Dear Newsletter Subscriber,

July 11, 2002

It has been almost two years since the first gathering of scientists at the California Academy of Sciences discussed the feasibility of an ambitious project---to identify all life on Earth in 25 years. Since then, ALL has developed a tremendous amount of support from the scientific community, a much deeper grasp of the magnitude of the undertaking, and we are even more convinced of its profound importance.

It is clear that ALL Species can operate in a dual role as both "catalyst" and as "fundraiser." These roles work well in conjunction and from time to time efforts focus on one over the other, as opportunity arises. While ALL balances these roles, the guiding principle remains single focused---to ensure that the inventory of life happens expeditiously.

Our vision remains steady, our attitude tenacious, despite the fact that the economic and political climate has changed dramatically while the scale of the project has not. ALL continues to seek support from high net worth individuals, but their number has decreased significantly. Portfolios have plummeted, and many organizations bemoan the fact that their leading donors from last year have become next to invisible today.

To secure substantial funds for species inventory, ALL must assure any individual donor or foundation that a new framework for doing scientific inventory with a finite endpoint is in place or under development and that new species discovery will not just add to the backlog in museums. What we believe will generate the interest of new funders is expedient inventories with rapid through-put, scientific breakthroughs, the possibility for citizen science, and most importantly web accessible data.

Until the economic climate changes, ALL's primary role is to focus on expediting innovations and building partnerships that will enable inventory efforts. We will of course continue to pursue funding prospects for various initiatives where any monies raised would be carefully channeled to the most pivotal and high-leverage projects we can identify.

The value of ALL rests in its ability to execute in the following ways:

1. To persuade other scientists, policy makers, funders, and the general public of the value of all-species inventory.
2. To forge partnerships and strategic alliances as an outside, non-institutional agency with a singularity of purpose.
3. To expedite the innovation of new tools and techniques.
4. To accelerate advances in inventory field methods by means of pilot projects.
5. To instigate funding for high leverage projects.
6. To secure funding from both established and non-traditional sources.