Dictionary of Terms

The Fund:
The fund is the permanent sum of money that Jasper’s Door has collected through donations. This money is invested to help it grow over time and is the main capital asset of our organization.

Donors:
Donors are individuals or organizations that give money or resources to support the Permanent Fund For The Environment.
They contribute without expecting monetary gain in return. Their support is essential for decisively funding projects and initiatives to impact climate change research.

Gifts/Donations:
Gifts or donations are the money that people give to Jasper’s Door without expecting anything in return. These funds help support the organization’s mission to create a lasting funding source for climate change research. All Gifts/Donations will be the “Permanent” part of the Permanent Fund For The Environment.

Returns/Profits:
Profits are the money made from investing in the donations that Jasper’s Door receives—this income is what we allocate to science, research, and technology development.

Projects:
A project is a research and development effort that a company, organization, or group is undertaking. If a project’s expected outcome can help stop, reverse, or delay climate change, it can be considered for profit distribution from the fund.

Principle of Realistic Utility

Before we answer all your questions, we want to clarify a guiding principle: Realistic Utility. This principle measures the opportunity cost of providing a small amount of funds to a large project.

For example, we would love to see a fusion reactor producing clean energy right now! However, donating $100,000 to ITER (the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), which operates on a multi-billion dollar budget, will not significantly impact its progress and will slow down the growth of our fund.

Therefore, every project we consider must fall within a cost range that we can afford and where we can make a substantial difference. In the early stages of the fund, we will apply this principle more frequently as the fund is still small.

With that out of the way, let’s answer your questions!

 

Where Will My Donations Go?

First, we’d like to clarify that donors’ gifts are not to be distributed but reinvested at all times.

Whatever you donate must and will be the “Permanent” part of the Permanent Fund For the Environment. As promised, what you donate will help forever.

Another point that needs to be said is that, with the utmost humility, we will learn how to best allocate funds from those who are actively participating in the research we serve.

Our training is in finance, so there’s plenty of space for learning what science and research need from us.

The point above is essential to highlight because it means that the rules for allocating profits might change to better serve the goals we’re here to achieve.

How Do You Decide Profits Distribution?

Profit Distribution Guidelines:

1) We’ll continually reinvest a minimum of 20% of profits. This guarantees fund expansion.

2) Once the minimum reserve above is set apart, if there’s any previous commitment of the fund to any project that spans multiple years, it will be prioritized above anything else.

3) Sometimes, we might reinvest 100% of the profits. A scenario like this might happen if the profits are poor (or negative) in a particular year or there’s no project we can help with according to the principle of Realistic Utility.

4) In years of extraordinary returns, we might allocate a portion of the profits to secure, liquid assets (like bonds) to guarantee donation consistency year after year. This is especially true if we commit to multi-year support for a particular project.

How Do You Choose What’s A Good Project?

We will select projects by consulting subject matter experts (such as relevant scientists, researchers, and engineers).

Particularly, for each potential candidate, we want to know the following:

• How likely is this technology to impact climate change within the next 10 and 20 years?
• What could be the potential effects on climate change?
• What are the costs and challenges of scaling this technology for meaningful use?
• How advanced is the research status? Is there a working prototype or product? How long will it take to see results?
• What kind of resources are needed to support this research?
• What are the overall chances of success in development?

We will review the responses and select all viable solutions. Then it’s time for our donors to vote.

What And How Donors Can Vote To Support Specific Projects

Donor voting is an essential part of our process. We are grateful for these amazing individuals’ support in making significant decisions.

Donors at Jasper’s Door have two key opportunities to vote for their favorite projects, influencing how profits are distributed.

The first opportunity occurs every time a donor contributes. When a donation is received, donors are asked what project they want to support.

They can choose a specific field of research, like hydrogen or fusion, or suggest a particular company or organization that aligns with the Fund’s goals.

For donors who give regularly, their last suggestion will be considered automatically with each new donation, giving them an extra vote without needing to express it again.

Of course, they can update their preference anytime.

This initial round of voting helps guide our research for new projects that will be selected using the methods above.

The second opportunity for donors to vote happens once a year when they can select their favorite projects from a list of options that scientists and researchers have identified as having the best chance of success.

We plan to hold voting every year to respond effectively to changing global conditions.

This two-step voting process allows donors to actively participate in shaping the Fund’s efforts to combat climate change.

Each donor’s votes will be proportional to their donation amount.

Voting will not occur if:

• Returns are low or
• There are prior commitments that absorb all available profits or
• There are no projects that meet the principle of Realistic Utility

 

Is Jasper investing money for donors? / Will donors receive a share of the profits?

As much as we would love to do that, the simple answer is no.

Jasper cannot act as a financial advisor or invest your money. Additionally, distributing profits back to donors would mean nothing left for environmental research, which is why Jasper’s Door exists.

Once you donate your money to the fund, your gift becomes a permanent part of our efforts to fight climate change.