James Randi Educational Foundation

Last updated
James Randi Educational Foundation
Founded1996
Founder James Randi
Type 501(c)(3)
Registration no.65-0649443
PurposePromote critical thinking and investigate claims of the paranormal, pseudoscientific, and supernatural
Location
Key people
Banachek, President
Rick Adams, Treasurer/Assis. Secretary, Board of Directors
Daniel "Chip" Denman, Secretary, Board of Directors
Revenue
US$−35,258 in 2022. Decrease2.svg [1] US$268,727 in 2021. Increase2.svg [2] US$257,818 in 2020. Increase2.svg [3] US$88,828 in 2019. Decrease2.svg [4] US$630,928 in 2018. Increase2.svg [5] US$156,615 in 2017. Decrease2.svg [6] US$1,133,731 in 2014 Increase2.svg [7] US $887,595 in 2013. Decrease2.svgDecrease2.svg [8] US $1,293,878 in 2012. Decrease2.svg [9] US $1,564,266 in 2011. [9] US$852,445 [10] (2009) Decrease2.svg 38% on 2008. Increase2.svg 17% on 2009. [11]
Website web.randi.org

James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is an American grant-making institution founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. As a nonprofit organization, the mission of JREF includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled scientific experimental conditions. The organization announced its change to a grant-making foundation in September 2015. [12]

Contents

The organization previously administered the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, a prize of one million U.S. dollars to anyone who could demonstrate a supernatural or paranormal ability under agreed-upon scientific testing criteria.

The organization has been funded through member contributions, grants, and conferences, though it ceased accepting memberships after 2015. For several years the JREF website published the blog Swift, which included news and information as well as exposés of paranormal claimants. [13]

History

The JREF officially came into existence on February 29, 1996, when it was registered as a nonprofit corporation in the State of Delaware in the United States. [14] On April 3, 1996, Randi formally announced the creation of the JREF through his email hotline. [15] It is now headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia. [16]

THE FOUNDATION IS IN BUSINESS! It is my great pleasure to announce the creation of the James Randi Educational Foundation. This is a non-profit, tax-exempt, educational foundation under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, incorporated in the State of Delaware. The Foundation is generously funded by a sponsor in Washington D.C. who wishes, at this point in time, to remain anonymous.

The Foundation, Randi Hotline, Wed, April 3, 1996

Randi says Johnny Carson was a major sponsor, giving several six-figure donations. [17]

The officers of the JREF are: [18]

In 2008 the astronomer Philip Plait became the new president of the JREF and Randi its board chairman. [19] In December 2009 Plait left the JREF due to involvement in a television project, and D.J. Grothe assumed the position of president on January 1, 2010, [20] holding the position until his departure from the JREF was announced on September 1, 2014. [16]

The San Francisco newspaper SF Weekly reported on August 24, 2009, that Randi's annual salary was about $200,000. [21] Randi resigned from JREF in 2015. [22]

The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge

In 1964, Randi began offering a prize of US$1,000 to anyone who could demonstrate a paranormal ability under agreed-upon testing conditions. This prize has since been increased to US$1 million in bonds and is now administered by the JREF. Since its inception, more than 1,000 people have applied to be tested. To date, no one has been able to demonstrate their claimed abilities under the testing conditions, all applicants either failing to demonstrate the claimed ability during the test or deviating from the foundation conditions for taking the test such that any apparent success was held invalid; the prize money remains unclaimed. However, in 2015 the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval. [23]

The Amaz!ng Meeting

From 2003 to 2015, the JREF annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting, a gathering of scientists, skeptics, and atheists. Perennial speakers include Richard Dawkins, Penn & Teller, Phil Plait, Michael Shermer and Adam Savage.

Podcasts and videos

The foundation produced two audio podcasts, For Good Reason which was an interview program hosted by D.J. Grothe, promoting critical thinking and skepticism about the central beliefs of society. It has not been active since December 2011. [24] Consequence was a biweekly podcast hosted by former outreach coordinator Brian Thompson in which regular people shared their personal narratives about the negative impact a belief in pseudoscience, superstition, and the paranormal had had on their lives. It has not been active since May, 2013. [25]

The JREF also produced a regular video cast and YouTube show, The Randi Show, in which former JREF outreach coordinator Brian Thompson interviewed Randi on a variety of skeptical topics, often with lighthearted or comedic commentary. [26] It has not been active since August 2012. In November 2015, Harriet Hall produced a series of ten lectures called Science Based Medicine for the JREF. The videos deal with various complementary alternative medicine subjects including homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture and more. [27]

