audio and video production, planning, training, and media relations need support to be effective. This is why we have created a Sustaining Membership program, and we would be grateful for your support to contribute to these worthy programs on a regular basis, at whatever level you feel comfortable. We will always keep our stories and resources open and free, but in return for being a member we are offering some premium content that will be available first and sometimes only for our Sustaining Members.
Sustaining Membership Benefits
Becoming a Sustaining Member doesn’t just give you a feeling of satisfaction for helping us further our mission of inspiring a love for science. Through your member account, you will also get access to our Member Premium content.
All Sustaining Members gain access to exclusive desktop backgrounds from around the world, and Sustaining Members at the $5 level and above also gain access to:
- Periodic updates on upcoming projects
- Behind-the-scenes looks at the production of Cooking with Frank N. Foode videos
These simple rewards are our way of saying thanks to our most devoted supporters! Remember, since Biology Fortified, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, your donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law in the US.
Sign up for Sustaining Membership
You can become a sustaining member in three simple steps.
- Register an account on our site here.
This will also give you access to our discussion Forum and give you the option of signing up for our mailing list for updates. Be sure to activate your account by clicking the confirmation link in your email. If you are already signed up for an account, then proceed to step 2. - Log into your account
- Select your membership level here and complete the billing setup through PayPal.
Current levels include (monthly donation): $2, $5, $10, $15, $20, $25, $30, $35, $40, $45, $50, $75, $100. All levels gain access to our desktop backgrounds, and Sustaining Members at the $5 level and above gain access to the rest of our Member Premium content.
Coming Soon
I have already mentioned our two main programs we are building, but there is more that bears mentioning. We are preparing to imminently launch a crowdfunding initiative to support a Citizen Science project, giving hundreds of people like you, parents and kids, and school classrooms the opportunity to actually take part in conducting a scientific study on genetically engineered crops. This teaser on the right should give you some idea of what this is all about!
While anyone can contribute to and sign up for this experiment, we need to assemble an elite team of preliminary protocol testers before we send the full experimental materials to all our participants. If you want to be a part of this team, sign up as a Sustaining Member at the $5 level or above and let us know! There are only ten spots available so reserve yours today. (Only available in the USA, sorry!)
Finally, an update on the much-awaited Cooking with Frank N. Foode videos. I’m happy to report that I have secured several agreements that will allow us to have a first look at some genetically engineered foods this fall – one of which I will be testing today. I will write about the experience and offer this first look to our Sustaining Members. Everyone else will have to wait (but it won’t be too long)!
Thank you for your continued support, as always. Together we can change the conversation.
I’m in. What’s the sekrit handshake?
Are there any first year memberships for those who already have given the equivalent or more in the past several months?