New Kresge Foundation Initiative Hikes Support For Lab Renovation

The ramshackle state of some of the nation’s science labs has prompted the Kresge Foundation in Troy, Mich., to step beyond its regular pattern of giving and add a special program for upgrading scientific equipment. The foundation, with assets of more than $1 billion, traditionally restricts its funding to construction and building-renovation projects. Now, says Kresge program officer Gene Moss, the foundation expects to give away between $10 million and $20 million for scientific equipment over the next two years—that is, if the foundation sees enough proposals that meet its requirements. And Moss is not sure that it will. The Kresge program is not a simple “what do you need” offer, he says. Indeed, the foundation challenges any institution interested in its dollars to raise half the cost of a particular equipment-upgrading project. The package can include less expensive equipment like oscilloscopes as well as a major purchase like an NMR spectrometer plus any building remodeling necessary to house the equipment. Then Kresge will pay the other half of the price, but only on the additional condition that the institution also raises an endowment for future upgrades. The endowment must total at least twice the cost of the current project. The offer extends to four-year colleges and universities, teaching hospitals, medical schools, and independent research institutions. Kresge’s idea is to encourage institutions not just to improve their equipment but to plan ahead for future upgrades. The foundation also hopes to inspire mixing of public and private funding. The money to match Kresge’s grants is certainly available, according to Moss, especially for creative fund-raisers. One big area of opportunity that he sees is for institutions to refine their strategies for soliciting named gifts from private donors. For example, asking for a laboratory—which is easy for lay donors to visualize—may be more compelling than requesting funding for specific research or even for specialized equipment. Kresge’s regular grants program also requires matching funds, and based on his experiences with those proposals, Moss predicts where the shoals lie in the equipment initiative. “The main difficulty is incomplete planning,” he says. “Obviously, what something costs depends on when you sign the contract. But if an institution tells us, We will raise $3 million dollars and build what that buys at the end of the campaign,’ we would consider that a weak proposal.” The foundation is looking for detailed, thoughtful plans with preliminary financing in place, so that the Kresge gift would be for what Moss calls “a capturing of the project,” fitting in the final puzzle piece. Putting together this type of proposal demands spirited cooperation among researchers, department heads, development officers specializing in public funds, and those officers’ traditional rivals specializing in private funds. Achieving this sort of teamwork is not easy. As Moss says, “That’s where the real snarl lies.” “It’s too early to tell how many institutions will meet Kresge’s requirements,” he notes. “The foundation only started accepting applications in April.” The foundation is still accepting proposals for its traditional “bricks-and mortar” funding—new buildings or structural renova- tions. In fact, Moss has seen a rise in the number of proposals for science-related buildings in this program. “We’ve been open to science projects all along, but a lot of people thought of us as the people who build gyms,” he says. “Of course we want an institution to bring us its own highest priority; we don’t want to bias the process. If it’s what the place needs now, go ahead and bring us that gym.”

New Kresge Foundation Initiative Hikes Support For Lab Renovation

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