The JREF posted many of its educational videos from The Amaz!ng Meeting and other events online. There are lectures by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Carol Tavris, Lawrence Krauss, live tests of the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, workshops on cold reading by Ray Hyman, and panels featuring leading thinking on various topics related to JREF's educational mission on the JREF YouTube channel. [28] JREF past president D.J. Grothe has claimed that the JREF's YouTube channel was once the "10th most subscribed nonprofit channel of all time", [29] though its status in 2013 was 39th and most non-profits do not register for this status. [30]

The foundation produced its own "Internet Audio Show" which ran from January–December 2002 and was broadcast via a live stream. The archive can be found as mp3 files on the JREF website [31] and as a podcast on iTunes. [32]

Forum and online community

As part of the JREF's goal of educating the general population about science and reason, people involved in their community ran a popular skeptic based online forum [33] with the overall goal of promoting "critical thinking and providing the public with the tools needed to reliably examine paranormal, supernatural, and pseudoscientific claims". [34]

On October 5, 2014, this online forum was divorced from the JREF and moved as its own entity to International Skeptics Forum.


The JREF has also helped to support local grassroot efforts and outreach endeavors, such as SkeptiCamp, Camp Inquiry [35] and various community-organized conferences. [36] However, according to their tax filing, they spend less than $2,000 a year on other organizations or individuals. [37]

JREF Award

James Randi announces Susan Gerbic has won the JREF prize for 2017.

The JREF Award "is given to the person or organization that best represents the spirit of the foundation by encouraging critical questions and seeking unbiased, fact-based answers." Some of the recipients include the following:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Randi</span> Canadian-American magician and skeptic (1928–2020)

James Randi was a Canadian-American stage magician, author, and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims. Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientific skepticism</span> Questioning of claims lacking empirical evidence

Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism, sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence. In practice, the term most commonly refers to the examination of claims and theories that appear to be beyond mainstream science, rather than the routine discussions and challenges among scientists. Scientific skepticism differs from philosophical skepticism, which questions humans' ability to claim any knowledge about the nature of the world and how they perceive it, and the similar but distinct methodological skepticism, which is a systematic process of being skeptical about the truth of one's beliefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Hyman</span> American professor of psychology (born 1928)

Ray Hyman is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and a noted critic of parapsychology. Hyman, along with James Randi, Martin Gardner and Paul Kurtz, is one of the founders of the modern skeptical movement. He is the founder and leader of the Skeptic's Toolbox. Hyman serves on the Executive Council for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pigasus Award</span> Annual award given by James Randi

The Pigasus Award is the name of an annual tongue-in-cheek award that was presented by noted skeptic James Randi. The award seeks to expose parapsychological, paranormal or psychic frauds that Randi had noted over the previous year. Randi usually made his announcements of the awards from the previous year on April 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Amazing Meeting</span> Annual conference for skeptics, 2003–2015

The Amazing Meeting (TAM), stylized as The Amaz!ng Meeting, was an annual conference that focused on science, skepticism, and critical thinking; it was held for twelve years. The conference started in 2003 and was sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Perennial speakers included Penn & Teller, Phil Plait, Michael Shermer and James "The Amazing" Randi. Speakers at the four-day conference were selected from a variety of disciplines including scientific educators, magicians, and community activists. Outside the plenary sessions the conference included workshops, additional panel discussions, music and magic performances and live taping of podcasts including The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. The final Amazing Meeting was held in July 2015.

<i>An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural</i> 1995 book by James Randi

An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural is a 1995 book by the conjuror and paranormal investigator James Randi, with a foreword by Arthur C. Clarke. It serves as a reference for a variety of topics within pseudoscience, the paranormal, and hoaxes. The Encyclopedia received generally positive reviews. In 2006, Randi made the work available free online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D. J. Grothe</span> American writer and public speaker (born 1973)

Douglas James Grothe is an American skeptic who has served in leadership roles for both the Center for Inquiry (CFI) and the James Randi Educational Foundation. While he was at CFI, he hosted their Point of Inquiry podcast. After leaving Point of Inquiry he hosted the radio show and podcast For Good Reason. He is particularly interested in the psychology of belief and the steps involved in deception and self-deception. His writing has been published by both Skeptical Inquirer magazine and The Huffington Post. He also co-edited On the Beauty of Science, about the worldview and life's work of the Nobel laureate Herbert Hauptman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banachek</span> English mentalist, magician, and thought reader (born 1960)

Banachek is an English mentalist, magician, and "thought reader".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skeptics in the Pub</span> Informal social event for skeptics since 1999

