“Ins and Outs” of Foundations

1. “Ins and Outs” of Foundations

2. Purpose: • Sketch the Foundation “World” in general • Focus on foundations that support health research • Convince you: • Foundations have a unique role in research • To consider applying for foundation support of your research

3. Today’s Presentation I. Numbers II. Foundations III. $! IV. The Process V. Some Websites

4. U.S. Health Research and Development Expenditures Private Foundations 4% Federal 44% Industry 52% 1996 Total = $35.8 billion Source: Health Care Financing Administration

5. Academic Health Center Research Revenues (1997$) 9% Foundations, Voluntaries, etc. 68% - FederalGovernment 9% - Faculty Practice 1% State/Local Government 14% Industry Source: Foundation Giving, 1998

6. Foundations’ Share of Private Philanthropy Foundations Bequests 8.8% 8.0% Corporations 5.2% Individuals 78.0% Source: Foundation Giving, 1999

7. Giving in 1998 Religion $76.06 (43.6%) Education $24.56 (14.1%) Health $16.99 (9.7%) Human Services $16.08 (9.2%) Foundations $16.94 (9.7%) Arts, Culture,and Humanities $10.53 (6.0%) Public/Society Benefit $10.86 (6.2%) Environment/Wildlife $5.25 (3.0%) International Affairs $2.14 (1.2%) $ inBillions

8. U.S. Foundations - Grants by Major Categories 15% - Human Services 24% - Education 17% - Health 2% - Religion 4% - Int’l Affairs 13% - Arts & Humanities 12% - Public/Society Benefit 3% - Social Science 5% - Science & Technology 5% - Environment & Animals Source: Foundation Giving, 1999

9. U.S. Foundations - Grants for Education Subcategories of Giving 20% - Graduate & Professional 42% - Higher Education 2% Other 26% - Elementary & Secondary 1% Student Services 4% Educational Services 5% Library Science/Libraries Source: Foundation Giving, 1999

10. U.S. Foundations - Grants for Health, Subcategories of Giving 6% Reproductive Health Care 3% General & Other Rehabilitative 3% Policy & Management 30% Hospital & Medical Care 9% Public Health 4% Health Care Financing 11% Specific Diseases 19% Medical Research 14% Mental Health Source: Foundation Giving, 1999

11. Ten Largest Foundations Supporting Health/Medical Research Source: Foundation Giving Trends, 2000

12. Ten Largest Foundations Supporting Health/Medical Research Source: Foundation Giving Trends, 2001

13. Today’s Presentation I. Numbers II. Foundations III. $! IV. The Process V. Some Websites

14. Special Role of Foundations “Uniquely qualified to initiate thought and action, experiment with new and untried ventures, dissent from prevailing attitudes, and act quickly and flexibly.” 1965 Treasury Report

15. Strengths of Philanthropic Support • Move quickly to fill a gap • Function as neutral conveners • Model successful approaches • Develop information for policy debate • Fund politically unpopular areas of research • Take risks

16. Limitations of Philanthropy • Limited funds to commit to research • Less willingness to support overhead or infrastructure • Desire to model and move on • Tendency to carry out own program rather than work collaboratively

17. What are Foundations? Non profit, non-governmental organizations of different types • company sponsored (Merck) • operating (HHMI) • community (Cleveland) • independent (BWF)

18. Grants by Foundation Type Total # Grants: 46,800 Total $: $19.5 billion Corporate fdns $2,446.1 (12.6%) Community fdns $1,457.8 (7.5%) Independent fdns $14,933.6 76.8% Operating fdns $619.3 (3.2%) Source: Foundation Today Series, 2000

19. Corporations and Their Foundations: Merck • Derive funds from a for-profit company • Grants generally related to the business efforts • 60% of pharmaceutical and computer corporate contributions were product donations

20. An Operating Foundation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute • Hires its grant recipients (scientists) as employees • Provides long-term support to permit risk taking and protection from working on politically unpopular research

21. Community Foundations: Cleveland Foundation • In a good position to receive individual dollars • Limited tradition of support for biomedical and basic research • More beginning to move into this area • Identification of research and approaches are issues • The Cleveland Foundation Story as a Model

22. Conversion Foundations: Jewish Healthcare Foundation of Pittsburgh • Generally a sub-class of independent foundations. • Formed from dollars derived when nonprofit health institutions convert to profit making (e.g. sale of a private hospital) • Many new foundations of this type • flexibility

23. Independent Foundations:Burroughs Wellcome Fund • Established by a philanthropist with a mission • Mission strategies determined by an independent Board of Directors • Scope of funding can vary • Includes many small, family foundations: McDonnell Foundation

24. Today’s Presentation I. Numbers II. Foundations III. $! IV. Clinical Research V. Some Websites

25. Where does the money come from? ~5%

26. OUCH!

27. well . . .

