| Form 990, Part III, Line 3 Significant changes in program services |
On November 16, 2015, The National Geographic Society ("NGS") sold most of its media assets to a newly formed partnership, National Geographic Partners LLC ("NGP"). NGP is owned 73% by 21 Century Fox and 27% by NGS' wholly-owned taxable subsidiary, NGSP, Inc. As a result of this transaction, NGS transferred most of its magazine subscription, catalog, digital media and other consumer sales activities to NGP. |
| Form 990, Part III, Line 4d Description of other program services |
(Expenses $ 21,538,438 including grants of $ 5,517,238)(Revenue $ 2,273,448) Other Grant Initiatives/Programs National Geographic's Remote Imaging Program is dedicated to developing and deploying novel imaging tools for research, exploration and conservation. In 2015, we made contributions of time, expertise and equipment to a diversity of projects. Remote Imaging's CRITTERCAM field projects included endangered Hawaiian monk seals, bluefin tuna and leatherback turtles, humpback whales, and the iconic Galapagos tortoises. New projects were initiated with giant mantas, Tasmanian devils, waterbuck and African buffalo. We wrapped up our project on feral cats in Georgia and began prepping for one in New Zealand. In all, 15 new or on-going wildlife research projects were supported. New, smaller, smarter systems are being developed and deployed. The Deep Ocean Drop-Cams continue to allow researchers to investigate the ocean floor, providing access to new environments and documenting new species. The Driftcam variant on this system, with automatic buoyancy compensation, began research deployments, allowing investigations in the hard-to-define mid-water regions of the world's oceans. Aerial platforms continue to improve and diversify, providing new investigation and documentation options for research and exploration in China and Peru. Sub-surface detection technology helped search for artifacts lost in the Euphrates River in Iraq. New low-light imaging technologies were developed to allow better documentation in challenging environments and conditions. Camera traps, with capabilities beyond anything commercially available, continue to be developed and improved, and have contributed to studies of mountain lions, coyotes, bears and other wildlife. Remote Imaging projects feed scientific discovery, publishing in top journals, as well as providing unique images that help capture the public's imagination and generate interest in science, exploration and conservation. Six articles were published in scientific journals in 2015 on CRITTERCAM projects. RI-produced images and video have contributed to stories for the National Geographic Magazine, as well as many short-form pieces that reach millions through online and mobile media. Remote Imaging staff participated in many presentations on science, technology and exploration at schools, universities, conferences and events across the country. CHINA - National Geographic Air and Water Conservation Fund Since its launch in 2012, the National Geographic Air and Water Conservation Fund in China supports the field research of Chinese scientists who are exploring innovative solutions to water and air quality issues through scientific research, community conservation programs, technological innovation, and communication initiatives in China. The results of these projects have produced significant outcomes and impacts, such as discoveries and achievements in science and conservation, technological advancements, an increase in public participation in citizen science initiatives and the preservation of natural and cultural heritage. Additionally, our grantees have leveraged this wisdom to further promote science and conservation through storytelling. In 2015, the Fund supported 31 projects across China, totaling over $700,000 in grants. Projects include conserving biodiversity values in the Nu River region, assessing air pollution inside urban subway systems, empowering women to sustain community-based waste management and water conservation in northwestern rural China, promoting public participation in monitoring the coastal environment in the Beibu Gulf and evaluating glacier shrinkage and its impacts on local people's livelihood. The National Geographic Air and Water Conservation Fund has further expanded its grant making capabilities by awarding its first round of Partnership Grants in 2015. These grants take already successful conservation projects and scale their activities within China in order to increase their impact. They are awarded to individuals and organizations that are highly established in their field of expertise. A special emphasis is placed on raising the profile of these projects and reaching a larger audience in order to improve the knowledge and practice of air and water conservation in China, while inspiring others to take action. Four partnership grants were awarded in 2015 totaling over $200,000. They include a study on the impacts of human activities on the environment of Mt. Everest, the documentation of the desert landscape and cultural relics within the Badain Jaran Desert, the monitoring of how modern transportation has changed energy efficiency and emissions, and the integration of multiple platforms to improve environmental information disclosure. The program's Environmental Youth Leadership program continued in 2015 in the two schools at which it was launched in 2014. The program supported and mentored youth in the schools in developing their potential to become future community leaders and stewards of the environment. As part of this program an award ceremony was held on June 20th and 21st at the Shangri-la Vocational College and the Dongzhulin Monastery Young Monks School. At these ceremonies, students shared their findings and the impacts that their projects made over the previous ten months. These students were also formally recognized and some awarded for their achievements in addressing the environmental issues of their communities. This project was carried out in partnership with the Shangri-la Institute for Sustainable Communities (SISC). Since the launch of the National Geographic Air and Water Conservation Fund in 2012, 107 projects have been funded totaling over $3 million. Through these grants and programs, the Fund has increased scientific knowledge and enabled new conservation practices in China, while also raising awareness of these issues among the general public by sharing the results from the field with Chinese and global audiences. EAST AFRICA - The National Geographic/Howard G Buffett East Africa Fund The National Geographic/Howard G Buffett East Africa Fund was established in late 2014, with the generous support from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The goal of this new fund is to advance science, exploration and conservation across East Africa, which includes Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. This will be achieved by providing funding, mentoring, resources, and capacity building to aspiring and experienced scientists, researchers and conservationists working in this part of the continent. In 2015, National Geographic awarded 24 grants, totaling more than $350,000 in research, conservation, exploration and young explorers grants for projects to be implemented in the East Africa region. Dr. Olivier Nsgengimana was awarded the first National Geographic grant to a Rwandan national, for his celebrated conservation work to save the endangered Grey Crowned Cranes of Rwanda in collaboration with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). Other funded projects include a study to uncover the mechanisms of disease resistance in populations of Kenyan honey bees, the production of a documentary that tells the story of the last male northern white rhino on Earth, and a study on hunter-gatherer sleep architecture to understand the evolution of flexible sleep. With respect to activities in 2015,the main focus for the inaugural year of the program was to successfully launch the program. National Geographic established a local office in Kigali, Rwanda and hired a Program Director to promote on the ground outreach, attract quality applicants, build presence/stakeholder awareness in the region and provide mentorship and capacity building to interested applicants. In 2015, the newly hired local Program Director carried out targeted outreach efforts to regional institutions and individuals, using the existing NGS network and establishing new relationships. This included presenting at regional conferences, institutions and universities, and also developing outreach materials for the NGS East Africa Fund. Recognizing the high capacity needs in terms of applicants, the Program Director also worked to increase capacity in this area through grant writing presentations, one on one application reviews and the establishment of a panel of mentors. By tapping into the deep reservoirs of talent, passion, cultural sensitivity, knowledge, and curiosity that exist in the region, this investment will expand the number of scientists and researchers working there, contributing meaningfully to increased knowledge and impactful conservation across East Africa. |
| Form 990, Part III, Line 4d Description of other program services |
(Expenses $ 20,387,981 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 23,966,813) Children's Publishing Program The Society's children's publishing program continued to enhance its family reference library with three strong titles published in 2015 - National Geographic Kids Guide to Photography, a fun, fact-filled, kid-friendly guide that is jammed-packed with all the essentials for budding photographers about how to take great photos to share with friends and family; Little Kids First Big Book of the World, a charming reference book introducing young readers ages 4-8 to the wider world by exploring countries, people, landscapes, and animals around the globe; and Ultimate Adventure Atlas of Earth daring kids ages 8-12 to explore some of the world's coolest, darkest, deepest, and most amazing places with fascinating information, easy-to-read maps, games, and vibrant pictures. In 2015, the Society also published the annual installment of National Geographic Kids Almanac 2016 and is also available in distinct Canadian, UK, and International editions. These almanacs are packed with fun-to-browse features, useful reference material, homework help developed by educators, and the kind of quirky facts that kids adore. Other notable children's titles published in 2015 were Treasury of Norse Mythology, a stunning tableau of classic stories of Norse myths with dazzling illustrations of gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters; Untamed: The Wild Life of Jane Goodall, a book for kids about one of the most recognized scientists in the Western world who became internationally famous for her ability to observe and connect with another species and ultimately to tirelessly fight to protect the environment so that chimpanzees and other animals have a place in the future of our planet; National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry by beloved former U.S. Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis who curates an exuberant poetic celebration of the natural world in this stellar collection of nature poems; and With a Friend by Your Side, an inspirational book by award-winning author Barbara Kerley about the value of friendship and preps young ones for the world beyond their own families. Our children's publishing program continued to build presence in the school and public library markets by releasing several new titles in our very popular National Geographic Readers and National Geographic Chapters series, which are comprised of leveled-reading, easy-to-read formatted books, developed in concert with experts in the field of literacy education, which get kids reading by giving them lots of cool information about subjects that matter to them. We publish the National Geographic Kids Everything series, aimed at kids aged 8-12, breathing new life into the reference category with fresh, dynamic, and fun-filled presentations of the nonfiction subjects kids love most. The National Geographic Little Kids Look and Learn series, published for kids ages 3-6, include board books developed in association with child education experts, sure to thrill preschoolers and parents alike as they encourage interactivity and self-discovery among all children with engaging visuals and fun themes. In 2015, National Geographic raised the bar for picture books with Explore My World, a new series for preschoolers that combines simple storytelling with high-quality photography and introduces kids ages 3 to 7 to reading with well-told tales about the wonders of the natural world. |
| Form 990, Part III, Line 4d Description of other program services |
(Expenses $ 17,150,740 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 20,282,181) NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS magazine is published ten times a year and distributed to individuals, schools, and public libraries. The magazine's mission is to excite kids about learning while educating them about the world around them. Prepared primarily for children ages 6 to 14 years old, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS offers an appealing mix of articles on wildlife, science, technology, pets, adventures, special kids, and geography. For its work in 2015, the magazine received a Parents' Choice Silver award and two Folio awards for magazine content. Examples of NG KIDS activities in 2015 include a "Special Pets Issue" and "Special Brainy Issue;" publication of two animal Collector's Card sets; timely articles about new dinosaurs and early human discoveries; feature stories on animal such as sea turtles, ocelots, dolphins, foxes, and snow leopards, plus robots, blue volcanoes, historical sites, going green, wildlife trafficking, Mars colonization, Air Force One, and underwater caves; popular departments such as "Cool Inventions," "Guinness World Records," "Weird But True," "Bet You Didn't Know," "Amazing Animals;" new departments such as "By the Numbers" and "History's Greatest Hits;" and "Fun Stuff," a regular seven-page department filled with educational games, quizzes, and activities. To encourage kids to get outside and explore their world through photography, throughout the year NG KIDS features a My Shot department, which showcases reader photography submitted to our moderated, just-for-kids online photo community of the same name. The magazine also encouraged readers to play along with the National Geographic Bee with a special two-page geography edition of the Stump Your Parents quiz department in May 2015. Our annual International Photography Contest for Kids winners were announced in the May 2015 issue. To encourage readers' creativity and inspire their love of animals, the magazine hosted a Silly Pet Video contest, in which the winning video was turned into a viral music video. To inspire readers to protect animals, the magazine supported the program Mission Animal Rescue, a 360 initiative out of the Kids division. In almost every issue, readers were introduced to an animal that was rescued by humans, and then given tips on how to protect wildlife as well as encouraged to participate in an online challenge. For extra content on animals, countries, and more, the magazine sends readers to our website, natgeokids.com. NG Kids continued to reach audiences in 2015 through its iPad, Android, and Nook magazine apps. Additionally in 2015, there were 19 international editions of NG KIDS. 2015 Average Worldwide Circulation of NG KIDS: 1,362,656 |
| Form 990, Part III, Line 4d Description of other program services |
(Expenses $ 15,578,904 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 14,301,555) National Geographic Traveler (NG Traveler), both in print and on tablets, is published six times a year to further geographic knowledge with articles that explore the geography, history, and culture of selected locations. Every article's purpose is to foster interest in the educational value of travel destinations by encouraging readers to experience geography and the world's cultures first-hand. A pioneer in promoting sustainable tourism, NG Traveler believes that enhancing an authentic sense of place benefits both travelers and the locations they visit. In support of this sustainable-tourism ethic, the magazine published several landmark articles in 2015, its 31st year. The magazine, both in print and online, is a thought leader in the industry and champions the transformative power of travel with an emphasis on experiential journeys, you-are-there photography, storytelling, authenticity, cultural exploration, and insights and information gleaned from locals. It's for the smart, curious traveler who is inquisitive not acquisitive and who increasingly travels with a light footprint and an urge to discover a true sense of place, and a desire to give back to the local community. The magazine develops, supports, and creates content for travel books, bookazines, its Intelligent Travel blog, and the National Geographic Travel website, creating a more integrated, multimedia outreach. Its social media efforts are among the most successful at the Society and it has more than 3.6 million Facebook followers, 2.17 million Twitter followers, and 8.5 million Instagram followers. Intelligent Travel blog's social media global reporters Anne Fitzsimmons and Robert Reid continue to provide insights on local culture and history around the world. NG Traveler continues to support NG Live! with one-on-one conversations with celebrated travel writers like Pico Iyer and Cheryl Strayed. In 2015, the magazine and website continued to showcase unique destinations around the world that show sustainable practices and honor distinctive sense of place. This included our "Tours of a Lifetime" feature and our "Best of the World: Places to See Now" feature. Other features covered Bulgaria, South Africa, New Zealand, Provence, Seville, Yorkshire, Mexico City, Malaysia, and climate change. This year also marked the return of our ITB Berlin co-sponsored World Legacy Awards, a ceremony to highlight hotels, ecolodges, destinations, and organizations that are leading positive sustainable transformation within the travel industry. Traveler's blog, Intelligent Travel, continued to deliver deep destination coverage, engaging photography, and lively voices to a rapidly growing online audiences. NG Traveler received several awards including: 8 Lowell Thomas Awards Gold in Best Travel Magazine Silver in Foreign Travel: Carl Hoffman, "It Takes a Village" Bronze in Foreign Travel: Todd Pitock, "The Rebirth of Awe" Honorable Mention in Foreign Travel: Bruce Schoenfeld, "Spanish Inclination" Silver in Special Purpose Travel: Andrew McCarthy, "Steeped in Darjeeling" Silver in Illustration of Travel: Aaron Huey, "The Road to Wellville" Gold in Guidebook: National Geographic Traveler: Peru Silver in Video Travel Broadcast: Bob Krist, "The Day of the Dead in Oaxaca" in Intelligent Travel blog NATJA Awards and Finalist Nominations, including Grand Prize for best travel publication In 2015, NG Traveler's international footprint includes 16 local language editions in 13 languages. 2015 Average Worldwide Circulation: 1,068,446 |
