Annual Report Financial Year January 2009 to December 2009.

You can read the detailed accounts by clicking here.

During the year the Institute’s programme grants and expenditure totalled £236,760 against its
income of £195,095 providing a deficit for the year of £41,665 which has been met from the
reserves. The accumulated funds at 31 December 2008 amount to £32,686.

The trustees have continued with the policy, commenced in 2008, to commit more of the Institute’s expenditure each year to charitable activities than is spent on its fundraising and overheads.

The Board of Trustees bring expertise in the areas of business, law, communications, education, the voluntary sector, banking and charities, in addition to their knowledge of conservation and ecology.

A wide variety of fundraising projects were undertaken during the period and further events have continued and are planned subsequent to the period end. These projects assist both in raising funds for the Institute and raising the profile of the Institute and the work it undertakes. In addition to the continuing fundraising projects, further events are planned in the current period to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jane Goodall’s arrival at the Gombe Upstream Chimpanzee Reserve. These projects and the support of sponsors and donors, such as the Blue Sky Foundation and Tesco Charity Trust, have helped the Institute raise substantial funds in the current year in addition to raising awareness of the work of the Institute.
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The fundraising efforts of the Institute were put to good use during the year with a substantial
contribution to assist in the development of the chimpanzee sanctuary in Tchimpounga in Congo. Our Tchimpounga Sanctuary is the largest chimpanzee sanctuary in Africa and urgently requires our support as it is bursting at the seams. We will continue to work with JGI’s around the world to support innovative plans to increase its capacity for the better welfare of the chimpanzees by expanding onto 3 river islands where a more natural environment will be available and where we can continue our care, rehabilitation and non-invasive research of rescued chimpanzees.

In addition we also helped continue to fulfil our mission by funding the incredible continuing study of chimpanzees at Gombe in Tanzania – now one of the longest running studies of animals in the wild, and which now employs local people as part of the research team – and continues to provide extensive insights into our closest relatives’ emotions, behaviours and social structures. The ongoing research and the extensive conservation work carried on there by the Institute are helping answer such compelling questions as how certain diseases are spread, how to stop forest destruction, which contributes to climate change, and how to improve the plight of women in developing countries. The impact of the Gombe research spans the globe and covers a wide range of scientific disciplines, including human evolution, ethology, anthropology, behavioural psychology, sociology, conservation, disease transmission (including HIV-AIDS), aging and geospatial mapping.

During the year the JGI Roots & Shoots programme was expanded further both in terms of the
number of groups and young people enrolling in the programme and the range of tools and support provided for the activities undertaken by the groups. At the end of 2009, over 600 schools and groups had registered in the programme to promote environmental and humanitarian awareness amongst young people in the United Kingdom. The number of schools and groups enrolling in the programme has continued to grow subsequent to the year end and currently around 1,000 groups are registered and are undertaking a wide variety of projects and activities. JGI Roots & Shoots has extended the exciting array of interactive internet educational tools for the young people and their teachers and guides during the year.