The primary funding for the Biodiversity Synthesis Group is from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in support of the Encyclopedia of Life. The Biodiversity Synthesis Center is also funded by donations from the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation, The Harris Family Foundation and MaryEllen and Richard Keyser, and others.
Grant funding has also been obtained for a number of synthetic biodiversity research projects and innovative education efforts. These include support from the National Science Foundation Systematics panel for work on coral reef fishes and plant biogeography, support from PEET and RevSys grants for a range of EOL-related taxonomy and biodiversity research, and collaborative efforts with several groups from NSF's Assembling the Tree of Life program. In addition, separate funding from the MacArthur Foundation is supporting a digital learning program on coral reefs in the virtual world WhyVille.net.
Lastly, collaborative letters have occasionally been useful to colleagues desiring a web presence on EOL for grant-related biodiversity data. EOL Synthesis staff are interested in collaborating with principal investigators on a wide array of biodiversity projects that may benefit from a presence on the EOL as a way to reach a broader audience with important biodiversity information.
