FUNDING FORUM | Private Research Funding Falters
Awards by charitable foundations are expected to decline for the first time in twenty years, and the life science community has already experienced the pain. Funding will at best remain flat, and most likely decrease in 2003, says Steven Lawrence, director of research for the Foundation Center in New York City. Declining endowment values reflect receding returns in the stock market, where most charities invest their endowments. "A few years ago, our endowment peaked at $13 billion (US)," says Avis Meehan, vice president for communications and public affairs at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "Now it's at $10 billion."
HHMI has announced laboratory budget cuts of as much as 20% over the next two years. "Even if you're not losing money, you're continuing to spend it, so your endowment declines," Meehan says. HHMI is not alone. With more than 75% of its endowment tied ...