| Form 990, Part III, Line 4d Description of other program services |
(Expenses $ 13,087,003 including grants of $ 132,958)(Revenue $ 22,775,459) TRAVEL--EXPEDITIONS The Society's travel program, National Geographic Expeditions, enables members to visit, experience, and learn first-hand about the history, archaeology, geography, and culture of destinations around the world. Members and other participants travel with Society experts such as explorers, writers, and researchers, as well as with engaging local experts, on carefully planned journeys emphasizing enrichment and experiential learning. The expeditions include lectures by experts and suggested pre-tour reading materials, and are designed to encourage further study of the geographic areas visited. The National Geographic Student Expeditions Scholarship Program provides financial support for high school students seeking educational summer experiences who could not otherwise afford them. In 2015, National Geographic awarded full scholarships to 21 students who are legal residents of the US and Canada from a wide variety of backgrounds, creating a richer and more diverse experience for every student involved. Scholarship students participate in National Geographic Student Expeditions- the Society's high school travel program. Students pursue educational projects focused on an array of topics including Photography, Wildlife & Conservation, Community Service, Archaeology & Ancient Cultures, and Creative Writing. These students reported that the experience had a significant positive effect on their lives, instilling increased confidence, global perspective, independence, and compassion for others. These transformation experiences are central to their development as students, leaders, and global citizens. |
| Form 990, Part III, Line 4d Description of other program services |
(Expenses $ 12,056,429 including grants of $ 3,099,524)(Revenue $ 221,233) Education Foundation/Programs The National Geographic Society Education Foundation (NGEF) was established to commemorate the Society's centennial in 1988. With a mission "to support, promote and advance geographic education in the United States, Canada and elsewhere," the Foundation promotes improved teacher quality and classroom learning. Proposals are solicited from universities and other nonprofits for innovative projects. Since its inception, the Education Foundation has worked in programmatic partnership with other private donors and state governments to support university-hosted Geography Alliances-statewide partnerships between academic professors and K-12 teachers to provide professional development, networking, and more. In many cases, the Education Foundation supports individual Alliances through dedicated, state-specific endowments, called Geography Education Funds. While the Foundation emphasizes improvement of geographic literacy in the United States, select work is also supported in Canada and Puerto Rico. The Foundation's staff works with external evaluators and encourages grantees to assess programs and projects to determine the value of geographic education to student achievement on state and national standards, and to demonstrate the essential role of geography as an educational priority and a core component of K-12 academic curricula. In 2015, the Foundation made 66 grants totaling more than $3 million. Examples of work funded by these grants are as follows: Arizona Geographic Alliance The Arizona Geographic Alliance works to enhance geography as being an integral and valued part of a rigorous K-12 curriculum that promotes student use of geographic concepts, knowledge, and skills to understand Earth's interconnected human and environmental systems in order to plan and problem solve. The Alliance's professional development offerings include GeoConference, an annual workshop on teaching geography. The target audience is both pre-service and in-service K-12 classroom teachers. The workshop serves to elevate the image of the Alliance as a provider of professional development for teachers, give Teacher Consultants the chance to share their vetted lessons with others and hone their presentation skills, and expose educators to the resources created by the Alliance. ($27,500 grant award) Pennsylvania Alliance for Geographic Education The Pennsylvania Alliance for Geographic Education prepares global citizens and caretakers of Earth in an ever-changing and interconnected world by fostering geographic literacy and spatial thinking among teachers and students in Pennsylvania. GeoStrategies for Middle School Social Studies was an in-service professional development opportunity for middle school social studies teachers, with the goals of constructing a geographic framework to support teaching of middle school social studies, and exploring different ways to get students to think like a geographer. Participants came away with examples of active learning strategies which can be implemented immediately, had the chance to "Speed Date" with geography resources which support classroom goals, and connected to relevant and recent world events. ($51,597 grant award) Chesapeake Bay Foundation NGEF supported the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Chesapeake Classrooms initiative, a comprehensive professional development program for teachers throughout the Bay watershed. The hallmark of this initiative is the five-day accredited, hands-on summer courses offered around the watershed. During the grant period, CBF reached several hundred teachers through four dozen customized courses planned collaboratively with school system leaders. Participating teachers came from K-12 public, private, and parochial schools in the watershed states of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, as well as Washington, D.C. By reaching teachers, Chesapeake Classrooms results in a growing number of students who are prepared and motivated to care for this national treasure, ensuring a beautiful and bountiful Chesapeake Bay for generations to come. ($65,000 grant award) National Geographic Education & Children's Media The National Geographic Education & Children's Media division creates best-in-class products, experiences, and programs that teach kids about the world and how it works, empowering them to succeed and to make it a better place. We educate by sparking curiosity, imparting knowledge through storytelling, and empowering action. We support lifelong learning by providing opportunities for kids, families, and educators to join global communities where they can connect, learn, create, and share. Also, we inspire the new generation of global citizens to discover the world's past, celebrate its present, and protect its future. As a part of the National Geographic Education and Children's Media division, the education team focuses on working closely with and creating materials for educators and schools that bring the Society's spirit of exploration and adventure to our goal of educating young people about their world. National Geographic Education Online The NG Education website and social media channels are the primary methods of dissemination and communication for NG Educations' products and programs, which provide world-class learning resources and rich multimedia assets for educators in both formal and information settings, as well as for students and caregivers. NG Education creates free instructional materials aligned with national education standards, and continues to conduct professional development through the offering of massive open online courses (MOOC's). Over 2015, the Education website received more than 25 million pageviews from over 10.6 million users, increasing traffic to the site by 12%. Since the beginning of 2015, NG Education increased its total social media followers by 293% to a total of 9,572,473 followers across Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. We continue to geo-target Facebook content to U.S. users, with the goal of reaching more educators in the United States and Canada as well as our international audience. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) In Q2 and Q3 of 2015, we offered the Online Course FLOW Education: Facilitating Learning through Outdoor Watershed Education (http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/online-courses/) landing page to feature Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered through Coursera. The course FLOW Education: Facilitating Learning through Outdoor Watershed Education ran June 17 through October 24, 2015, and then again from September 16th through November 7th, 2015. Watershed education is an excellent way to introduce students to rich, interdisciplinary studies of one of the most important resources located in students' backyards-water! This course is designed for classroom teachers of Grades 4-9 to learn about watersheds and outdoor education using the Chesapeake Bay watershed as an example. The course introduces engaging technologies for investigating watersheds and helps educators plan and effectively implement outdoor experiences. Montana teachers could apply for undergraduate and graduate credits from the School of Extended & Lifelong Learning at the University of Montana. Grosvenor Teacher Fellow Program The Grosvenor Teacher Fellow (GTF) program is an in-person professional development opportunity made possible by a partnership between National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions. The primary goal of the GTF program is to advance geographic literacy by engaging K-12 educators from the United States and Canada in field-based experiences that will be reflected in their teaching practice and shared with their professional and community networks. Selected educators travel aboard Lindblad Expeditions ship National Geographic Explorer to experience some of the world's most amazing places first-hand. While aboard, Fellows share the importance of geographic education with other travelers, develop activities to bring back to their classrooms, and have an adventure of a lifetime. In 2015, more than 2,700 educators applied for the GTF Program and thirty-five educators were selected. The selected Fellows traveled in groups of 2 or 3 on one of nine expeditions traveling to Arctic Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland, Galapagos, the Canadian Maritimes and Antarctica. Prior to their expedition all Fellows traveled to National Geographic headquarters for a 3-day hands-on preparatory workshop. |
| Form 990, Part III, Line 4d Description of other program services |
(Expenses $ 10,189,601 including grants of $ 1,359,419)(Revenue $ 608,381) EXPLORER PROGRAMS EXPLORERS SYMPOSIUM The Explorers Symposium is an annual event that convenes National Geographic's explorers (Emerging Explorers, Explorers-in-Residence, National Geographic Fellows, and Grantees) from around the globe to participate in a week full of events, including a two day symposium that brings the excitement of the field to audiences at the National Geographic Society Headquarters. In 2015, the two days of panel discussions covered topics ranging from conservation to innovation. The 2015 Explorers Symposium and related events took place the week of June 8-12. National Geographic introduced its new class of Emerging Explorers at the Symposium; these fourteen individuals were recognized for their significant contributions to world knowledge through exploration at an early stage in their careers. EXPLORERS COUNCIL Established in 2014, the Explorers Council is an entity comprised of scientists, researchers and explorers who provide advice and counsel to the Society across disciplines and projects. The objective of the Council is to advise National Geographic on potential projects and guide our thinking about the next frontiers of exploration. Jose Andres Named "Outstanding Chef" by the James Beard Foundation and recognized by Time on their "100" list of Most Influential people in the world, Jose Andres is an internationally renowned culinary innovator, passionate advocate for food and hunger issues, author, television personality and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup, the team responsible for celebrated dining concepts in Washington DC, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and Puerto Rico. Jose is known for championing the role of chefs in the national debate on food policy. He is called on regularly to speak on a variety of issues involving hunger, food security, nutrition, education and childhood obesity, including talks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the 2014 commencement address for George Washington University and with The Economist and The Atlantic. Andres has taught at Harvard University and George Washington University, and writes for National Geographic's food blog, The Plate, on issues surrounding food policy. Wade Davis Wade Davis is Professor of Anthropology and the LEEF Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. An ethnographer, writer, photographer and filmmaker, Davis holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. Mostly through the Harvard Botanical Museum, he spent over three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among fifteen indigenous groups in eight Latin American nations while making some 6000 botanical collections. His work later took him to Haiti to investigate folk preparations implicated in the creation of zombies, an assignment that led to his writing The Serpent and the Rainbow (1986), an international best seller later released by Universal as a motion picture. In recent years his work has taken him to East Africa, Borneo, Nepal, Peru, Polynesia, Tibet, Mali, Benin, Togo, New Guinea, Australia, Colombia, Vanuatu, Mongolia and the high Arctic of Nunuvut and Greenland. Davis is the author of 230 scientific and popular articles and 19 books including One River (1996), The Wayfinders (2009), The Sacred Headwaters (2011), Into the Silence (2011) and River Notes (2012). His book, Into the Silence, received the 2012 Samuel Johnson prize, the top award for literary nonfiction in the English language. Jared Diamond Jared Diamond is professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" and the widely acclaimed "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies," which won him a Pulitzer Prize as well as Britain's 1998 Rhone-Poulenc Science Book Prize. Diamond is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (Genius Award); research prizes and grants from the American Physiological Society, National Geographic Society and Zoological Society of San Diego; and many teaching awards and endowed public lectureships. In addition, he has been elected a member of all three of the leading national scientific/academic honorary societies - National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Philosophical Society. Diamond's field experience includes 27 expeditions to New Guinea and neighboring islands to study the ecology and evolution of birds, and other field projects in North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. As a conservationist, he devised a comprehensive plan, almost all of which was implemented, for Indonesian New Guinea's national park system. He is a founding member of the board of the Society of Conservation Biology and a member of the board of directors of World Wildlife Fund U.S. and Conservation International. Jonathan Foley Jonathan Foley is the Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences. Foley's work focuses on the sustainability of our planet and the natural resources we depend on. He and his students have contributed to our understanding of global food security, worldwide changes in ecosystems, land use and climate, and the sustainability of the world's resources. This work has led him to be a regular advisor to governments, nongovernmental organizations, environmental groups, civic groups, foundations, and business leaders around the world. Foley has won numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (awarded by President Bill Clinton), the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Award; the J.S. McDonnell Foundation's 21st Century Science Award; an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship; and the Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America. In 2014, he was named as the winner of the Heinz Award for the Environment. Nalini Nadkarni Nalini Nadkarni is known for pioneering research on the ecology of the little-known world of tropical and temperate rainforest canopies. Her work has documented the "keystone" functions of canopy-dwelling biota in whole-forest nutrient cycling, arboreal animal habitat, and reproductive capacity of primary forest and pasture-dwelling trees. She has also developed innovative and public engagement programs with public audiences, such as urban youth, faith-based groups, and incarcerated men and women by partnering directly with them to find common values and synergisms. Nadkarni has received prestigious awards from the scientific establishment for communicating research to underserved public audiences in creative and effective ways - The National Science Foundation Public Service Award, the AAAS Award for Public Engagement, and the Archie F. Carr Award for Conservation. Nadkarni is Director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Education and a Professor of Biology at the University of Utah, and President of the International Canopy Network. M. Sanjayan M. Sanjayan is a leading global conservation scientist, writer and an Emmy-nominated news contributor focused on the role of conservation in improving human well-being, wildlife and the environment. He serves on Conservation International's senior leadership team as Executive Vice President and Senior Scientist. Sanjayan's broad-reaching television experience includes numerous documentaries for Discovery Channel and the BBC and serving as a frequent contributor to CBS News. His latest TV series, Earth - A New Wild, will air on PBS. He is also a correspondent for Years of Living Dangerously, a Showtime documentary series which debuted in April 2014. His scientific work has been published in journals including Science, Nature and Conservation Biology. Raised in Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone, Sanjayan's unique background and expertise have also attracted mainstream media coverage in Outside, Men's Journal, National Geographic Adventure, Afar and The New York Times. Don Walsh Don Walsh, scientist and explorer, has worked in the deep oceans, polar regions and space. From 1959 to 1962 he was the first commander of the Navy's Bathyscaph Trieste and was designated Navy deep submersible pilot #1 in 1959. In 1960 he and co-pilot Jacques Piccard dove Trieste into the deepest place in the World Ocean, a depth of nearly seven miles. Walsh's 40 years of work with deep ocean design, engineering and operations were recognized by his election to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2001. Among other awards he has received are the Explorers Club's Explorers Medal and their Lowell Thomas Award. In 2010 he was awarded National Geographic Society's highest award, the Hubbard Medal. He is an Honorary Life member of the Explorers Club and the Adventurers Club as well as serving as the Honorary President of the Explorers Club. |
