The Challenges of Research Funding

From Eddie Pelto, Director of Development

Just a few weeks ago, the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation’s grants review committee – comprising scientists and patient advocates – took on the task of deciding which of the 200 research grant applications we received would be approved for funding. PDF had the resources to fund only 10 worthy projects.

Researchers working on innovative, viable projects continually face the challenge of limited available funding. And funders, such as government agencies and foundations like PDF, have to make difficult choices based on available resources.

How can PDF meet the challenge to find sufficient funds to support the most promising research in tough economic times?

One of the ways we can do this is with a different kind of challenge, one that helps everyone.  If you have recently visited PDF’s website, you know that during the month of April, Parkinson’s Awareness Month, we are raising funds to meet the Light of Day Foundation $100,000 Challenge.

Challenge grants are funds given to a non-profit organization upon completion of certain requirements, such as raising funds. The challenge refers to the results that must be achieved before money is released.

In PDF’s case, the Light of Day Foundation asks that we raise $100,000 from our supporters and if we do, they will match all donations we receive by Tuesday, April 30!

And the best part is that with a challenge like this, everybody wins.  You are not only doubling the impact of your gift to Parkinson’s research, you are helping to double the impact of the grant maker’s gift too!

We may not be able to fund all of the applications we receive. But every bit helps us in funding more promising research until we overcome the ultimate challenge: ending Parkinson’s.

Take a look at what Bob Benjamin, Founder of the Light of Day Foundation has to say about the challenge:

Friday's Tip: PDF Champions

Obtaining in-kind donation(s) for your PDF Champions event can make all the difference! In-kind donations can help increase the amount you are able to donate to Parkinson's research by keeping your expenses down.

In-kind donations are those donations that are done in goods and services rather than monetarily.

Start by brainstorming.  The easiest way is to make a list of all your PDF Champions event expenses. Take a look and see what items you could potentially have donated. Here are some examples: food, beverages, rental fees, printing, basic supplies, etc.

Identify one sponsor that you can approach.  Inside your PDF Champions Welcome Packet you will find a sample donation letter that you can use as a guide for approaching any business to donation to the Parkinson's cause. Don't be afraid to approach any type of business, whether you have a personal connect with them or not. Companies are very willing to help out in their communities, especially when they know the proceeds will be coming to a great charity like Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

Offer to promote their business in exchange for their service. Add their logo to the invitations, t-shirts or event signage. Invite them to have a presence at the event by setting up an information table. The possibilities are endless. Be sure to ask them what would be the most beneficial for their company.

Remember: The Cure Begins With YOU!

A Real Pro: Lenny Zwick’s Pro-Am Raises $55,000

From the sounds of laughter and the jokes among golfers at the Fifth Annual Zwick Pro-Am last Wednesday, it became immediately apparent to any observer that Lenny Zwick had left behind an inspiring legacy. Held at the Farms Country Club in Wallingford, CT, the Pro-Am benefited PDF’s research programs with more than $55,000 and honored the late Mr. Zwick, who lived with Parkinson’s for 25 years.

Photo credit: http://farmsccsuperintendent.blogspot.com

The crowd included more than one hundred of the friends, family and fellow club members who knew him well. Club pro and close family friend, Jim Hanlon served as the master of ceremonies and evoked Mr. Zwick’s spirit to bring the crowd to its feet more than a few times. Mr. Zwick’s family, including daughter Stacey, wife Susan and granddaughter Bianca, were glowing with pride and gratitude during the Pro-Am.

Mrs. Zwick reminded everyone of just the kind of man her husband was, “Lenny was a fighter. Even when the Parkinson’s was really taking hold and he played a bad game he would come home and say 'Ah! It was that [darn] shot.' It was never ‘that [darn] Parkinson’s!'"

Mr. Hanlon acknowledged the dedicated team that helps put this successful Pro-Am together each year, including the Farms Country Club and Dave Melillo, remarking, “The most amazing thing has been that we only had to ask for help once and that was the first year…ever since then every year I get a call asking, ‘What can I do?’”

At PDF, we are grateful for this dedication. We often say that our Champions – grassroots fundraisers like this group of Zwick family members and friends – keep us inspired daily. There was no exception to this rule at the Pro-Am, which has now raised over $250,000 over the course of five years to support PDF’s research programs.

Read about other inspiring PDF Champions on our website. To find out how you can help by organizing your own Champions event, contact us at info@pdf.org.

Thank You, Brilliant Challenge Raises $400,000

The Parkinson's Disease Foundation (PDF) is very excited to announce that it has raised $400,000 through the Irving G. Brilliant Parkinson’s Research Challenge, all of which will be directed towards Parkinson’s research programs.

It was only because of your support - our donors and friends to whom the fight against Parkinson's is a priority - that we were able to surpass our original goal. How did we do it? Here's our story behind the challenge.

March, The Challenge Begins!
As you may remember, on March 30, PDF announced the launch of the challenge, by Mr. Brilliant, a businessman from Brooklyn, New York who lives Parkinson’s. Mr. Brilliant offered to match all gifts made during April, for up to $100,000.

