Don't Forget Private Foundation Money

The Scientist this week has an article about private foundations as a source of research funding. With all the recent talk science depending on government largess, and the consequences of that funding, this piece shows that there are other ways of getting your research funded, particularly in the life sciences.

Author Carol Milano tells about foundations that fund research focusing on particular illnesses or classes of illnesses. While some foundations have familiar names like Lance Armstrong and Michael J. Fox, many smaller family foundations were also formed to fund research, often in commemoration of family members afflicted with those diseases. Milano talks about one such foundation, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer, which has given some $19 million for 80 projects in pediatric oncology over the past 10 years.  

Founded by Jay and Liz Scott of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, this foundation was named for their daughter Alexandra (Alex), who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer. At age 4, Alex set up a lemonade stand and raised $2,000 for the hospital where she received her treatments, a practice she continued every year until her death 4 years later.

Like many funders, some small family foundations have suffered the ravages of the recession and, in some cases, fallout from the Bernie Madoff scandal. But Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, according to Milano, has seen an increase in both its resources and applications.
Milano also tells how to find these foundations on the Web, including a list of grant aggregators with our very own GrantsNet among them.