| Form 990, Part III, Line 4d Description of other program services |
(Expenses $ 10,184,532 including grants of $ 6,869,623)(Revenue $ 214,262) The Committee for Research and Exploration (CRE) has awarded more than 9,600 grants since 1890, totaling more than $139,000,000. The Committee supported extraordinary research in 2015, awarding 190 grants representing fieldwork in the disciplines of anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, biology, geography, geology, paleontology, and oceanography. Archaeologist Tomas Barrientos received a grant to investigate an Early Classic Maya stela in Guatemala. He collaborated on this with two other National Geographic grantees, Luke Auld Thomas and Marcello Canuto, on this recovery, which received considerable media attention. Multi time grantee recipient Jan Salick was awarded a grant to study climate and environmental changes to indigenous lands plants on the New England Coast. Salick's botanical studies have resulted in numerous scientific papers and media coverages. The Expeditions Council (EC) is a grant program dedicated to funding the exploration of largely unrecorded or little known areas of Earth, as well as regions of the planet undergoing significant environmental or cultural change. Since its inception in 1998, the Expeditions Council has awarded 579 grants totaling over $21 million, and has funded projects that span the spectrum of exploration and adventure. The Council awarded 35 grants in 2015. Among the Expeditions Council projects funded in 2015 was the work of photographer Joe Riis to document Yellowstone Elk Migrations for a National Geographic Magazine article and were also incorporated into an exhibit on Yellowstone, celebrating the United States National Park Service centennial. Sarah Parcak was awarded a grant to investigate a Norse archaeological site in Newfoundland, which received much coverage in the news. National Geographic Young Explorer grants (YEG) support the next generation of researchers, explorers and conservationists. Young Explorer Grants provide individuals age 18 to 25 with some of their first experiences carrying out fieldwork and exploration. In 2015, a total of 97 field projects grants were awarded spanning the globe. Astrophysicist Munazza Alam explored the photometric and spectral properties of brown dwarfs with extreme near infrared colors using multi resolution near infrared spectra to disentangle their atmospheric and physical properties. The fieldwork for her project took her to the Las Campanas observatory in Chile. Cartographer Ross Donihue documented the Farrallon Islands, a critical location for research, management, and conservation located just 30 miles off the coast of San Francisco. The short film and interactive map he created helps the public access this unique ecosystem. Biologist Zach Fuller traveled to Kenya for his work documenting diseases in honeybees. He hopes his research will help determine why certain populations of honeybees can resists diseases. The Conservation Trust (CT) is a grant program that supports innovative solutions to issues of global concern. The Conservation Trust encourages model projects that engage and inform their areas local population. The Conservation Trust including the Linblad Expedition (LEX) Grants as a subset, has awarded 341 grants since its inception in 2001 totaling $11,866,453. The Conservation Trust including (LEX) awarded 39 grants in 2015. These projects included Pelayo Salinas de Leon's conservation assessment of sharks in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, Salal al Kuntar's project to document and preserve the cultural heritage of the Yazidi holy shrine of Lalish in Iraqi Kurdistan, and Olivier Nsengimana's study of the endangered Grey Crowned Cranes in Rwanda. The NGS/Waitt Grants Program is an initiative of the National Geographic Society and the Waitt Foundation that provides essential funding for cutting-edge exploratory field research in all disciplines around the world. Funding is made possible for research that holds promise of new breakthroughs in the Natural and Cultural sciences. A total of 431 projects have been funded from the program's inception in 2008 totaling $5,332,204 with 56 of these approved in 2015. Projects with the NGS/Waitt Grants Program during 2015 include Bronwen Konecky's expedition to the Okavango Delta to examine the effects of a changing climate on water resources. NGS/Waitt also funded work in the Yucatan Peninsula where Octivio del Rio's work at Cenote Aktun Ha is searching for evidence of the first Americans in the continent. The program has also funded important biological work, specially the work of Joshua Stewart who is documenting the behavior and habitat use of the Oceanic Manta Rays in the Caribbean. As well as Neil Rosser's work in the Amazonian forest where he is documenting the biodiversity in the heart of the Amazon. Lastly, we have funded amazing work that changes our notions of history, as the work of Preston Sowell who has been able to rediscover an Inka temple in the Peruvian Andes. These and many more important researchers have been funded by the NGS/Waitt grants in 2015. |
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(Expenses $ 7,680,321 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 7,617,142) NG CREATIVE/IMAGE SALES Photographs and video shot principally by National Geographic photographers are made available to the general public, through the NG Creative/Image Sales division. |
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(Expenses $ 7,060,894 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 8,226,136) National Geographic Maps (NG Maps) is a globally-renowned cartographic publisher and is responsible for illustrating the world through the art and science of mapmaking. The Maps Group supports the mission of the Society by creating the world's best wall maps, outdoor recreation maps, travel maps, atlases, and globes that inspire people to care about and explore the world. Printed maps are distributed not only to consumers but also to national parks, educational institutions, and government agencies. Twenty new titles were developed in 2015 including to name just a few - the New Zealand Reference Map, Adventure Cambodia, Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Map, and 13 Topographic Map Guides covering the entire Appalachian Trail. NG Maps also provided cartographic services to internal customers for maps which were included in books, atlases, magazines, the NG web site, apps, and as premiums for magazine subscriptions. Map projects during 2015 helped organizations promote tourism, facilitated stewardship of historic and natural resources, and highlighted many locations around the world. Through the NG Maps digital storytelling platform called GeoStories, organizations incorporated dynamic maps, multimedia, and narrative which enabled their viewers' to tour places and topics. Projects that Maps worked on included sustainable tourism web projects for Greater Yellowstone, Crown of the Continent, Heart of the Continent, Eastern Sri Lanka, Sierra Nevada, Sedona Verde Valley, Tequila Jalisco, Mississippi River, and Delaware River. |
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(Expenses $ 5,024,076 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 833,659) National Geographic Cinema Ventures: Inspired by the science and exploration research and other activities at the Society, the Cinema Ventures group have produced and distributed dozens of nonfiction films for both commercial and institutional venues in 2-D, 3-D and digital formats. Most of these projects have appeared in theaters or science centers throughout the U.S. and the world. 2015 new film openings included: LIVING IN THE AGE OF AIRPLANES Reminds us how profoundly this amazing invention has changed the way we do just about everything. It also renews our appreciation for the airplane and stunningly conveys the wonder and grandeur of flying. ASTEROID: MISSION EXTREME Takes audiences on an epic journey to discover the possibilities that asteroids present for space travel. Using stunning visuals and state-of-the-art computer graphics, the film presents the fascinating idea, based on real science, that asteroids could be used as stepping stones to other worlds, veritable "way stations" in space enabling us to cross the entire solar system. ROBOTS 3D Is a fascinating and fun look at what makes us human, how far machines can really go to look and act like us, and how humanoid robots are already changing our world. |
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(Expenses $ 4,695,315 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 2,079,278) National Geographic Exhibitions: National Geographic creates exhibitions that allow visitors to experience the mission of National Geographic in a unique and highly educational setting. Each year, the museum presents exhibitions and programs that expand on National Geographic content and extend the life of the stories that we tell not only in Washington, but in Museums around the country and around the world. The National Geographic Museum welcomed 160,000 visitors in 2015 including 20,000 students and school groups. The Museum mounted 5 exhibitions in the NG Museum and hosted public programming and complement the museum exhibitions . In addition, the museum toured many of its exhibitions to locations around the world. The audience for the museum includes National Geographic members, local residents, national and international tourists, military personnel, congressional members and staffs, the diplomatic community, school groups and students from around the region and beyond. Many of the exhibitions that originate at the National Geographic Museum are then offered to other museums around the U.S. and internationally so the audiences continue to grow for these projects even after they close in Washington. Highlights from the 2015 year are listed below. MONSTERFISH - In Search of the Last River Giants For over a decade, NG has funded the work of biologists working to study and preserve fresh water species. Zeb Hogan, a professor at the University of Nevada Reno has been active in the study of large freshwater fish for his entire career and has received funding for his Megafishes project from NGS since 2006. The Museum mounted an exhibition of this work in March, 2015. A highly interactive and engaging experience, this exhibition studies the giant freshwater fish in 5 ecosystems around the world. The exhibition closed in September and traveled to the Discovery Museum in Reno NV. INDIANA JONES AND THE ADVENTURE OF ARCHAEOLOGY National Geographic helped organized and hosted an exhibition on the most famous archaeologist in the world, Indiana Jones. The exhibition featured a combination of movie props and costumes and clips from the famous movies along with National Geographic produced content on what real archaeologists do in the field and in the lab. The exhibition was very popular and was on view from May 15 - January 4. PHOTO ARK Joel Sartore has photographed for National Geographic for over 25 years and for the last decade, has focused his efforts on creating portraits of endangered species to raise awareness of the extinction crisis. Photo Ark is a multi year project that will attempt to document all the species in captivity on earth, some 12,000, and create an unprecedented archive that will live on for generations to come. This exhibition featured about 100 of these images and is the first of many exhibitions of this compelling work. The exhibition ran from October 2015 - March 2016 PRISTINE SEAS The Prisine Seas project, led by NG Explorer in Residence Enric Sala is attempting to preserve the ocean's most pristine coral reefs by creating marine protected areas around the world. This exhibition, in the M Street Gallery, highlights this multi year effort and featured maps, photographs, data and film footage from this extraordinary project and its expeditions. The exhibition opened in November 2015 and followed the Photo Camp exhibition. PHOTOCAMP: A DECADE OF STORYTELLING Since 2003, National Geographic Photo Camp has partnered with organizations worldwide to inspire young people to explore their communities through a camera's lens. The NG exhibition, "Photo Camp: A Decade of Storytelling", featured the spectacular images captured by the students who participated in the 67 workshops held to date in 18 countries. Since its inception, the program has reached an audience of more than 50 million worldwide through media coverage and exhibitions of student work. The free exhibit included photos from September 2014 Photo Camp in South Sudan. Supported by Internews, this exhibition as accompanied by a public program that featured 3 of the South Sudanese students as well as 2 of the photojournalists from this camp. It opened at the December 18, 2014 and remained on view through October 2015. TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS National Geographic traveling exhibitions were hosted by venues around the world in 2015. There were many photo shows which included National Geographic at 125, 50 Greatest Photographs, The World in B&W, Polar Obsession, President's Photographer, Lions & Tigers & Bears, Ocean Soul, Colors of the World. These exhibitions were held in various venues in 15 countries including Korea, Japan, Italy, Spain, Chile, and Russia. In addition, National Geographic exhibition Birds of Paradise: Amazing Avian evolution was on view at the Utah Natural History Museum in Salt Lake City. Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment was on view at the Photographic Center in Palm Beach Florida and the Orlando Museum of Art. Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous was exhibited at the Natural History Museums in Milan and Berlin in 2015. |
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(Expenses $ 4,451,342 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 6,265,505) NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LITTLE KIDS magazine is published six times a year and distributed to individuals, schools, and public libraries. The magazine's mission is to excite preschoolers about exploring their world. Prepared primarily for children ages 3 to 6 years old, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LITTLE KIDS offers an appealing mix of articles on wildlife, science, pets, nature, and geography, as well as skill-building educational games, mazes, and activities. For its work in 2015, NG LITTLE KIDS won a Parents' Choice Gold Award for the ninth year in a row. Examples of NG LITTLE KIDS activities in 2015 include publication of six collector's card sets about animals plus feature stories on animals such as giant pandas, lions, monarch butterflies, coyotes, and harp seals. NGLK also introduces preschoolers to science and nature through stories about dinosaurs, flowers, and planets. NGLK continued its PDF version of the print magazine on the Nook and Android devices. 2015 Average Worldwide Circulation of NG LITTLE KIDS: 374,000 |
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(Expenses $ 4,005,584 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 3,392,769) National Geographic Live The Society provides speakers and other live event programming to audiences around the U.S. and internationally, through the National Geographic Live program of public events and by arranging for speakers to appear at museums, universities, corporations and other organizations through the National Geographic Speakers Bureau. National Geographic Live also offers Student Matinees featuring National Geographic explorers in live presentations around North America. As leaders in their fields, these explorers offer students fresh and exciting knowledge from the front lines of discovery. And as passionate individuals focused on expanding the boundaries of knowledge, NG explorers offer powerful role models for students. Through National Geographic Live, National Geographic Live Student Matinees, and the National Geographic Speakers Bureau, the Society reached 248,321 individuals through 355 speaker events, student matinee events, performances, and film screenings that took place both at the Society's headquarters in Washington, D.C. and in 98 other locations across North America and internationally. |
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(Expenses $ 1,789,226 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 115,819) HOME VIDEO The Society makes available for sale to members and others mission-related DVDs. |