April, The Challenge Doubles
On April 28, we announced with excitement that due to a generous gift by The Light of Day Foundation and Mr. Bob Benjamin, PDF far surpassed the original challenge goal.

Upon hearing about Mr. Benjamin's gift, Mr. Brilliant DOUBLED his challenge, promising to match any gifts for up to $200,000 made by Thursday, June 30.

May and June, More Than 1,000 Supporters
The community responded with enthusiasm to the doubling of the challenge. To date, more than 1,000 people have donated well over $200,000.

Mr. Brilliant is matching the $200,000 with his own generous donation, meaning a total of $400,000 will be directed towards Parkinson's research.

$400,000 for Parkinson’s Research
Thank you all for your generosity. As my colleague Eddie Pelto discussed several months ago, the fact that many donations were of modest size shows the impact of our grassroots community.

Stay tuned to our website next week, when we’ll announce our fiscal year 2012 research grants, so you can see the research your funds will support. As always this research is designed to bring us closer to understanding the cause(s) of and a cure for Parkinson's.

Sincerely,

Robin Elliott

A Season of Giving

From Eddie Pelto, Director of Development

Each December, many of us prepare for holiday festivities with family and friends. Sometimes this includes shopping for gifts – it is, after all, the traditional ‘season of giving.’

In keeping with that sentiment, it is also at this time of year that millions of people choose to make their charitable contributions. At PDF, year-end giving accounts for 20 percent of our overall annual revenue. As we have mentioned previously, much of this support comes from individual supporters around the country.

We rely on the generosity of new and returning supporters during the holiday season to make our plans for the coming year. This year alone we were able to give away $5.5 million dollars to researchers in the US and around the world who are searching for a cure for Parkinson’s disease. We could not have done that without the thousands of individual gifts we receive from you.

So at this time of year, we express thanks to those of you who made our programs possible. We also hope that you will remember PDF at this time of year.

If you want your donation to count for 2010 tax-returns, you must act before December 31st. Some last-minute actions you can take to invest today:

• Charge the donation by credit card. Even though you don't pay the credit card bill until next year, the donation by December 31, 2010, is good for 2010 – you can make your donation securely online at PDF’s website http://support.pdf.org or by simply calling us at (800) 457-6676.
• Mail a check by Friday, December 31. As long as you put it in the mail, the donation is treated as made in 2010 even though the charity doesn't receive the check or cash it until 2011.
• Make a gift of stock. If you wish to make a gift of securities please have your broker contact us at (800) 457-6676 to let us know of your contribution – it’s a fast and simple way to make a big difference.
• Don’t forget matching gifts. Does your employer match contributions? Be sure to check with your human resources department and fill out the simple paperwork which could as much as double or triple your gift to PDF. You can also search for your company on PDF's website.

We consider your gift an investment in the programs that will bring us closer to the goal we all share: to understand and find the cure to Parkinson's disease and related movement disorders; and, for as long as this search continues, to ensure that those individuals and families who live with Parkinson's are able to achieve and maintain the best possible quality of life.

That is truly a gift that keeps on giving.

Happy Holidays!

Every Donation Makes A Difference

From Eddie Pelto, Director of Development

The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (PDF) Parkinson’s Awareness Month Challenge was an incredible success. Throughout the month of April, we challenged our friends and supporters to help us raise $50,000 online, which would be matched by PDF’s Board of Directors for a total of $100,000 to fund a Parkinson's disease (PD) researcher. PDF beat this goal and raised nearly $70,000 from our supporters. With the match gift from our board, the total raised was nearly $120,000. One of the researchers supported with the proceeds from the challenge is Sonia George, Ph.D., from the University of Minnesota, who is studying The Role of Alpha-Synuclein in Parkinson’s Disease Dementia and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) in the hope that the results may suggest new therapeutic approaches for both PD and DLB.

Here are some interesting facts about this campaign:

• 497 people contributed nearly $70,000


• $138 was the average gift size, but...


• ...in reality, the achievement was fueled in large part by the many donors who gave gifts of $5, $10 and $20.

This highlights the importance of small donations in funding research. Talk about fundraising often heaps praise and attention on “major donors.” While the support of these generous donors is invaluable, we cannot forget to thank the people who are contributing between $5 and $100, a group that this fiscal year, accounts for 65 percent of PDF’s donors and a total of $1.2 million in revenue!

This is not the only instance in which PDF has observed the importance of smaller donations. Through PDF’s grassroots fundraising program, PDF Champions, we have seen that when grassroots fundraisers successfully raise $5,000 or $10,000 for PDF by hosting their own events – their support almost always comes through multiple modest donations given by their own friends, family and business associates.

It’s clear from the Awareness Month Challenge and these other examples, that every contribution makes a difference and everyone can support Parkinson’s research. If you would like to play a part, one way to do so is by becoming a PDF Champion. Sign up and create a simple fundraising page on our website. You don’t need to run a race or throw a party. Some PDF Champions simply create a page in honor of a loved one, tell their friends they are raising funds to fight Parkinson’s disease and direct them to their personal web page.

To find out about other ways to support PDF, visit www.pdf.org/en/support_pdf.

Thank you for your support of PDF during April and throughout the entire year.