Posts Tagged ‘funding’

Fund Scientific Research at 3AM

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

cut-science-funding.jpg
(photo credit: Mark Ramsay)

Heard of Kickstarter? That new site where anyone with an idea and a plan to make it happen can raise money from the unwashed masses? Well until now it’s mostly been used to help bands record their breakout albums, help designers raise capital to manufacture life-improving products, and help slightly off do-gooders pay for various swing-installation projects.

But now scientists are getting in on the action. From the Kickstarter-funded Mexican quail research expedition to the new academics-only crowdfunding site Open Genius, the doors are open for promising researchers to avoid the pain of securing traditional government and foundation funding.

Which means that you have a unique opportunity to directly impact research you care about. It’s one thing to donate to a cancer research fund (which is a totally awesome thing to do, by the way), but it’s another thing entirely to choose the lab you want to support.

This is also a great opportunity to exercise your advocacy muscles. With just a little prodding and a link to a well-designed website, you can double, triple, or quadruple your donation by talking to friends or posting your pitch online.

Never underestimate the power of peer pressure and one-click donations.

Can a nonprofit go out of business?

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Yes! A nonprofit can “go out of business,” so to speak. There are all sorts of reasons why an organization would shut down. The most common reason is lack of funding. Almost all nonprofits rely on donors and foundations to cover the costs of staff salaries and all other overhead expenses. If and when funding sources dry up, many nonprofits have no option but to close their doors. Additionally, some nonprofits are actually formed with the intention of “going out of business” at a certain point – once their mission has been accomplished and they no longer need to exist.