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(Expenses $ 1,759,348 including grants of $ 85,000)(Revenue $ 1,120,186) The National Geographic Bee/Giant Traveling Maps The NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE is an academic competition for public schools, private schools, and home schools in the United States and its territories, as well as Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS). Students in grades four through eight compete to win $90,000 in scholarships and other prizes. In 2015, nearly 11,000 schools across the country held a National Geographic Bee, engaging 2.3 million students to learn about the world and how it works. Up to 100 school winners per state go on to compete in the state competition, and the winning state champions travel to the Society headquarters in Washington, D.C. to compete in the finals. National Geographic creates and distributes school Bee packets, including a question booklet, rules, participation certificates, and a champion medal. Additionally, the Society administers state competitions in all fifty states plus the District of Columbia, creating and disseminating question booklets, procedures, and prizes. The Bee culminates in two-days of competition at Society headquarters in May, the last segment being a televised championship involving the ten finalists. The GIANT TRAVELING MAPS program brings large (26' x 35') floor maps to schools across the U.S. The maps unroll on a gymnasium floor to allow students (grades K-8) to explore a continent or an ocean using hands and feet-on activities, props and photographs. In 2015, twenty total maps of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and the Pacific Ocean were in circulation during the academic year, reaching an estimated 154,000 students. |
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(Expenses $ 556,086 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 390,458) National Geographic Games & Apps GAMES National Geographic's most popular game, Animal Jam, is an online virtual playground for children who love animals and the outdoors. This game provides a fun, exciting, and safe environment for kids to play online, while inspiring them to explore and protect the natural world outside their doors. Animal Jam is free from outside advertising and adheres to a strict privacy policy. Players are represented in the game with customizable animal avatars. The Society strives to ensure that players are constantly engaging in fun and enriching game play, while educating them about their role in conserving the planet. With players spanning the globe, the game introduces them to the fundamentals of socialization, teamwork, creativity, and global awareness. Animal Jam takes place in the world of Jamaa, where players can travel through various ecological environments such as prairie, rainforest and desert. Each environment features different National Geographic videos, interactive facts, and games. APPS The Society develops apps to further its mission to inspire people to care about the planet and to educate people about geography and related subjects. The National Geographic World Atlas app enables you to browse, search and zoom the world's best detailed maps of the globe. Unlike other atlas applications, the National Geographic World Atlas utilizes our highest resolution, "press-ready" images, providing you with the same rich detail, accuracy, and artistic beauty found in our award-winning wall maps and bound atlases. The app enables you to learn more about the world using the up-to-date, expertly researched Flags and Facts database, which contains concise geographic and socio-economic data. The National Geographic National Parks app lets you explore U.S. national parks easily as the app features global and interactive map views with filtering by activity and seasonality. The app also features the top must-sees and must-dos for each park with stunning photo galleries, and rare vintage images from the National Geographic Archive. Thousands of points of interest are tagged with GPS coordinates for easy planning and locating. |
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(Expenses $ including grants of $) (EXPLORER PROGRAMS, continued) Melinda Zeder Melinda Zeder is a Senior Research Scientist and Curator of Old World Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Her research interests include the domestication of plants and animals and the origins of agriculture. Her work has also focused on the social and environmental implications of early agriculture in the ancient Near East, and the development of specialized subsistence economies in early complex societies. Zeder is a past President of the International Council for Archaeozoology and is a member of their Committee of Honor. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a former member of the National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration. In 1997 Zeder was awarded American Anthropological Association's Gordon Willey Award for outstanding publication in archaeology. She was the 2001 recipient of the Fryxell Award in Interdisciplinary Research awarded by the Society of American Archaeology for lifetime achievement in zooarchaeology. In 2008 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012. EXPLORER-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM The National Geographic Society created the Explorers-in-Residence program to develop and enhance its long-standing relationships with some of the world's preeminent scientists and storytellers. These explorers are dedicated to making notable advances in their respective fields and are highly regarded within scientific and exploration circles. National Geographic explorers' groundbreaking discoveries fuel the kind of critical information, conservation initiatives, and compelling stories that are the hallmark of the National Geographic Society. 2015 Explorers-in-Residence: Robert Ballard, Ocean Explorer Robert Ballard is best known for his historic discovery of the Titanic, the Bismarck, and hydrothermal vents in the Galapagos Rift. He has conducted scores of deep-sea expeditions using the latest in exploration technology. He pioneered distance learning with the JASON Project, an award-winning educational program that has reached millions of students and teachers. He has received prestigious awards from the Explorers Club and the National Geographic Society - the Explorers Medal and the Hubbard Medal, respectively - as well as the Lindbergh Award. In 2003, President George W. Bush presented him with the National Endowment for the Humanities Medal. Ballard is scientist emeritus of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, president of the Ocean Exploration Trust and director for the Center for Ocean Exploration at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. Lee Berger, Paleoanthropologist Lee Berger is an award-winning researcher, author, speaker and paleoanthropologist. He is the recipient of the National Geographic Society's first Prize for Research and Exploration and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, a Member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa and a Fellow of the Explorers Club. His explorations into human origins in Africa over the past two-and-a-half decades have resulted in many new and notable discoveries, including two remarkably well-preserved, two-million-year-old fossils, which belong to a new species of early human ancestor, Australopithecus sediba. In 2013, the richest early hominin site found thus far on the continent of Africa led to the naming of yet another species, Homo naledi. Among other positions, Berger serves on the advisory board of the Global Young Academy. Berger is the Research Professor in Human Evolution and the Public Understanding of Science at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. James Cameron, Filmmaker/Inventor James Cameron, explorer and filmmaker, made history on March 26, 2012, by completing the first-ever, single-pilot dive to the Challenger Deep, the deepest place on the planet. The DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible, which was designed and engineered by Cameron and his team, achieved 35,787 feet (about 7 miles) during the first manned scientific exploration of the deepest point in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. Cameron has written, produced, and directed a number of award-winning films that have blazed new trails in visual effects and set numerous box office records, including "Avatar" and "Titanic," the two highest-grossing films in history. Two of Cameron's passions-filmmaking and diving-blended in his work on the movies "The Abyss" and "Titanic." The latter required him to make 12 dives to the wreck itself, 2.5 miles down in the North Atlantic. Cameron has led eight marine expeditions, including a forensic study of the Bismarck wreck site and 3-D imaging of deep hydrothermal vent sites along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the East Pacific Rise, and the Sea of Cortez. He has made more than 80 deep submersible dives, 51 of them in Russian Mir submersibles, to depths of up to 16,000 feet, including 33 to the Titanic. The DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition was the result of a more-than-seven-year engineering effort by Cameron and his team. The expedition was featured in the June 2013 edition of National Geographic magazine and in a 3-D feature film, released in 2014. Sylvia Earle, Oceanographer Sylvia Earle, National Geographic's Rosemary and Roger Enrico Chair for Ocean Exploration, is an oceanographer, founder of Mission Blue, SEAlliance and Deep Ocean Exploration and Research. She is also the Council Chair of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, former chief scientist of NOAA and a founding Ocean Elder. Earle has been called "Her Deepness" by The New York Times and "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress and was Time magazine's first "Hero for the Planet." She has led over 100 expeditions and logged more than 7,000 hours underwater. She has authored 200 publications and lectured in 80 countries. A graduate of Florida State University with an M.S. and a Ph.D. from Duke University and 27 honorary doctorates, she serves on various boards and commissions. Her more than 100 honors include the 2013 National Geographic Hubbard Medal, 2009 TED Prize, Netherlands Order of the Golden Ark and medals from the Explorers Club, the Royal Geographical Society, the Lindbergh Foundation and the Dominican Republic. J. Michael Fay, Conservationist Michael Fay has spent his life as a naturalist exploring places in the United States, Central America and Africa. Since 1991, he has worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society. After college, Fay headed to Tunisia and the savannas of the Central African Republic to conduct botanical studies, but was drawn into elephant conservation. In 1984, he joined the Missouri Botanical Garden. His first assignment, a floristic study of a mountain range on Sudan's western border, led to a Ph.D. on western lowland gorillas. It was at this time that he first entered the forests of central Africa. He worked to create the Dzanga-Sangha and Nouabale-Ndoki parks in the Central African Republic and Congo, which he later managed. In 1999 and 2000, Fay walked the Megatransect, a 2,000-mile trek through central Africa. This led to the Gabonese government creating a system of 13 national parks in Gabon, covering some 11,000 square miles. In 2004, Fay completed the Megaflyover, an eight-month aerial survey of the African continent, creating 116,000 vertical images of human impact and associated ecosystems. Since 2008, Fay has focused his research on mining development in British Columbia. He returned to Gabon in 2010 and 2012 to implement a Gabon development strategy and a fisheries initiative. Currently, as special advisor to Gabon President Ali Bongo Fay, Fay is completing work to establish a marine protected area network and fisheries management plans and enforcement in Gabon. He also works with the National Parks Agency of Gabon to support management of the terrestrial park network. |
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(Expenses $ including grants of $) (EXPLORER PROGRAMS, continued) Dereck and Beverly Joubert, Filmmakers/Conservationists Dereck and Beverly Joubert are award-winning filmmakers who have been filming, researching and exploring in Africa for more than 30 years. Their mission is to save the wild places of Africa and to protect the creatures that depend on them. Recently, the Jouberts canoed 120 kilometers (75 miles) down the Selinda Spillway, researching and filming elephants for conservation. They are the founders of the Big Cats Initiative with National Geographic; the initiative has so far funded 73 grants in 25 countries for big cat conservation. The Jouberts have made 25 films for National Geographic, including "The Last Lions," which has reached more than 350 million people. They have received many accolades, including eight Emmys, a Lifetime Achievement Award, a Peabody Award, Panda Awards, a World Ecology Award and an induction into the American Academy of Achievement. They were given the Presidential Order of Meritorious Service by the President of Botswana. Beverly is also an acclaimed photographer, and Dereck is CEO of Great Plains Conservation, a company that returns vast tracts of land back to nature. They are active conservationists; their latest project, Rhinos Without Borders, is an initiative to move 100 rhinos from the highest poaching zones in South Africa to safe havens in Botswana to save them from the poaching crisis. Meave and Louise Leakey, Paleontologists Paleontologists and mother-daughter team Meave and Louise Leakey have made significant contributions to our understanding of human origins, continuing a family legacy of ancient fossil discoveries in East Africa. They run a field-based interdisciplinary research institute with stations to the east and west of Lake Turkana that facilitates field research, provides training and research opportunities, and brings employment and also development benefits to local communities. Their ongoing National Geographic-sponsored annual expeditions to this area continue to recover important hominid and faunal remains. Louise Leakey has recently led an initiative to digitize some of the important discoveries from the Turkana Basin. These digital models are showcased in the virtual paleontology laboratory, AfricanFossils.org. Enric Sala, Marine Ecologist Enric Sala is dedicated to restoring the health and productivity of the ocean. His more than 120 scientific publications are widely recognized and used for real-world conservation efforts such as the creation of marine reserves. Sala is currently working to help protect the last pristine marine ecosystems worldwide and to develop new business models for marine conservation. He founded and leads National Geographic's Pristine Seas, a project that combines exploration, research and media to inspire country leaders to protect the last wild places in the ocean. Working together with conservation organizations, the Pristine Seas project was key in inspiring the creation of six of the largest marine reserves on the planet in Chile, Gabon, Costa Rica, Kiribati, the Pitcairn Islands and U.S. Pacific waters. Sala has received numerous awards, including a 2013 Research Award from the Spanish Geographical Society, a 2013 Lowell Thomas Award from the Explorers Club and a 2013 Hero Award from the Environmental Media Association, and he was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2008. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Spencer Wells, Geneticist Spencer Wells is a geneticist, anthropologist and author who has dedicated much of his career to studying humankind's family tree and furthering our knowledge of human migration. He leads the Genographic Project at National Geographic, which is collecting and analyzing hundreds of thousands of DNA samples from people around the world in order to decipher how our ancestors populated the planet. The project entered its next groundbreaking phase in 2012 with the launch of Geno 2.0. Wells received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and conducted postdoctoral work at Stanford University and University of Oxford, England. He has appeared in numerous documentary films and is the author of three books, "The Journey of Man," "Deep Ancestry" and "Pandora's Seed." He is the recipient of numerous scientific awards, grants and fellowships, including the 2007 Kistler Prize for accomplishment in the field of genetics, and is a Scholar-in-Residence at Georgetown University and a Frank H.T. Rhodes Visiting Professor at Cornell University. PHOTOGRAPHY FELLOWS PROGRAM National Geographic selects renowned photojournalists to serve as National Geographic photography fellows. Their work transcends the art of photography, taking them on journeys to the world's most remote locations, telling stories that need to be told, and often placing them in great danger. During their terms, these photographers support a variety of Society efforts, from ocean conservation to promoting exploration of parklands to teaching scientists and explorers visual storytelling skills. Their work follows a long tradition at National Geographic, one of going out into the world to explore and coming back to share the stories and discoveries with a larger audience. 2015 Photography Fellows: David Guttenfelder, Photographer David Guttenfelder is a photojournalist focusing on global geopolitics and conservation. Until recently, he spent his entire professional career working and living outside of his native United States. He began as a freelancer in East Africa after studying Swahili at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Guttenfelder spent 20 years as a photojournalist for the Associated Press, during which he was based in Nairobi, Abidjan, New Delhi, Jerusalem, and Tokyo, covering news in more than 75 countries around the world. In 2011 his story "Afghanistan's Opium Wars" was published in National Geographic magazine. Five more have followed on topics spanning Japan's Fukushima nuclear refugees, the slaughter of migratory songbirds, the damming of the Mekong River, hidden North Korea, and the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Guttenfelder is a seven-time World Press Photo Award winner. He is the 2013 ICP Infinity Prize winner for photojournalism and a winner of the Overseas Press Club of America John Faber, Olivier Rebbot, and Feature Photography awards. Pictures of the Year International and the NPPA have named him Photojournalist of the Year. He was short-listed for the National Magazine Award for public interest in 2014. He is a seven-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Lynn Johnson, Photographer Lynn Johnson photographs the human condition. A regular contributor to National Geographic, Johnson is known for finding beauty and meaning in elusive, difficult subjects, including threatened languages, zoonotic disease, rape in the military ranks, and the centrality of water in village life. She collaborates with the people she portrays to honor their visions as well as her own. At National Geographic Photo Camps, she helps at-risk youth around the world find their creative voices. At Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications, she is helping to develop a program that challenges master's students in the multimedia, photography, and design department to push past their comfort levels in pursuit of their truth. She herself has committed to that hunt, frame by frame. Over the years Johnson has been awarded many World Press awards, Pictures of the Year awards, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for highlighting social justice and human rights, among others. Her work has been shown at Visa Pour l'Image in Perpignan, France; included in Communication Arts annuals; and published in over a dozen books, including National Geographic's Women of Vision. Paul Nicklen, Photographer Paul Nicklen is a Canadian-born photographer and biologist with a specialty in polar ecosystems. He has been an assignment photographer for National Geographic magazine for 15 years. His work focuses on the fragile relationship between healthy ecosystems and marine wildlife. In addition to his collaboration with the National Geographic Society, his work has been featured in hundreds of publications around the world and he has given over 500 sold-out lectures in over 20 countries. Recently, Nicklen's work was exhibited at the world-renowned Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles, and he was a featured speaker at the 2011 TED conference. His alma mater, the University of Victoria in British Columbia, presented him with a lifetime achievement award for his work in promoting marine conservation. He has received over 30 prestigious international awards, including the 2012 BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and five World Press Photo Awards, and he was the first ever recipient of the Natural Resources Defense Council's BioGems Visionary Award. |
