Hey! This is really important and very very cool! It’s great that your grandparents trust you to handle this.
There are obviously dozens of ways to approach this, and I am neither a grantmaker nor a scientist, but for the sake of starting a conversation, here’s how I might approach this question:
Step 0: Make some time to think about it. Maybe take a week off work. I’d also went to schedule in some check-ins with people who will give me good advice as I go through this process.
Step 1: Make a list of LOTS of different research areas. I’d especially focus on areas that we really need breakthroughs in over the next couple decades (eg clean energy) or areas that have been historically neglected (eg schistosomiasis; women’s health).
Step 2: Make a short list of areas to look into further, mostly based on my intuition. For example, menopause symptoms seem to affect a lot of people, but I rarely hear much about menopause research—could that be an area worth funding?
Step 3: Use Google Scholar to look for what’s been published recently. Try to find some literature reviews that will give an idea of open questions in the field.
Step 4: Identify a few prominent authors who have published recently. Email them asking for their advice. For example, I recently emailed four menopause researchers asking their view on whether it would be better to fund research into menopause treatments, some other area of research, or education of women and doctors. Two replied, one with a very useful email, saying that treatment research is already very well funded but
“There is a need for more research into understanding how menopause affects women’s bodies. For example we know women gain central fat at menopause and that this increases their risk for diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer and dementia in later life but we really do not fully understand why this occurs.”
Step 5: Based on this fairly haphazard system, hopefully you’ve identified lots of donation opportunities! The next step is to narrow down to the best of the opportunities you’ve identified.
My impression is that if you’ve identified particular area(s) you’re interested in funding, you can often find a charity who will grantmaker for you in that area. For example, if I wanted to fund basic research in menopause, I’d work with the International Menopause Society—they already offer one researcher grant, so I’d offer another, perhaps focused on a particular area.
Hopefully others can improve on this system, or suggest alternatives. Good luck!
Hey! This is really important and very very cool! It’s great that your grandparents trust you to handle this.
There are obviously dozens of ways to approach this, and I am neither a grantmaker nor a scientist, but for the sake of starting a conversation, here’s how I might approach this question:
Step 0: Make some time to think about it. Maybe take a week off work. I’d also went to schedule in some check-ins with people who will give me good advice as I go through this process.
Step 1: Make a list of LOTS of different research areas. I’d especially focus on areas that we really need breakthroughs in over the next couple decades (eg clean energy) or areas that have been historically neglected (eg schistosomiasis; women’s health).
Step 2: Make a short list of areas to look into further, mostly based on my intuition. For example, menopause symptoms seem to affect a lot of people, but I rarely hear much about menopause research—could that be an area worth funding?
Step 3: Use Google Scholar to look for what’s been published recently. Try to find some literature reviews that will give an idea of open questions in the field.
Step 4: Identify a few prominent authors who have published recently. Email them asking for their advice. For example, I recently emailed four menopause researchers asking their view on whether it would be better to fund research into menopause treatments, some other area of research, or education of women and doctors. Two replied, one with a very useful email, saying that treatment research is already very well funded but
“There is a need for more research into understanding how menopause affects women’s bodies. For example we know women gain central fat at menopause and that this increases their risk for diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer and dementia in later life but we really do not fully understand why this occurs.”
Step 5: Based on this fairly haphazard system, hopefully you’ve identified lots of donation opportunities! The next step is to narrow down to the best of the opportunities you’ve identified.
My impression is that if you’ve identified particular area(s) you’re interested in funding, you can often find a charity who will grantmaker for you in that area. For example, if I wanted to fund basic research in menopause, I’d work with the International Menopause Society—they already offer one researcher grant, so I’d offer another, perhaps focused on a particular area.
Hopefully others can improve on this system, or suggest alternatives. Good luck!