2011 Jon Francis Foundation
Annual Report
The mission of The Jon Francis Foundation (JFF) is to reduce incidents of loss through
wilderness safety education and to improve the public response to missing adults.
Since we founded the Jon Francis Foundation (JFF), five years ago, we have gained some disturbing knowledge;
- In the U.S. today there are over 100,000 unsolved missing persons’ cases.
- Every 3 minutes a person over 18 years old goes missing and is often abandoned by society.
- The public sector frequently does not mandate nor provide sufficient resources and training for law enforcement to successfully find missing adults. Forty states do not require law enforcement to file a missing persons’ report or investigate the disappearance of anyone over 18 years of age.
The Jon Francis Foundation is striving to:
Raise awareness to this unmet public need -
Affect social change - Extend legal protection to missing adults.
With your help, we have achieved some results:
- JFF drove passage of legislation, in 2009, (Brandon’s Law) to extend legal protection to missing adults in Minnesota. Because of this Minnesota law, law enforcement officers are increasingly filing missing person reports in adult cases.
- JFF provided scholarships for Minnesota police officer training in missing persons’ law and procedures.
- On May 28, 2010 The Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote, "David Francis has emerged as a leading advocate for missing adults." In an interview this summer with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Patty Wetterling commended our efforts by saying, “Francis’ work is invaluable. It’s not just his persistence; it’s his reasonableness… He’s solid…”
- JFF received the 2011 Outstanding Support Award from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
- JFF offered crisis and grief support to families and individuals coping with the unresolved loss of a loved one as well as search advice and assistance to find missing persons:
(Abbey Flantz and Erica Nelson, Alaska; George Aldrich, James Nelson and Jeremy Griess, Colorado; Ron Gray, Idaho, Christina Calayca, Ontario, Canada; Justin Burkhart, Oregon; Brandon Swanson, Dan Zamlen and Brittney Landsverk, Minnesota; Joseph Bushling, Utah;
Keith Kennedy, Wisconsin; Clay Rubano and Greg Seftick, Wyoming.)
- JFF provided wilderness safety education and information to reduce incidents of injury and loss.
- JFF distributed over 5000 free safety kits, containing wilderness safety information and emergency signaling devices to keep others safer in the backcountry and gave over 70 free wilderness safety education presentations.
What’s next in 2012?
- We have elected ten new board members and four special advisors who will lead JFF into the future: Lori Beath, Mark Doneux, Marty Earley, John Feely, Michael and Megan Goodwin, Buff Grace,
Jeff Hasse, Julie MacSwain, Jeanne and Pat Martin, David Teschler, Sheila-Marie Untiedt and Janet Wilts.
- JFF will pursue the creation of an affiliation of missing adult organizations that currently are not coordinating or collaborating among themselves. This lack of coordination, by one entity, means that missing adult messages, activities and efforts are diluted and ineffective.
Thank you for your generosity and support to pass on Jon’s legacy of service to others.
Sincerely,
David Francis and the Board of Directors of the Jon Francis Foundation
Jon Francis Foundation is an approved Minnesota, nonprofit, IRS tax exempt, 501(c) (3) corporation.
