Annual report : 1999 / Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

  • Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Date:
1999
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Annual report : 1999 / Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    7/92 page 3
    By Enriqueta C. Bond, Ph.D. The mission of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund is to advance the medical sciences by supporting research and other scientific and educational activities. Within this broad mandate, we place primary emphasis on basic biomedical science—tesearch aimed at discovering fundamental knowledge that will underpin efforts to improve human health and well-being. To carry out this mission, BWF’s general strategy is to support the development of promising U.S. and Canadian scientists early in their careers and to support investigators working in or entering areas of science that are undervalued or underfunded. Our financial support is channeled primarily through competitive peer-reviewed award programs, which encompass six major categories—career development of scientists, emerging infectious diseases, therapeutic sciences, repro- ductive science, interfaces in science, and science education. To complement these competitive programs, we also award grants to nonprofit organizations conducting activities to improve the general environment for science. In this report, I’d like first to survey the current landscape of philanthropic support for health research, and then to describe some of BWF’s activities during our previous fiscal year. Philanthropies and Health Research For the past several years, BWF has focused part of our effort on learning more about philanthropic contributions for health research. Because we believe so strongly in the value of supporting medical research, BWF has been networking with other like- minded foundations to explore oppor- tunities and gaps in research funding and encouraging others to consider investing in this vital area. Private philanthropy provides venture capital that is essential to the progress of medical research. Investments could be directed to support institutions, facilities or equipment, specific research projects, or the human capital of the biomedical enterprise—the individual researcher. In playing this catalytic role, private funders may find the most success by focusing their efforts—that is, by identifying opportunities or riskier areas in need of support and then targeting support within those areas. Private philanthropy provides venture capital that is essential to the progress of medical research. Although philanthropic founda- tions are heterogeneous and provide only a small amount of support in comparison to governmental and industrial support, they fill a crucial niche in medical research, and their involvement in this area should be extended. Foundations, in hand with the scientific community, should pursue policies augmenting private contributions, and they should educate potential donors about the nature of medical research, about the value of philanthropic dollars, and about ways to leverage such support. Total philanthropic giving for 1998 came to $174.52 billion, with $148.46 billion from individuals and bequests, $17.09 billion from noncor- porate foundations, and $8.97 billion from corporations. Almost $17 billion, or 9.7 percent, was given for “health.” This segment included support of health services and health facilities, such as hospitals and nursing homes; support of organizations addressing general health issues or specific dis- eases; and a small portion of support for medical research. Grantmaking foundations con- tributed $19.46 billion to nonprofit organizations in 1998, representing a 22 percent increase over 1997. This explosive growth was fueled by the prolonged bull market and the near- record levels of gifts and bequests from donors, as well as by the formation of new grantmaking organizations. Since 1980, the number of foundations has doubled to 44,000. Foundations currently spend 16.2 percent of total grant dollars, or $1.2 billion, on health. The largest share of health giving, 58 percent, goes to general and reha- bilitative services, including hospitals and medical care; reproductive health; public health; health policy; and man- agement. Of the health portion, only about $265 million, or 22 percent, goes to medical research. In contrast, government support for medical research was roughly $17 billion and industry support was $18 billion. Philanthropic organizations are a diverse group, including not only corporate and private foundations but also voluntary health organizations and medical research organizations. More recently, conversion health foundations have emerged from the sale of non- profit hospitals and private insurers. Many of the programs conducted by philanthropic organizations are small, less than $1 million per organization per year, according to a survey of 118 funders conducted by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the American Cancer Society, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Support for post- doctoral researchers and beginning investigators is especially popular. Graduate training in biomedical and
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3