Founded | 1996 |
---|---|
Founder | James Randi |
Type | 501(c)(3) |
Registration no. | 65-0649443 |
Location | |
Key people
|
James Randi, Chairman, Board of Directors and Acting President Rick Adams, Secretary, Board of Directors Daniel "Chip" Denman, Board of Directors Barb Drescher, Educational Programs Consultant |
Revenue
|
US $887,595 in 2013. US $1,293,878 in 2012. US $1,564,266 in 2011. US$852,445 (2009) 38% on 2008. 17% on 2009. |
Employees
|
2 |
Volunteers
|
50 |
Slogan | An Educational resource on the paranormal, pseudoscientific, and the supernatural |
Mission | To promote Critical Thinking and Investigate Claims of the Paranormal |
Website | web |
US $887,595 in 2013. US $1,293,878 in 2012. US $1,564,266 in 2011.
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) was started as an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission 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. In September 2015, the organization said it would change to a grant-making foundation.
The organization administered the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered 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 One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge was terminated in 2015. The JREF also maintains a legal defense fund to assist persons who are attacked as a result of their investigations and criticism of people who make paranormal claims.
The organization has been funded through member contributions, grants, and conferences, though it will no longer accept donations or memberships after 2015. The JREF website publishes a (nominally daily) blog at randi.org, Swift, which includes the latest JREF news and information, as well as exposés of paranormal claimants.