Skeptics in the Pub is an informal social event designed to promote fellowship and social networking among skeptics, critical thinkers, freethinkers, rationalists and other like-minded individuals. It provides an opportunity for skeptics to talk, share ideas and have fun in a casual atmosphere, and discuss whatever topical issues come to mind, while promoting skepticism, science, and rationality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chip Coffey</span> Self-proclaimed psychic and medium

Chip Coffey is an American self-proclaimed psychic from Elmira, New York, currently living in Atlanta, Georgia. He appeared as a medium on various paranormal television programs, primarily Paranormal State and Psychic Kids. On Psychic Kids he acts as a mentor towards children who claim to have psychic abilities, primarily seeing ghosts. Coffey's claims of being able to communicate with the dead have been subject to criticism by skeptics. In 2019 it was announced that Coffey will be joining Travel Channel's Kindred Spirits as the third official cast member alongside Adam Berry and Amy Bruni for the fourth season in 2020.

The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge was an offer by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) to pay out one million U.S. dollars to anyone who could demonstrate a supernatural or paranormal ability under agreed-upon scientific testing criteria. A version of the challenge was first issued in 1964. Over a thousand people applied to take it, but none was successful. The challenge was terminated in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10:23 Campaign</span> International awareness campaign against homoeopathy

The 10:23 Campaign (stylized as 1023) is an awareness and protest campaign against homoeopathy organised by the Merseyside Skeptics Society, a non-profit organisation, to oppose the sale of homoeopathic products in the United Kingdom. The campaign has staged public "overdoses" of homoeopathic preparations.

<i>Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files</i> American TV series or program

Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files is a paranormal investigation television series produced by Base Productions that began airing July 15, 2010, on SyFy. The show follows a team of investigators, led by former FBI agent Ben Hansen, who review various photographs and viral videos of alleged paranormal activity. If a particular piece of evidence is deemed intriguing enough to warrant further investigation, they set out to recreate and explain the sighting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Stollznow</span> Australian-American skeptic (born 1976)

Karen Stollznow is an Australian-American author, linguist, public speaker, and podcaster. Her books include Missed Conceptions: How We Make Sense of Infertility, On the Offensive: Prejudice in Language Past and Present, The Language of Discrimination, God Bless America: Strange and Unusual Religious Beliefs and Practices in the United States, Haunting America, Language Myths, Mysteries and Magic, Hits and Mrs, and Would You Believe It?: Mysterious Tales From People You'd Least Expect. Stollznow also writes short fiction, including the title Fisher's Ghost and Other Stories, and she is a host on the podcast Monster Talk with Blake Smith. She has written for many popular publications, including The Conversation and Psychology Today. Stollznow has also appeared as an expert on many TV shows, including A Current Affair and the History Channel's History's Greatest Mysteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Underdown</span> American skeptic, paranormal investigator

James "Jim" Underdown has been the executive director of The Center for Inquiry (CFI) West in Los Angeles since 1999. The Center for Inquiry is a non-profit educational organization with headquarters in Amherst, New York, whose primary mission is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values. CFI West is the largest facility in the organization outside Amherst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Farley</span> Software engineer & skeptic (born 1962)

Timothy Patrick Farley is a computer software engineer, writer and instructor who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an expert in computer security and reverse engineering as well as a skeptic. He was a research fellow of the James Randi Educational Foundation. Tim Farley is the creator of the website What's The Harm?, a resource where stories are documented and categorized about the damage done when people fail to use critical thinking skills. Farley was also instrumental in the apprehension of spammer "David Mabus."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Gerbic</span> American skepticism activist (born 1962)

Susan Gerbic is an American studio photographer who became known as a scientific skepticism activist, mostly for exposing people claiming to be mediums. A columnist for Skeptical Inquirer, she is the co-founder of Monterey County Skeptics and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

The Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism is a four-day conference focusing on science and skepticism founded in 2009 and held annually in New York City. NECSS is jointly run by the New York City Skeptics (NYCS) and the New England Skeptical Society (NESS). The Society for Science-Based Medicine joined as a full sponsor of the conference in 2015. As of 2016, attendance was estimated at approximately 500 people.

References

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  30. "YouTube Top 100 Most Subscribed Non-Profit & Activism Channels List – Top by Subscribers". Archived from the original on 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2018-12-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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  32. The James Randi Educational Foundation (3 January 2002). "Internet Audio Show". iTunes.
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  34. "Educational Programs". randi.org. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  35. "Finance Camp". Finance Camp.
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Further reading