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(Expenses $ including grants of $) (EXPLORER PROGRAMS, continued) Cory Richards, Photographer A climber and visual storyteller, Cory Richards was named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2012. His camera has taken him from the controlled and complex studio to the wild and remote corners of the world, from the unclimbed peaks of Antarctica to the Himalaya of Nepal and Pakistan-all in an attempt to capture not only the soul of adventure and exploration but also the beauty inherent in our modern society. Richards is a passionate mountain climber on the North Face athletic team and has carved a niche as one of the world's leading adventure and expedition photographers. His photography has appeared in National Geographic magazine, Outside, and the New York Times, and his film work has won awards at nearly every major adventure film festival, including the grand prize at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Brian Skerry, Photographer Brian Skerry is a photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine, covering a wide range of subjects and stories. An award-winning photographer, Skerry is praised worldwide for his aesthetic sense, as well as for his journalistic drive for relevance. His uniquely creative images tell stories that not only celebrate the mystery and beauty of the sea but also help to bring attention to the large number of issues that endanger our ocean and its inhabitants. His nearly year-round assignment schedule frequently brings him to extremely contrasting environments, from tropical coral reefs to polar ice. While on assignment, he has lived on the bottom of the sea, spent months aboard fishing boats, and traveled in everything from snowmobiles to canoes to the Goodyear Blimp to get the picture. He has spent more than 10,000 hours underwater over the past 30 years. FELLOWS PROGRAM National Geographic Fellows provide expert consultation on active NG-supported projects that have clear goals and deliverables. They lead novel, ambitious projects that promise to make an impact on the world. Focusing on collaboration with cross-divisional stakeholders at NG, they deliver broad media impact during their term. They represent and illustrate the diversity of disciplines that NG covers in its scientific and editorial efforts. 2015 Fellows: Dan Buettner, Author Dan Buettner is an internationally recognized researcher, explorer, and New York Times bestselling author. His National Geographic article on longevity, "The Secrets of Living Longer," was the cover story of one of the magazine's top-selling issues ever and made him a finalist for a National Magazine Award. Buettner's books, "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest" (2008), "Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way" (2010) and "The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World's Healthiest People" (2015), appeared on many bestseller lists. Buettner founded Blue Zones, a company that puts the world's best practices in longevity and well-being to work in people's lives. Its community well-being strategy focuses on optimizing the health environment instead of individual behavior change. Buettner holds three world records in distance cycling and has won an Emmy Award for television production. Bryan Christy, Investigative Journalist Bryan Christy is an investigative journalist and director of the Special Investigations Unit at National Geographic. His work on wildlife trafficking has resulted in legal and administrative reforms around the world, including the prosecution of an international wildlife trafficking kingpin. His October 2012 National Geographic magazine cover story "Blood Ivory: Ivory Worship" has inspired global action, including police raids in Vatican City and the Philippines, ivory destruction ceremonies around the world, student-led petitions, marches and the Obama administration's launch of this country's first cabinet-level wildlife trafficking task force. Christy is a National Geographic Fellow and in 2014, he was named National Geographic Explorer of the Year. Sean Gerrity, Conservationist Sean Gerrity is president of American Prairie Reserve (APR), an organization he has led since its founding in 2002. APR's vision is to create the largest wildlife complex ever assembled in the continental United States, a vast grassland landscape spanning 5,000 square miles in northeastern Montana. Featured in the National Geographic film "American Serengeti," APR is growing through a unique model that uses private land to leverage public land, resulting in a new national treasure that is both open to the public and privately funded. Gerrity hopes to inspire others around the globe to use similarly creative 21st-century solutions for the world's conservation challenges. Prior to joining APR, Gerrity co-founded Catalyst Consulting, a Santa Cruz, California-based firm, specializing in organizational alignment and strategy development and implementation for the business world. Fredrik Hiebert, Archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert is an archaeologist and an explorer, investigating regions across the world where ancient cultures are quickly disappearing. So far, he has excavated 4,000-year-old Silk Road cities from Arabia to Uzbekistan. Hiebert has conducted underwater archaeology projects in highland Central Asia and in South America and has partnered with Robert Ballard in the Black Sea search for submerged settlements. His work with National Geographic traveling exhibitions has allowed millions to learn about these regions. These exhibitions include "Hidden Treasures of Afghanistan," "Peruvian Gold" and "Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology," which is currently on display at the National Geographic Museum. Hiebert also works with U.S. Customs to stem the tide of stolen artifacts. He was educated at the University of Michigan and Harvard University. Among other honors, he received the Chairman's Award from the National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration in 1998. Hiebert held the Robert H. Dyson Chair of Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania before joining National Geographic in 2003. Zeb Hogan, Ecologist/Photographer Zeb Hogan is an assistant research professor at the University of Nevada-Reno and the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species' Scientific Councillor for Fish. Hogan also hosts the National Geographic Television series "Monster Fish." His research focuses on migratory fish ecology, multispecies fisheries management, the status and conservation of giant freshwater fish, endangered species issues and conservation genetics. Hogan leads the Megafishes Project, a multiyear effort to document the 20-some species of freshwater fish at least 6.5 feet (2 meters) in length or 220 pounds (100 kilograms) in weight. In addition to his work on Mekong River fish species, Hogan has been involved with conservation projects on the Colorado River and, more recently, in Mongolia. His work is featured in the new National Geographic exhibit "Monster Fish: In search of the Last River Giants." Corey Jaskolski, Engineer and Inventor Corey Jaskolski grew up fascinated with imaging and how technology can help take it to new frontiers. He has degrees in mathematics, physics, and electrical and computer engineering. While attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was the DuPont Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Fellow as well as the Shell Ocean Engineering Fellow. While at MIT, he descended to the wreck of the Titanic (12,500-feet deep) to support robotic filming operations. He is currently working on technologies such as 3-D 360-degree video, media development for virtual reality (VR) and dome displays, ultra-high-resolution in-situ 3-D scanning of artifacts and immersive viewers to share this imagery. Jaskolski recently founded a new tech startup, Red Pill 3D (www.redpill3D.com), to further the development and commercialization of these sorts of technologies. When not working on new technologies, he spends his time backpacking, climbing 14ers (Colorado's highest mountains) and seeing the world with his family. He is excited to use his technical capabilities to see the world in a unique light, help tell the stories that really matter and encourage people to care about our planet. |
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(Expenses $ including grants of $) (EXPLORER PROGRAMS, continued) Mattias Klum, Photographer/Filmmaker Mattias Klum has worked full-time as a freelance photographer and filmmaker since 1986. In an artistic way that is entirely his own, he has described and portrayed animals, plants and natural and cultural settings in the form of articles, books, films and exhibitions. Since 1997, he has published numerous articles and cover images for National Geographic magazine, and his work has appeared in many leading international publications. Klum is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a member of the board of trustees at WWF Sweden, an IUCN Goodwill Ambassador, a Senior Fellow at Stockholm Resilience Centre and a Fellow at the Linnean Society of London. Recently, he received an honorary doctorate from Stockholm University. He has published 13 books to date. Thomas E. Lovejoy, Tropical and Conservation Biologist Thomas Lovejoy is a conservation biologist who coined the term "biological diversity." He holds B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biology from Yale University. In 2010, he was elected professor in the department of environmental science and policy at George Mason University. Spanning the political spectrum, Lovejoy has served on science and environmental councils under the Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations. In 1980, he produced the first projection of global extinctions for the Global 2000 Report to the President. Lovejoy also developed the now ubiquitous "debt-for-nature" swap programs and led the Minimum Critical Size of Ecosystems project. With two co-edited books (1992 and 2005), he is credited with founding the field of climate change biology. He and Lee Hannah are working on the second edition of "Climate Change and Biodiversity." He also founded the series "Nature," the popular long-term series on public television, and he serves as a Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation. In 2012, he received the Blue Planet Prize. He has worked on science and conservation in the Amazon since 1965. Sarah Parcak, Archaeologist Sarah Parcak is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and is the founding director of the UAB Laboratory for Global Observation. She pioneers the young field of satellite archaeology, using futuristic tools to unlock secrets from the past and transform how discoveries are made. She is the first Egyptologist to use multispectral and high-resolution satellite imagery analysis to identify previously unknown archaeological sites. Parcak has written "Satellite Remote Sensing for Archaeology" (Routledge 2009) and numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles. She has discovered more than 3,100 previously unknown archaeological settlements in Egypt, thousands of tombs and 17 possible pyramids. Her remote sensing work has been the focus of two BBC 1 specials on the use of satellite remote sensing in archaeology. She is a Fellow in the Society of Antiquaries, a 2014 TED Senior Fellow and co-director of the Survey and Excavation Projects in Egypt with her husband, Greg Mumford. Sandra Postel, Freshwater Conservationist Sandra Postel is director of the Global Water Policy Project and serves as lead expert for National Geographic's freshwater efforts. For more than 25 years, Postel has lectured, taught and written prolifically on the geography of water stress and its implications for agriculture, rivers, wetlands and regional peace and security. Postel is the author of several acclaimed books, including "Last Oasis," which appears in eight languages and was the basis for a PBS documentary. Her essay "Troubled Waters" was selected for "Best American Science and Nature Writing." She is a Pew Scholar and has been named one of the "Scientific American 50" for her contributions to water policy. Postel is co-creator of Change the Course, the freshwater restoration campaign undertaken by National Geographic and its partners and now being piloted in the Colorado River Basin. Change the Course has built a conservation pledge community of 165,000 people and restored 3 billion gallons to depleted ecosystems in the Colorado Basin. Paul Salopek, Writer Paul Salopek has lived and worked in the developing world for most of his life. For the past two decades he has been a foreign correspondent in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Central Asia, where he writes frequently about war. His work has won most of the major print journalism awards in the United States, including two Pulitzer Prizes, the George Polk Award, the National Press Club Award, the Overseas Press Club Award and the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage in Journalism, as well as fellowships at Harvard and Princeton universities. His articles have appeared in National Geographic, the Chicago Tribune, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, The American Scholar and Conservation Magazine, among other publications. The Best American Travel Writing series has twice anthologized his stories. His current project, Out of Eden, is an exercise in slow journalism. Salopek is retracing on foot our ancestors' migration out of Africa and across the globe and engaging with the major stories of our time along the way. His 21,000-mile odyssey began in Ethiopia and will end seven years later at the tip of South America. Joel Sartore, Photographer and Conservationist Joel Sartore is a conservationist, National Geographic contributing photographer, author and speaker. In more than two decades on assignment for National Geographic magazine, he has focused on endangered species and environmental issues. Sartore is currently working on a multi-year personal effort to document life on Earth in studio portraits, called Photo Ark. He has photographed more than 5,000 species to date, with the eventual goal of documenting every species in captivity. Sartore serves on the board of Defenders of Wildlife, is a co-founder of the Grassland Foundation and is a founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. He has received multiple awards for his photography from the North American Nature Photography Association, the Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, Pictures of the Year International competition and Communication Arts. EMERGING EXPLORERS PROGRAM National Geographic's Emerging Explorers Program identifies and recognizes the next generation of adventurers, scientists, and storytellers- uniquely gifted and inspiring individuals who are already making a difference early in their careers. Each year, NG bestows the title of Emerging Explorer on a new group of leaders from a variety of fields and invites them to establish a relationship with the Society. Emerging Explorers are frequently highlighted in NG media and are encouraged to develop strong connections with representatives across the Society. They are a source of new ideas, energy and inspiration for NG staff and members. 2015 Emerging Explorers: Salam Al Kuntar, Archaeologist Salam Al Kuntar, a Syrian-born archaeologist, is one of the leading advocates for the protection of her war-torn homeland's historical sites and treasures. More than 90 percent of Syria's cultural sites are located in areas of fighting and civil unrest. Before leaving Damascus for the United States three years ago, Al Kuntar was co-director of excavations at the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age site of Hamoukar. She was also a member of the Syrian Directorate of Antiquities and Museums. Al Kuntar, who earned her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, England, is now a research scholar at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University and a consulting scholar at the Penn Cultural Heritage Center in Philadelphia, where she works with a range of people and institutions to protect Syria's cultural heritage. In collaboration with the Smithsonian Institute and by working with a network of Syrian scholars in Europe and a dedicated group of heritage professionals inside Syria, she and her colleagues have been able to provide much needed emergency preservation work, conservation materials and training, in the hopes of salvaging damaged collections and sites during the conflict. She is also working with refugee populations that have taken refuge in a World Heritage site in Syria, trying to help them preserve the ruins. |
