The Research Foundation of the AANS enjoyed a very good year in 1997, as our overall campaign raised close to $380,000 for neuroscience research. As a result of this successful campaign, we were able to approve five grant applications in 1998 (see story above). This year’s campaign can exceed last year’s impressive results, but only with the expanded help of AANS members.
The highlight of our most recent campaign has been the exponential increase in corporate support through our Corporate Associates Program. Setting the pace is a very generous gift of $80,000 from Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, which allowed them to attach the Rhone-Poulenc name to one of our 1998 Young Clinician Investigator Awards. Right behind is another generous gift of $50,000 from the Synthes Groups. (Additional corporate gifts are outlined below.) We are up to 17 Corporate Associates as of this writing, with more companies signing on every month. We applaud these progressive companies, and encourage our members to support them, as well.
Our Supporting Level Corporate Associates, who give at least $25,000 each year, participate in the Corporate Advisory Council, which reviews issues that may impact the scope and direction of the Research Foundation. In the past year, titles to 10 meritorious but unfunded research project applications were shared with this body, paving the way for potentially increased funding for several studies. The closer working relationship we are building with our corporate supporters now enhances opportunities for significant advances in neuroscience, and could foster the creation of new grant categories in outcomes studies and clinical applications.
Not to be outdone, we clinicians must step forward and do our part to support this important initiative. The challenge is there to show our own support for our Research Foundation. Grants from the Research Foundation not only encompass some of the most promising neuroscience studies conducted in the United States today, but help pave the way for sustained funding from institutional sources such as the NIH. See what some of our past winners, your colleagues, say about the Research Foundation:
“I applaud the AANS for the establishment of the Research Foundation, and I implore them to continue to fund this important resource. It is imperative that we, as an academic organization, continue to encourage academic productivity from our junior members through efforts such as the Research Foundation.”
William T. Couldwell, MD, 1993 Young Clinician Investigator
“Research funding is becoming progressively more difficult to obtain. Young investigators are subject to the ‘Catch-22’ phenomenon of not being able to obtain funding because they have no track record. However, they do not have a track record because they have not been able to obtain research funding. The award permits a young investigator to establish an independent laboratory, and begin to accumulate data and experience that can lead to later funding.”
Kenneth A. Follett, MD, 1991 Young Clinician Investigator
“The goal of aiding young neurosurgeons to attain valuable research experience is an extremely important one, and the Foundation should be encouraged in its current efforts.”
John Aranypur, MD, 1988 Research Fellow
Soon, I will be asking each of you, as members of the AANS, to support the future of our profession. It is through the type of basic research being funded by your Research Foundation that we can improve our specialty and the lives of our patients.
Donors who support the Research Foundation will be recognized in the spring issue of the Bulletin, on our Web site NEUROSURGERY://ON-CALL ®, and will have their name on display on the Donor Wall at the 1999 AANS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Gifts from groups of $1,000 or more also will be acknowledged as “Neurosurgical Group Supporters.”
All members should consider joining the Cushing Scholars Circle, with a minimum donation of $1,000 for a Cum Laude designation (see chart below). Established last year, gifts of $1,000 or more will receive an invitation to the Cushing Orator Luncheon, the most prestigious event at out Annual Meeting. Gifts of less than $1,000 also will be noted by category.
Giving to the Research Foundation is easy. Most give by check, but there are other ways: You can make a pledge, and pay via invoiced installments. Or, you can give by credit card. The most advantageous method is a gift of appreciated stock or other securities. If you itemize, you may be able to deduct the full market value of the gift, and avoid all taxation on the capital gain. Call John O’Connell, our Fund Development Officer, at (847) 692-9500, or e-mail him at [email protected] to learn of the ways you can maximize your gift.
Gifts can be made in tribute or memory of a loved one or a mentor. There is no greater honor in ensuring the future of our specialty than through remembering someone who helped you achive your current measure of success. Memorial and tribute gifts will be listed on our recognition sites, and surviving family members will be notified of your generosity.
Also, remember to name a gift to your Research Foundation through a specific mention in your will or estate trust. Gifts after death keep on giving and are a key source of our charitable support. Life income plans also can be structured, giving you and your family a significant source of retirement income, while ultimately benefiting this Foundation.