ArtsFund COVID Cultural Impact Study

The foundation’s support for regional COVID relief, intersected with its overall commitment to arts and culture, by working with ArtsFund to produce and field the COVID Cultural Impact Study. This survey, conducted throughout 2021 and launched in early 2022, documents the impacts of the pandemic on the cultural community across the state of Washington. Participants include nonprofit creators and presenters of art and culture, the workforce, and the public who participate in these activities.

While the research shows an incredible outpouring of support from institutional and individual donors, respondent arts and culture organizations still saw a drop of $95.9 million in overall revenue. Although most have engaged in some type of virtual programming, many organizations are leaving the peak of the pandemic in a much more financially precarious position than when they entered. The layoffs and furloughs necessitated by the pandemic may have contributed to a “cultural brain drain” that triggered exits from certain occupations and industries. The study lays out important recommendations for funders, advocates, policymakers and cultural participants to help build a sustainable and equitable future for arts and culture in Washington.

Partner: ArtsFund

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KAZA Aerial Surveys, Data Management and Community Engagement

As part of our ongoing commitment to data and science, we are funding an aerial wildlife survey that will count elephants and other wildlife in the five KAZA countries – Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The data will inform regionally integrated approaches aimed towards harmonizing policies, strategies, and practices for managing the shared natural resources that straddle the international borders of the KAZA partner states. The World Wildlife Fund will manage the survey work in conjunction with the KAZA Secretariat.

In addition to the aerial survey, we will support efforts to modernize wildlife surveys through machine learning and assist the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with the development of a new African Elephant Status Report. We will also help the IUCN upgrade the African Elephant Database, making it a sustained resource that is regularly updated. This will unlock access to data, allowing protected area managers and policy makers to make informed decisions about wildlife management.

We will also pilot a year-long community development project to educate and activate communities around the benefits of wildlife and best practices for harmonious co-existence.
 
Partners: World Wildlife Fund, KAZA Secretariat, Eco-Exist, WildMe, IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group, Save The Elephants
 

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Funding for the Future of Innovative Bioscience

In addition to its conservation, arts, and communities work, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation proudly funds the innovative programs and research supported by the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group. The Frontiers Group encourages new ways of conducting science and nurtures breakthroughs on a global scale, building on Paul G. Allen’s enduring quest to unlock the mysteries of bioscience. The team at Frontiers Group constantly seeks novel ideas where early investment has the power to make a remarkable and positive difference. Highlights in 2021 include new studies on animal aging and development, advances impacting translational biology, and $20 million in awards to support groundbreaking studies in areas such as human brain evolution. The Frontiers Group continued its Allen Distinguished Investigators program with calls for 2021 awards that will pioneer research in Micropeptides, Neural Circuit Design, and Mammalian Synthetic Development.

Partner: Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group
 

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Kelp Forest Monitoring

Kelp forests are an underrated and often forgotten ecosystem. These underwater habitats support levels of fish, significantly mitigate ocean acidification, and sequester carbon, which is critical as we face the global negative impacts of climate change.   

This project will build on the foundation’s 2016 four-year grant with Puget Sound Restoration Fund (PSRF) that investigated kelp cultivation as a potential strategy for removing carbon from the ocean, creating improved habitats for sensitive organisms such as oysters. At the project’s conclusion, researchers believed that kelp growth could create more hospitable growing conditions for calcifying creatures.  

In 2022, we will support PSRF along with Reef Check to build out professional and volunteer diver networks to better monitor these important PNW ecosystems.    

PSRF will set up and expand a network of monitoring sites around designated areas of the Sound to conduct underwater monitoring of kelp forests and record variations in species and drivers of decline. We will also support the development and application of new technologies by building and training robotic kelp forest monitoring and sea urchin suppression.    

Our goal is to understand how to achieve a higher level of kelp health and resilience that leads to better management and conservation of this fragile but mighty ecosystem.  

Partners: Puget Sound Restoration Fund, Reef Check, Marauder Robotics, The Bay Foundation
 

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Increasing Protection of Threatened Shark Species

Sharks and rays play critical ecological, social, and economic roles in the world’s oceans. And yet, over 100 million sharks are killed each year.  According to recent research, nearly 40 percent of all shark and ray species are now threatened with extinction, mostly due to overfishing and habitat loss, making this group of species one of the most at-risk for extinction after corals and amphibians.

Building on the success of a strategic, multi-year initiative that included species listing efforts under the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species and Flora and Fauna (CITES), an international agreement to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation will continue to support global science-based listings and customs-focused implementation efforts to crackdown on illegal shark trade.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), our grantee in this initiative, will work with global partners to expand the uptake and application of science, monitoring, and technology tools, thus helping to halt the downward trajectory of shark and ray populations.

“We are approaching a conservation tipping point for sharks and rays,” said Luke Warwick, Director, Shark and Ray Conservation with WCS. “We are running out of time, with the vast majority of large-bodied sharks and rays that interact with fisheries already threatened and in decline throughout much of the world.”

Partner: Wildlife Conservation Society