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(Expenses $ including grants of $) (EXPLORER PROGRAMS, continued) Ella Al-Shamahi, Paleoanthropologist Paleoanthropologist and archaeologist Ella Al-Shamahi specializes in Neanderthals - and is also a stand-up comic. Her Ph.D. research focuses on the rates of evolution of Neanderthals so as to better understand the reasons for their extinction. She measures their evolutionary changes by studying variations in their teeth over tens of thousands of years. Much of her work involves searching for fossils in caves in disputed, hostile or unstable regions such as Yemen, her father's country of origin, where she has to wear a burka, even while doing fieldwork. She is currently trying to find Paleolithic caves in Yemen to test a theory that early humans may have migrated out of Africa via land bridges between East Africa and Yemen and to test whether Neanderthals went that far south. Al-Shamahi uses comedy as a coping strategy for the darker side of her work and to communicate to people why science is important. She has performed a stand-up routine on Neanderthals in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. She holds degrees from Imperial College London/Natural History Museum in London and University College London. Jessica Cramp, Marine Conservationist Marine conservationist Jessica Cramp is a shark researcher and policy advocate who is passionate about stopping the overexploitation of sharks, and she is combining science with politics, outreach and a deep respect for Pacific cultures to do it. While living in the Cook Islands, she managed locally based Pacific Islands Conservation Initiative (PICI), whose founder had a dream to create a shark sanctuary. Together, they led the grassroots campaign that rallied overwhelming community and international support and resulted in the 772,204-square-mile Cook Islands Shark Sanctuary (the entire Exclusive Economic Zone of the Cook Islands), banning all commercial import, export, sale, trade, possession or transshipment of shark parts. During the campaign, Cramp realized that there were gaps not only in scientific knowledge about sharks, their fisheries and ecosystems, but also in linking conservation policies to action. Building on her experience, she is currently completing a Ph.D. through James Cook University in Australia on the effectiveness of large-scale marine reserves in reducing mortality of threatened sharks. Through the creation of the research, outreach and advocacy organization Sharks Pacific, she and her team will work toward filling those gaps. Cramp believes that by engaging communities and taking an interdisciplinary approach to conservation and sustainable use of sharks and their ecosystems, ending the overexploitation of threatened shark (and ray) species is possible in her lifetime. Leslie Dewan, Nuclear Engineer Nuclear engineer Leslie Dewan is helping revolutionize the nuclear power industry. She and an MIT colleague have designed a new type of nuclear reactor, a safer, more efficient alternative to the current light-water reactors in use today. Called the "Waste-Annihilating Molten-Salt Reactor," Dewan's design is based on molten-salt reactors that were originally proposed in the 1950s as a way to power aircraft. The main advantage of molten-salt reactors is that they use liquid rather than solid fuel, making them more efficient and safer. The original molten-salt prototypes, however, were bulky, expensive and had a low power density. Dewan has introduced new materials and a new shape that allowed her to increase power output by 30 times. With the Waste-Annihilating Molten-Salt Reactor, 96 percent of the energy can be extracted, compared to only 3 or 4 percent with conventional reactors. By extracting more of the energy, the radioactive life of the majority of the waste can be reduced to just a few hundred years, compared to conventional nuclear waste that is radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. An environmentalist at heart, Dewan says we need nuclear power if we are to have any hope of reducing fossil fuel emissions and preventing climate change. She was named one of Time magazine's "30 People Under 30 Changing the World" in 2013. Caleb Harper, Urban Agriculturalist For urban agriculturalist Caleb Harper, the future of agriculture lies in urban farms, where plants will be grown in controlled environments close to consumers, allowing produce to be available cheaper and fresher. Harper is the principal research scientist and director of the Open Agriculture (OpenAG) Initiative and MITCityFARM at the MIT Media Lab. He leads a group of diverse engineers, architects, urban planners, economists and plant scientists in the exploration and development of high-performance urban agricultural systems. Harper believes that if we create a perfect growing environment, there is the potential of speeding up growth and of producing plants that are two or three times more nutritious than what one can buy at a store, all while using fewer natural resources. Fundamental to his work is not only the production of food, but also the production of food innovators. For this, Harper and his team are creating open-source agricultural platforms, or food computers, and deploying them all over the world. One of his platforms is designed for a high-intensity production environment, much like a plant data center, where everything will be monitored, the food will not need pesticides or chemicals and production will be predictable 365 days a year. He is also creating shipping-container-sized farms for small-scale local producers, such as corporate or school cafeterias, growing their own food. The smallest farm the group is working on fits on a table top and is designed as a hacker-friendly kit-of-parts meant to inspire a community of students, makers and at-home users to join in the next agricultural revolution. Elaine Hsiao, Biologist Biologist Elaine Hsiao, research assistant professor at the California Institute of Technology, studies how the microbiome - the trillions of microbes and bacteria that live in and on our bodies, especially our gut - influences brain development and function, and behavior. Research conducted in animal models has shown that microbes are involved in regulating social, communicative, emotional and anxiety-like behaviors, and alterations in the composition of the microbiome are implicated in a variety of neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis, depression and autism. Hsiao's group studies the molecular interactions underlying how gut microbes communicate with the nervous system. The hope is that studying microbiome-nervous system interactions could reveal novel approaches for treating disorders such as depression or autism. Microbe-based therapeutics may one day enable persistent and relatively non-invasive treatments for various disorders of the brain and body. Onkuri Majumdar, Wildlife Conservationist Wildlife conservationist Onkuri Majumdar is committed to ending wildlife trafficking that is decimating species in her country, India, and the world. Wildlife trafficking is one of the world's largest illegal trades, earning organized crime networks billions of dollars each year. India is a rich source for most species exploited by the trade. After drafting wildlife class action suits for the Supreme Court of India, training enforcement officials and conducting a tiger census, Majumdar expanded her work to Southeast Asia to better investigate global syndicates. As part of specialized teams focused on dismantling these syndicates, she was deputized by Thai police to go undercover, helping to arrest traffickers in tigers and exotic species. She provided analytic support in successful police operations against wildlife and human traffickers. Today, Majumdar is the managing director of Freeland India, which facilitates hands-on action against traffickers, conducts anti-poaching and investigation training for enforcement officers, and runs a wildlife law help center for prosecutors and investigators. |
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(Expenses $ including grants of $) (EXPLORER PROGRAMS, continued) Innocent Mburanumwe, Conservation Ranger Following in his father's footsteps, conservation ranger Innocent Mburanumwe began working in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) 15 years ago. Virunga, Africa's oldest national park and a World Heritage site, is home to the world's last mountain gorillas. It is also Mburanumwe's home. His career has focused on the protection of Congo's mountain gorillas and commanding Virunga's gorilla protection rangers, some 140 of whom have been killed in the line of duty in the past decade. The sacrifice of Virunga's rangers has seen the gorilla population increase threefold in the past 20 years. Fulfilling his duties requires Mburanumwe to know every gorilla individually and to ensure that he and his fellow rangers monitor the animals every day. This enables Mburanumwe to detect the slightest change in the gorillas' behavior that could signify disease or other forms of stress, which is the key to the success of the protection of the last of the world's mountain gorillas. This conservation strategy has been maintained during periods of peace and armed conflict. Mburanumwe's work and that of the other rangers was featured in the film "Virunga," released last year. Manu Prakash, Biophysicist Biophysicist Manu Prakash designs inexpensive scientific instruments that can spread science, appreciation of the microcosmos and medical opportunity around the world. He heads the Prakash Lab at Stanford University, where his team has designed Foldscope, a fully functional optical microscope that is printed and folded from a single flat sheet of paper, similar to origami, and a music box that doubles as a microfluidic lab. A Foldscope - made from die-cut paper embedded with micro-optics - costs less than a dollar to make. One of the goals when the lab was established was to enable "frugal science" - making available low-cost scientific tools to scientists, health care workers, even children, in the global community. One of his visions for Foldscope is to get every child in the world to carry a microscope in their pocket so they can do things like test their own drinking water and watch their own cells. Last year, the first 50,000 units were built in the lab and shipped to 130 countries. Prakash, who earned a B.Tech. at the Indian Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in applied physics at MIT, is an assistant professor at Stanford University. A nature lover, Prakash is currently a Pew scholar and studies biophysics of organisms. Steve Ramirez, Neuroscientist Neuroscientist Steve Ramirez studies memory. As a Ph.D. student at MIT's Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, he is pursuing research into how memory works and how to "hijack memory and get it to do what we want it to do." The main focus of his work is finding brain cells that house a particular memory and then tricking those cells to turn on or off in response to pulses of light. Using mice as subjects, Ramirez and his team are also learning how to change the contents of memories, such as making a traumatic memory less fearful. This may lead to being able to erase unwanted memories or to create memories of things that never happened. Though seemingly the stuff of science fiction, this memory manipulation may one day be able to alleviate conditions such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, even Alzheimer's. Ramirez's fascination with how the brain works began as a teenager when his cousin went into labor, suffered a lack of oxygen and fell into a coma, from which she has never woken. This curiosity about how consciousness can be snuffed out by a damaged brain led to a career in neuroscience. David Moinina Sengeh, Biomedical Engineer Biomedical engineer David Moinina Sengeh is a doctoral student at MIT, using magnetic resonance imaging, soft tissue modeling and 3-D printing to develop an innovative prosthetic socket to make artificial limbs more comfortable and more functional for amputees. He grew up in Sierra Leone where he was first motivated to develop better designed and more comfortable prostheses, especially for children living with amputations. He eventually realized that many amputees around the world did not use their prostheses because their sockets were badly designed and generally uncomfortable. The system he is pioneering allows for the development of a custom socket in a repeatable and quantitative process for an amputee. The prostheses can be produced quickly and at low cost, making them accessible for amputees across the globe. Sengeh is also president of a global organization, GMin, which inspires and supports the next generation of innovators in Africa to think creatively to solve problems and tackle challenges facing their communities. Additionally, he is the owner of a clothing design company, Nyali Clothing, which employs over 10 designers in Sierra Leone. And, last but not least, he is an afrobeat rapper. Daniel Streicker, Infectious Disease Ecologist Infectious disease ecologist Daniel Streicker studies the transfer of disease between bat species and from bats to humans and domestic animals. Last year, he was awarded the Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists for his work on the transmission of the vampire bat rabies virus in Peru. Many pathogens of humans and animals come from other animal species -- the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa likely originated from bats, and HIV was originally a virus from non-human primates and Streicker's research on cross-species disease transmission may help health care workers anticipate and prevent the next pandemic while also guiding control measures for diseases like rabies that recurrently jump from animals to people. He strives to integrate his fieldwork data into the decisions of health policymakers by maximizing the visibility of his work through websites and blog posts and working directly with governmental partners in Peru. Streicker is a Wellcome Trust/Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Research Fellow, jointly hosted by the Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine at the University of Glasgow and the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research in Scotland. He is also an adjunct graduate faculty member of the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia, where he earned his Ph.D. Skylar Tibbits, Materials Architect Materials architect Skylar Tibbits is pioneering 4-D printing - multimaterial 3-D printing with the added element of transformation. At the Self-Assembly Lab at MIT, where Tibbits is director, he and a team of designers, scientists and engineers create innovative manufacturing, products and construction processes to investigate the possibility of creating objects that assemble themselves, that zip together like a strand of DNA or that have the ability for transformation embedded in them. They study how to program materials so they can change shape or property, build themselves or error correct. "The idea behind 4-D printing is that we try to add the element of time," Tibbits says, "When we print things, they're not finished. Rather, that's the start of their life." The objects reconfigure, adapt to their environment and transform over time, like strands that transform into text, sheets that can be shipped flat and then transform into 3-D objects, or surfaces that can mold into a desired shape. Tibbits' team works with sportswear, automotive, furniture and other industries and is currently collaborating with Airbus on morphable components to control airflow to jet engines. Topher White, Engineer & Physicist Using recycled cell phones, engineer, physicist and inventor Topher White has come up with an ingenious method of detecting illegal logging and poaching in remote rain forests. Deforestation is one of the main contributors to climate change and the extinction of endangered species. Interpol estimates 50 to 90 percent of rain forest logging is illegal. In 2012, White founded Rainforest Connection, which, according to the organization's website, works to "transform recycled cell phones into autonomous, solar-powered listening devices that can monitor and pinpoint chainsaw activity at great distance, providing the world's first audio-based logging detection system, pinpointing deforestation activity as it occurs and enabling real-time intervention." The organization has helped stop illegal logging and poaching operations in Sumatra and is expanding its activities to rain forest reserves in Africa and Brazil. White, who has a B.A. in physics from Kenyon College, is currently working in Brazil; helping the indigenous Tembe people in the northern Amazonian state of Para monitor their lands to prevent poaching and illegal logging and settlement. |
