The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

This campaign is a chance for you to back the present and the future of vertebrate paleontology! The 84th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology will be held October 30-November 2, 2024, in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology is the leading international scientific society for the study of the vertebrate fossil record, and the annual meeting is the largest global gathering of vertebrate paleontologists each year. We expect about 1,300 scientists, avocational paleontologists, educators, paleoartists, students, and more from universities, museums, government agencies, and communities around the world to converge on the Twin Cities to present the latest research and science on fossil dinosaurs, mammals, and fish and more. The meeting is also a chance for the participants to network, discuss ongoing and plan future research with each other, learn about new developments in the preparation, mounting, and display of vertebrate fossils, and discuss education and outreach based on vertebrate fossils. A key event in this annual celebration of vertebrate evolution is the Welcome Reception held the first night that is free to all those registered for and attending the meeting. This is always held at a local natural history museum, and this year it will be at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, which has numerous displays of fossils in its galleries as well as various other permanent and travelling exhibits.

This fundraiser has two main targets. The first is to help with fundraising to pay for the Welcome Reception, which is the main job of the Host Committee, a group of scientists at institutions in the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota who are volunteering to help organize the annual meeting. The reception is always a highlight of the conference, but the Host Committee has not yet reached the budget to cover the costs of food, drink, and museum and catering staff to make the party happen. The second target is to get Milo Yeates (the science-communicator behind @masiakasaurus on TikTok) to the meeting so that he can create new video content on the newest discoveries in vertebrate paleontology! If we exceed our fundraising goal, we will contribute the extra money to the SVP Futures Award, a new grant program that supports summer research experiences for undergraduates from underrepresented minority backgrounds. So if you love fossils and the scientists who study them and bring them to life and want to know more about them, please contribute to this campaign!