28. Many organizations support small programs

29. Today’s Presentation I. Numbers II. Foundations III. $! IV. The Process V. Some Websites

30. The Key to Success: Identifying the best foundations to approach….

31. Many Foundations • Support basic research • Support health services research • Support specific disease-oriented research

32. Foundations, Voluntaries and Medical Research • Juvenile Diabetes Fndn. http://www.jdf.org/ • Doris Duke Charitable Fndn. http://ddcf.aibs.org/medical/index.asp • James S. McDonnell Fndn. http://www.jsmf.org/ • Amer. Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org/ • Amer. Heart Assoc. http://www.americanheart.org/ • Amer. Diabetes Assoc. http://www.diabetes.org/

33. Doris Duke Charitable Fndn. A large diverse foundation that also supports medical research: “The Medical Research Program of the DDCF currently seeks to support clinical research and address the gap between the exponential increase in basic biomedical discoveries and their application to improve human health. We believe that a vigorous clinical research enterprise is essential for the timely translation of basic research findings into new treatments, preventions, and cures for human diseases.”

34. McDonnell Fndn • 3 current program areas: • Bridging mind, brain & behavior • Studying Complex Systems • Brain Cancer Research • “Despite its costly human toll, brain cancer is a relatively under-funded area of cancer biology research. The Foundation is particularly interested in supporting novel research that will generate new knowledge leading to increased rates of survival and improve functional recovery for individuals with brain cancer.”

35. Another Source: “Voluntaries” American Cancer Society • “As the nation’s largest private, not-for-profit source of funds for scientists studying cancer, the American Cancer Society focuses its funding on investigator-initiated, peer-reviewed proposals.” • $119M for research in 2000

36. BWF Mission “To advance the medical sciences by supporting research and other scientific and educational activities”

37. Competitive versus Ad Hoc Grants Ad Hoc Grants Competitive Grants 15% 85%

38. Next Steps • Competitive Programs: • Work with grants office to identify foundations in research area • Review websites for program specifics • Contact responsible program officer to verify that your research idea falls in target area • Contact at least 2 successful grantees • Apply

39. Next Steps: • Ad Hoc Opportunities: • Work with your Foundation liaison office to determine feasibility and as partner in process • Opportunities more for infrastructure and special one-time activities such as special conferences that will have an impact • Look carefully at the competitive programs --Is there a match? • Email, call – don’t visit unless invited

40. Next Steps: Ad Hoc (continued): • Initially contact by email • Use plain English: what do you care about? Why does it matter? Why is it a prime candidate for a risk-taking funder?

41. 5 Focus Areas: • Basic Biomedical Sciences • Emerging Infectious Diseases • Interfaces in Science • Translational Research • Science Education • Strategy: support young investigators early in their careers with bridging grants - $500K

42. Today’s Presentation I. Numbers II. Foundations III. $! IV. The Process V. Some Websites

43. Web Sites • General Foundation Funding • Council on Foundations www.cof.org • The Foundation Center www.fdncenter.org • Grantmakers in Health www.gih.org • Grantsnet www.grantsnet.org • Guidestar (tax returns) www.guidestar.org

44. Web Sites • Foundation and non-profit sector information • Chronicle of Philanthropy www.philanthropy.com • Philanthropy Journal www.pj.org • Worth Magazine www.worth.com • Fdn. News and Commentarywww.cof.org

45. Foundations with few $ Can Play an Important Role in Research: Encourage you to consider foundations as funders for: • unique areas • More risky research • Interdisciplinary research • Politically sensitive research • Special activities

46. “One thing is certain…If you never write a grant,you will never get a grant.” Tsang and Oh, 1986

47. Reasons to Seek Funding • You have a coalition but have no funds. • You have a coalition project that requires additional funding. • You have received an RFP (Request for Proposal) from federal/state agency or foundation. • Your position depends on grant support. • You are trying to fund a position for another individual.

48. Why Seek Research Funding? • Funding for immunization coalitions has waned, making it harder for coalitions to continue and/or initiate activities • Funding sources (e.g., APA, CDC, CMS) often seek competent organizations to test immunization initiatives

49. Sources of Funding

50. Federal Agencies • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) • Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine (ATPM) • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)