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(Expenses $ including grants of $) (Other Grant Initiatives/Programs, continued) BIG CATS INITIATIVE National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative (BCI) is a comprehensive, action-oriented program that supports on-the-ground big cat conservation projects and a global public awareness campaign, Cause an Uproar. This initiative supports the protection of lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, jaguars, snow leopards and other top felines who are quickly disappearing, all victims of habitat loss and degradation as well as conflict with humans. By the end of 2015, BCI awarded 85 grants covering 27 countries with a total of more than $2.4 Million. The BCI grants program has made important strides in helping communities understand and protect big cats. The Cause an Uproar campaign raises awareness and funds for BCI. BCI continues to offer several ways for public engagement including free educator lesson plans, the "Build a Boma" peer to peer fundraising platform, text and online donations platforms and a Sister School program that connects schools in Africa with schools in the United States under the theme of big cats. PRISTINE SEAS PROJECT National Geographic's Pristine Seas project aims to protect the last wild places in the ocean. This includes not only preserving areas that are pristine or near pristine, but also helping to restore areas that may have suffered some human impacts but still harbor unique features such as large animals, healthy bottom communities, and outstanding biodiversity. The goals are to 1) help create large, no-take marine reserves with effective management over the long term and 2) help restore the health and resilience of unique ecosystems using a combination of solutions (e.g. marine reserves, fisheries management improvement, new ecotourism models), mostly in areas with some human population. We work to restore the health and resilience of unique ecosystems using a combination of exploration, scientific research, economic and policy analysis, and compelling media. We have completed 18 expeditions and, working with key partners, Pristine Seas has helped to inspire country leaders to create nine large reserves totaling over 3.1 million square kilometers. GENOGRAPHIC PROJECT The Genographic Project seeks to chart new knowledge about the migratory history of the human species and answer age-old questions surrounding the genetic diversity of humanity. In 2014 Genographic disbursed 7 scientific grants that enabled the study of DNA research samples using the Genographic genotyping platform. Members of the general public also participated in this real-time scientific research effort through a confidential kit that allowed them to send in their DNA to trace their own migratory history. By the end of 2015, over 720,000 members of the general public from over 130 countries had joined the Genographic Project by purchasing a kit. As a non-profit endeavor, a portion of the proceeds from the sales go directly to the Genographic Legacy Fund, which supports community-led efforts of indigenous peoples to revitalize their languages and cultures. Project results have led to the publication of over 50 scientific papers. The project's DNA results and analysis are stored in a database that is the largest collection of human anthropological genetic information ever assembled. The samples and data we collected during the project continue to serve as an invaluable 'genetic snapshot' of humanity, our stated goal at the launch of the project. GREAT ENERGY CHALLENGE Like food, air, and water, energy is essential to human existence. The hopes of billions for a better life depend on plentiful and accessible sources of energy. But with the world's population fast approaching seven billion, how do we meet the growing demand for energy in a responsible, equitable, and sustainable way? The Great Energy Challenge is an important National Geographic initiative designed to help all of us better understand the breadth and depth of our current energy situation. The Great Energy Challenge, a project undertaken in partnership with Shell, comprises an online portal, energy news reporting, and an energy-focused grant program. National Geographic has assembled some of the world's foremost research and scientists to act as advisors in support of the grant program. Led by Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, a National Geographic Fellow and renowned biologist, the team of advisors works together to identify and provide support for projects focused on innovative energy solutions. Since its inception in 2010, the Great Energy Challenge has awarded $2.56 million in its support of 31 grants. The Great Energy Challenge awarded 8 grants in 2015, totaling $591,150 OUT OF EDEN National Geographic Fellow, Paul Salopek, is on a seven-year walk, starting at humankind's birthplace in Ethiopia and ending at the southern tip of South America, where our forebears ran out of horizon. Along the way he is engaging with the major stories of our time - from climate change to technological innovation, from mass migration to cultural survival - by walking alongside the people who inhabit these headlines every day. Moving at the slow beat of his footsteps, Paul is also seeking the quieter, hidden stories of people who rarely make the news. Their tales highlight a central truth of our humanity in this globalized age: The most important narratives of our time, once monopolized by the developed world, now increasingly appear at the world's margins. National Geographic supports and chronicles his journey in the form on of online blog, video and audio published on different web properties and social media platforms. At the end of 2015, Paul made his way to Aktau, Kazakhstan. CHANGE THE COURSE Building on a strong web-based platform that educates the public through our freshwater website and the popular Water Currents blog, National Geographic continued the Change the Course campaign along with partners Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) and Participant Media. The campaign is designed to engage with the public, corporations, and on-the-ground conservation groups to return critical flows of fresh water to critically dewatered portions of the Colorado River Basin. Change the Course motivates members of the public to learn about their own freshwater footprint and make a free pledge to conserve water at changethecourse.us. The 165,000+ member pledge community is comprised of people from 50 states and more than a hundred countries. For every pledge, Change the Course restores a thousand gallons of water to the Colorado River Basin. Corporate sponsors, such as WhiteWave, Coca-Cola and Disney provide funding for the water restoration projects. Change the Course has funded projects in the Colorado River Delta in Mexico, providing sustaining "base flows" to key restoration sites in the Delta that aim to provide long term benefits to migrating birds, local flora and fauna, and community members in the region. National Geographic Freshwater Fellow and water expert, Sandra Postel, continued to engage with the public in a variety of lectures, keynotes and media interviews and continued to curate the Water Currents blog on the National Geographic website. SIU This year, National Geographic officially launched the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), to combat the wildlife trafficking crisis by actively investigating and reporting on wildlife crime. The unit is exploring the intensely challenging frontier of wildlife crime to expose the transnational crime syndicates and their kingpins; to analyze policy in ways that engender fresh solutions; and to empower communities around the world to take action. This work is done in a combination of storytelling, capacity building and engagement with general audiences to drive key influencers towards action. |
| Form 990, Part III, Line 4d Description of other program services |
(Expenses $ including grants of $) (Education Foundation/Programs, continued) BioBlitz BioBlitz, National Geographic's annual event during which we partner with the National Park Service (NPS) to document biodiversity in a national park, took place on May 15 and 16, 2015. The 2015 BioBlitz was held in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, on the Big Island of Hawai'i. Special field inventories were organized for school groups. Students spent at least 1.5 hours in the field, a 50 percent increase over last year. Pre-BioBlitz teacher training and classroom visits by park staff allowed students, teachers, and leaders to prepare for and make the most of the field time. The majority of students were from schools with high percentages of students on free and reduced price lunch programs. Highlights from the event include: 850 youth had an opportunity to directly participate in BioBlitz 2015. The iNaturalist app was used to collect data entered by scientists, students, and the participating public; over 1700 observations were entered, resulting in a count of over 350 unique species in the park. Over 150 event volunteers helped with on-site logistics. At least 200 more manned exhibitor booths, with most featuring hands-on science activities and traditional nature-inspired crafts. National Geographic had one of the largest booths at the festival. We highlighted the Great Nature Project, which kicked off its global snapshot initiative on May 15th; National Geographic's Engineering Exploration Challenge was promoted and students were able to start drafting their engineering ideas at a busy activity table; and an actual camera trap with a loop of camera trap image was a popular feature. Two National Geographic young explorer grantees doing work in Hawai'i, Chris A. Johns and Eric Leifer, participated in the event as scientists and photographers. 2014 National Geographic Emerging Explorer Maritza Morales Casanova attended the event to expand her base of knowledge and bring BioBlitz activities to her work in environmental education in Mexico. A team of scientists from the Korea National Arboretum also attended. Geography Awareness Week The goal of Geography Awareness Week (GAW) is to raise awareness about the deficiency of geography instruction in American education and to excite people about geographic literacy. The annual public awareness program encourages citizens young and old to think and learn about the interconnected nature of our world. For our annual Geography Awareness Week we celebrated geography and "The Power of Maps" November 15-21, 2015. A week-long series of events were held at National Geographic Headquarters, including a successful OpenStreetMap "mappy hour" event. Educators around the world participated in GAW, and the website had more than 20,000 visits. Partners played a key role in spreading the word for GAW this year. GENIP (Geography Education National Implementation Project) helped to promote the event. ESRI participate with their annual GIS Day. The National Council for Geographic Education hosted a series of webinars and the Association of American Geographers (AAG) advertised to their members. Learning Framework In 2015, National Geographic developed our Learning Framework. The Learning Framework lays out-in a way that is relevant to all divisions of National Geographic-what we believe people of all ages should learn from their experiences with the Society. We have created the Learning Framework as a foundation and set of supporting guidelines to inform our work. Internally, the Learning Framework provides a common language that defines learning along three dimensions: the attitudes, skills, and knowledge (A.S.K.) of an explorer. It provides a way to ensure we are all working toward common learning goals and informs how we measure the impact of our products and resources. Externally, the Learning Framework communicates to our diverse audiences in a way that nurtures the trust they have in National Geographic-and the joy they find from the stories we tell. The Learning Framework is based on research and perspectives from diverse fields of knowledge. It recognizes the distinct core principles and focus areas established at National Geographic as well as the values held by families, communities, and cultures. Where appropriate, the Framework aligns with national standards and complements diverse curriculum approaches. National Geographic programs strive to develop students who are: Curious and adventurous, Responsible for others and the natural world, and Empowered and persistent in the face of challenges. National Geographic programs strive to develop students who can: Observe the world around them, Communicate effectively through language and media, Collaborate and work effectively with others, and National Geographic programs strive to develop students who understand: * Our human story: Exploring where we have been, how we live today, and where we may find ourselves tomorrow. * Our living planet: Understanding the amazing, intricate, and interconnected systems of the changing planet we live on. * Critical species: Revealing, celebrating, and helping to protect the amazing and diverse creatures we share our world with. * New Frontiers: Searching every day for the "new" and the "next," using the latest technology and science to go places no one has ever been and find answers no one has ever found. Educator Certification In 2015, National Geographic Education launched a pilot certification program to inform educators about the National Geographic Learning Framework and to facilitate communication among like-minded educators who want to bring the world to their students. The Nat Geo Educator Certification program was piloted in fall 2015. During the pilot, 50 teachers became fully certified, and 25 educators attended a Train-the-Trainers event enabling them to offer the Introductory Workshop in their own states and school districts. The first cohort of teachers to certify participated in a third-party evaluation by MN Associates, Inc. that affirmed the basic goals to the program, and is helping us continue to shape and grow the program going forward. The external evaluators reported that: "Participants saw becoming a Nat Geo certified educator as joining an exclusive club or a community of highly regarded "thinkers and doers" with access to educational activities, tools, and resources that are enriching and exciting. They felt that by becoming Nat Geo certified educators they are associated with Nat Geo's brand, which is a boon to their careers, students, and communities. The association raises their professional stature among their peers and community, and affords them opportunities and resources they could share with their students, colleagues, and communities at large." |
| Form 990, Part VI, Line 4 Significant changes to organizational documents |
Summary of Revisions to National Geographic Society Bylaws: On December 10, 2015, the Board of Trustees approved a revised and restated set of Bylaws. Key items in the revision include the following: * Revision of the definition of "membership" to expand it beyond the limitation of the current bylaws (i.e., every Member gets the Magazine). * Clarifying that the members, other than the Trustee Members, are not "members" under the DC Non-Profit Act (the "Act"), as permitted by the Act. * The quorum for all committees is reduced to one-third from a majority. * Authorization of the Investment Committee that will include non-Trustee members. * Temporary deletion of term limits for Trustees. (Shorter term limits have already been reinstated in a new set of Bylaws, approved on June 7, 2016). * The office of Vice Chairman has been added back. * The number of missed consecutive meetings for possible removal from the Board has been reduced from five to three. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Line 11b Review of form 990 by governing body |
The Society's Form 990 was prepared by tax and financial staff at the Society, and was reviewed by senior management, including the CFO, Chief Legal Officer, and the President and CEO. It was also reviewed by the Society's outside tax advisors. A draft of this Form 990 was provided to the full Board of Trustees for comments and questions, and a conference call was held in which all Board members had an opportunity to participate in commenting and addressing any questions or issues about the draft 990. The Form 990, including any revisions resulting from the call, was then provided to each of the Trustees for any additional questions, comments or input before it was filed with the IRS. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Line 12c Conflict of interest policy |
As a nonprofit organization, employer, and responsible citizen, the National Geographic Society performs a variety of important educational and business functions. The Society wishes to meet its obligations in all of these areas in a manner that earns the respect of its members, charitable donors, employees, and the general public. Two basic principles apply: The Society will conduct every aspect of its business in a fair, lawful, and ethical manner. The Society will maintain a climate that encourages all employees, officers, directors and trustees to be honest and fair in the conduct of their duties. The responsibility for ethical conduct rests with the trustees, directors, officers, and employees who act in its name. All individuals must comply with the law, both when acting on behalf of the Society and in their personal conduct. In areas not covered by laws or regulations, the Society expects its representatives to conduct themselves in an ethical and fair manner. Policies spelled out in this statement may also apply to members of your immediate family; their actions could involve a conflict, or the appearance of a conflict, in violation of your responsibilities under this policy. The following applies to all employees, officers, directors and trustees of the National Geographic Society relating to their activities on the Society's behalf: I. Gifts and Gratuities 1. Individuals may not solicit, directly or indirectly, any gift, favor, loan, entertainment, or other remuneration, or accept any excessive gift, favor, loan, entertainment, or other remuneration, from any person or organization that engages in business with, or is a competitor of, the Society (or any of its divisions), for himself, herself, or for any other person. ("Excessive" value is any item or group of items over $50 in value. That means that any item or group of items that exceeds $50 is considered of "substantial value" and should be refused). 2. Individuals shall neither give nor pay, directly or indirectly, to any person or organization that engages in business with the Society, any gift, favor, loan, or entertainment, except within reasonable limits adopted from time to time by the Society. 3. All invitations to accept bribery or graft (kickbacks, etc.) or any proposal or suggestion of a similar nature must be reported immediately to the employee's division manager, who in turn must report the matter to the Human Resources Division. Reports should be made to the Secretary or President of the Society in the case of a director or trustee. Nondisclosure of even a rejected proposal of bribery or graft or suggestion of a similar nature shall be reason for severe disciplinary action. 4. Employees involved in purchasing decisions must take extra care to avoid gifts or gratuities that may affect or may reasonably be construed to affect the purchase of equipment, supplies, and services. II. Financial Interests, Including Investments 1. Employees, officers, directors or trustees shall not have, directly or indirectly, an interest in any firm, business, or organization that engages in business with the Society, unless such interest is disclosed to and approved by the Society. 2. Employees, officers, directors or trustees shall not have, directly or indirectly, any financial interest in any competitor of the Society. 3. Employees, officers, directors or trustees may not act on behalf of the Society in connection with any transaction in which the employee, officer, director or trustee has a personal interest. Minor outside business interests (for example, stock ownership in publicly traded corporations) may be permitted. Any employee involved in purchasing decisions must take care that no member of his or her immediate family has, directly or indirectly, an interest in or is employed by a firm that engages in purchasing-related business with the Society, unless such interest is disclosed to and approved by the Society. III. Additional Employment and Other Outside Activity All outside activity, such as employment (including self-employment) or professional, business or community activity, must be undertaken within the fundamental premise that the employee's primary responsibility is to the Society and that the activity will not interfere with his or her ability to discharge this responsibility. Each employee must ensure that any outside activity: is compatible with the full and proper discharge of the responsibilities of his or her Society employment; will not be construed by the public as the official action of the Society; will not adversely affect the Society; will not draw upon any of the Society's resources without advance approval; will not create or give the appearance of a conflict of interest. If an activity does not interfere with the performance of one's duties or the employees' responsibility to the Society under this policy and is performed on the employee's own time, without the support services of the Society, then compensation, fees, and honoraria, may be retained by the employee. However, if an endeavor is carried on during normal working hours or with the use of Society resources, or is related to the employee's work at the Society, or otherwise implicates this policy, the employee and his or her division manager, with the concurrence of the Senior Vice President of Human Resources, must agree in advance on the appropriateness of the activity and an equitable arrangement concerning time, remuneration, etc. Contracts between the Society and employees or members of their immediate family may give rise to conflicts of interest or give the appearance of favoritism, and may be entered into only after review and appearance of favoritism, and may be entered into only after review and approval by the President, or designee. If any employee has, or is considering, an undertaking which might conflict or appear to conflict with Society's policy, the employee should bring this matter to the attention of appropriate Society management to ensure that no conflict will result. IV. Personal Use of the Society's Facilities or Other Resources by Employees The Society's property and facilities are to be used to conduct the Society's business, in accordance with Society policies. An employee who desires to use the Society's staff or resources for a non-Society endeavor must obtain permission in advance from his or her division manager and arrangements must be made to adequately reimburse the Society. V. Confidential Information Employees have a responsibility to comply with the Society's policy concerning confidential information and trade secrets. Among other duties employees have, the following should be observed: 1. In the conduct of Society business, employees of the Society shall limit requests for and use of information to our business needs; limit use and discussion of information obtained on the job to normal business activities; and restrict access of records to those with proper authorization and legitimate business needs. 2. No employee shall disclose confidential information (editorial, publishing, personnel, etc.) unless specifically authorized to do so. 3. No employee shall disclose directly or indirectly to any news organization any sensitive information concerning the Society, its employees or its members. Failure to comply with these standards may lead to serious disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal. Procedures: For the protection of the Society and its employees, it is essential that employees make prompt and full disclosure to the Society prior to becoming involved in any situation that may be, or may result in, a conflict of interest. All employees will be required to complete a Confidential Report Letter at the time of hire. A Report Letter shall also be submitted by any employee promptly after he or she becomes involved in any conflict of interest situation or potential conflict of interest that has not previously been reported. All information disclosed shall be treated on a confidential basis except to the extent disclosure is considered necessary by the Society in its discretion for the protection of the Society's interest. In accordance with the Society's Conflict of Interest Policy, officers, directors or trustees and all employees are obligated to disclose activities that give rise to conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any participation in decisions about matters as to which they have a conflict. Such disclosures are required not only on an annual questionnaire but also at the point in time a conflict arises, not merely on an annual basis. Disclosures should be made to appropriate Society management. A VP and Associate General Counsel is the Society's designated Ethics Officer and provides advice and consultation in these matters. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Line 15a Process to establish compensation of top management official |
The Board of Trustees of the National Geographic Society has delegated authority to the Compensation Committee to oversee the compensation and benefits of certain senior executives of the Society. The Committee, which is composed exclusively of independent members of the Board of Trustees, is responsible for overseeing an executive compensation program for the Society's senior executives. The Committee follows the procedures set forth in the IRS regulations under Section 4958 in making compensation decisions. In particular, the Committee engages an independent compensation consultant to prepare and present comparable market data with respect to the Society's cash compensation and benefits programs, and is also advised by outside counsel. The Committee reviews the performance of senior executives and evaluates their compensation and benefits in light of the comparable market data provided by the independent compensation decisions. In particular, the Committee engages an independent compensation consultant to prepare and present comparable market data with respect to the Society's cash compensation and benefits programs, and is also advised by outside counsel. The Committee reviews the performance of senior executives and evaluates their compensation and benefits in light of the comparable market data provided by the independent compensation consultant and other relevant factors. The Committee relies on such market data in awarding cash compensation and reviewing benefit programs for the Society's senior executives, and receives an opinion from the independent compensation consultant as to the reasonableness and comparability of the Society's executive compensation and benefits programs to that provided for similar services by similar organizations under similar circumstances. The Committee documents its decisions regarding executive compensation decisions in its minutes. The Chair of the Committee promptly reports all actions taken by the Committee to the full Board of Trustees. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Line 15b Process to establish compensation of other employees |
The compensation Committee followed the process described above at meetings held in February and October of 2015, with respect to compensation decisions for the following senior executives positions: President and CEO, Chief Media Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Chief Legal Officer & Board Secretary, Chief Content Officer, Chief Science and Exploration Officer, Chief Education Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Communications Officer, President, NG Studios, Chief Technology Officer, Executive VP, Global Partnerships, Chief Development Officer, Chief Talent and Diversity Officer, VP Audit and Advisory Services. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Line 19 Required documents available to the public |
The Society's conflict of interest policy is disclosed in the 990 on Schedule O; the corporate charter is available to the public through the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Corporations Division. The Society's other governing documents are available upon request. The financial statements of the tax-exempt parent, the National Geographic Society, are made available in this Form 990. The Society does not currently make its audited financial statements available to the public because they are issued on a consolidated basis, which include financial details of the activities of Society's taxable subsidiaries which are not disclosed for competitive reasons. The Society's Forms 990 and 990T are available upon request, as well as on-line at Guidestar.org. |
| Form 990, Part VIII, Line 2f Other Program Service Revenue |
Website advertising - Total Revenue: 13133179, Related or Exempt Function Revenue: 645050, Unrelated Business Revenue: 12488129, Revenue Excluded from Tax Under Sections 512, 513, or 514: ; other program revenue - Total Revenue: 82479732, Related or Exempt Function Revenue: 82479732, Unrelated Business Revenue: , Revenue Excluded from Tax Under Sections 512, 513, or 514: ; |
| Form 990, Part XI, Line 9 Other changes in net assets or fund balances |
Grants Cancelled/Returned - -248455; Post-retirement Benefits-FAS 158 - 57372000; |
| Other Society Accomplishments--Library and Information Services |
The National Geographic Library's Reading Room is open to the public by appointment Monday through Friday, 1:30-5pm, and our staff also respond to phone calls, letters, and emails. The Library also participated in a regional inter-library loans program of the physical collections with 12 different libraries. The Library hosted four different events for librarians, teachers, and the public. These four events were for the Science Librarians of Washington D.C., librarians from the Computers in Libraries Conference, which was co-hosted with Gale, an event with University of Maryland students in the spring, and lastly a Special Libraries Association, volunteer appreciation event. |
| Other Society Accomplishments--Sustainability Initiatives |
The National Geographic Society has undertaken a serious commitment to operate more sustainably on its campus and in its expectations of its suppliers. The Society has developed the following four strategic core values as part of its company-wide sustainability goals: - To become a carbon neutral company - To send zero (0) waste to the landfill - To have an engaged and healthy workforce - To practice wise resource stewardship. Becoming a carbon neutral company The Society performs an annual carbon assessment of all of the carbon emissions it is responsible for, including those emitted on its behalf by its suppliers. The goal is to quantify what is emitted, find ways to lower those that can be reduced, and to offset those that cannot. Since 2007, the Society has switched its source for electrical usage for its buildings and all leased space in the US to wind REC's (Renewable Energy Certificates) and offsets are purchased (Reforestation and methane capture from Landfills) to offset any natural gas used. Reforestation offsets are also purchased to help offset business travel. The Society's buildings have been retrofitted to achieve maximum energy efficiency and over the past ten years, electrical usage has been reduced by 17%, water usage by 36% and natural gas usage by 23%. As a result of these ongoing efforts, the Society's buildings have earned a LEED EB Gold certification since 2009. Energy reduction strategies are identified with our suppliers as well as renewable energy options or methane recovery offsets where needed. Sending zero (0) waste to landfill The Society has a concerted recycling effort for all waste generated on-site which began about eleven years ago. This includes all recyclable paper, metals, glass, plastics and building waste materials. Five years ago the Society began composting all organic waste, including all non-recyclable paper items and all food waste from the cafeteria and the general buildings. Employees are also actively encouraged to segregate all waste as it is disposed of with the goal of having none end up in a landfill. The Society reached a landfill diversion rate of 63% for all building waste with the goal to reach 25%. Engaged and healthy employees All employees are encouraged to become actively engaged in the varied sustainability initiatives. In addition, the Society has been designated a bike friendly workplace by encouraging biking to work through the provision of garaged bike racks, showers, as well as being an active participant in "bike to work" days including being an official stop for those wishing to stop for refreshments or a snack and offering employee discounts with local bike sharing services. Carpooling and the use of low-emission vehicles are supported through parking discounts and electric vehicle parking spots for charging. We also have negotiated employee discounts with local car shares. Two exercise fitness rooms are available to all staff members along with lockers. A local farm sells CSA shares and runs a weekly farm stand on our headquarters courtyard throughout the summer and early fall available to employees and the general public. Staff are encouraged to recycle their "difficult to recycle" waste (electronics, batteries) in designated collection areas. A "swap meet" is held three to four times a year in which employees can bring in items they no longer want and take home items donated by others, with the remaining items donated to local charities. All employees are encouraged to participate on one of the "Green" Committees that are designed to make the Society ever more sustainable in its operation. Practicing the wise use of Resources Starting in 2013, Water Restoration Certificates are being purchased to offset water usage in our DC headquarters. All Society magazines and catalogs printed in the U.S. are printed on 100% PEFC-certified paper. The Society is a member of the Sustainable Forestry Initative's Forest Partners Program, which has the goal to help certify 10 million new acres of privately held forest land in the US by the end of 2017. Paper suppliers are required to document that they abide by all Clean Water and Air Act, and local environmental guidelines in the manufacture of our paper. All suppliers are required to abide by basic human rights principles in the way they deal with their employees. Suppliers who provide manufacturing services to the Society are expected to follow Cleaner Production principles as defined in the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) - including such measures as pollution prevention, source reduction, waste minimization, eco efficiency, awareness of and reduction in the use of hazardous materials, reuse of waste, and process modification. Only Green-E certified cleaning products and non VOC paints are used in the Society's complex. In addition, many of the building materials used are made from recycled material. The Society has also established butterfly gardens and bee hives on our headquarters grounds and rooftop for species support and educational purposes. In 2014 The National Geographic Green Team selected its first Green Impact Grants; $31,052 was awarded to purchase re-usable exhibit walls for our museum, to cover Meatless Monday discounts, support volunteer opportunities, establish indoor hydroponic gardens, and recover K-cups for compost and waste-to-energy. The Green Team worked with HR and payroll to more than double the metro commuting subsidy and institute the Bicycle commuter subsidy. A rooftop herb garden was installed and staffed by Nat Geo employees to supply herbs, tomatoes, and hot peppers to the Cafeteria. New compost and recycling collection bins were installed throughout the campus and many desk-side trash bins were voluntarily given up by employees to increase recycling and composting across campus. We worked with our book printer and instituted a program to offset emissions from electricity and natural gas used in the production of National Geographic books. The Green Team also worked with the technology team to update our computer hibernation and automated shutdown program to save energy. Sustainability became a regular part of new employee orientation. Specific Achievements in 2015: - Created Sustainability Leadership Network (SLN) - Updated Sustainability Policy to Corporate Responsibility Policy, adopted by NGS - Updated HQ Energy Policy and Re-use, Recycling, Compost & Disposal Procedures - Reduced paper, ink and energy consumption across campus - Reduced on-campus Keurig use, expanding more sustainable coffee options - Increased Donation Brigade donations - reuse of Nat Geo products and equipment - Expanded coverage of 4-stream containers while decreasing single stream containers |
Attach to Form 990 or 990-EZ.