/PRNewswire/ -- Aflac, the company that helps employers enhance benefits offerings to employees, today announced it will donate a total of $1,060,000 to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) to help defray the costs facing cancer researchers. The three-year scholarship awards focus on career development, scholar-in-training; a special program for high school students, and a task force on pediatric oncology. The company is announcing the scholarships this evening at the AACR-Aflac Incorporated Scholar Awards Reception in Orlando, Florida. A total of 43 researchers will receive scholarship funds from an initial installment of $265,000.
"Finding a cure for cancer has been our primary philanthropic cause for more than 15 years," Aflac Foundation President Kathelen Amos said. "Finding a cure begins with making sure our up-and-coming researchers have the tools they need to make a difference. We are honored to support the AACR any way we can."
Since 1997, Aflac and the American Association for Cancer Research have been partners in the fight against cancer. The collaborative efforts focus primarily on better understanding of cancer science, especially as it relates to childhood cancers. Aflac has provided scholarships for more than 600 young researchers since the inception of its partnership with AACR, including Dr. Charles Mullighan from St. Jude's Children's Hospital (see bio below).
"The Aflac award has provided crucial support in the initial stages of my career as an independent investigator," Dr. Mullighan said. "The award allowed me to pursue high risk studies examining the genetics of Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and the development of novel mouse models of ALL. These are clinically relevant studies as they have defined new genetic changes in this disease and helped elucidate their contribution to leukemogenesis."
In addition to the AACR Scholarships, since 1995, Aflac has raised and donated more than $62 million for the treatment and research of childhood cancer.
Facts about pediatric cancers
* Cancer is the leading cause of death in children under age 15. American Cancer Society (ACS 2010)
* Leukemia causes one-third of childhood cancer deaths. (ACS 2010)
* Mortality rates for childhood cancer have declined by 55 percent since 1975. (ACS 2008)
* There are estimated to be at least 270,000 survivors of childhood cancer in the United States.
2011 Scholarship Recipients
* Antonio L. Amelio, PhD - Scripps Institute, Florida
* Guillermo Armaiz Pena, PhD – University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center
* Kofi Asomaning, MD – Harvard School of Public Health
* Gregor M. Balaburski, PhD – Fox Chase Cancer Center
* Daniel W. Bowles, MD - University of Colorado School of Medicine
* J. Chad Brenner, Graduate – University of Michigan
* Sara A. Byron, PhD - Translational Genomics Research Institute
* Qi Cao, PHD – University of Michigan
* Tooba A. Cheema, PhD – Massachusetts General Hospital
* Ru Chen, PHD - UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
* Brooke C. Christensen, PhD – Brown University
* Leonie H.A.M de Wilt, MSc – Virginia University Medical Center
* Jan B. Egan, PhD – Mayo Clinic, Arizona
* Inna V. Fedorenko, Graduate - H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Ctr. & Res. Inst.
* Dinorah Friedmann-Morvinski, PhD - Salk Inst. Cancer Ctr.
* Nicolas N. Garnier, MSc - Lady Davis Institute, JGH
* Hossien A. Hamed, BS - Virginia Commonwealth University
* Linda Holmfeldt, PhD - St Jude Children's Research Hospital
* Shu-hao Hsu, Graduate – Ohio State University
* Jae Hong Im, PhD – University of Oxford
* Yuqi Jing, PhD - University Of Miami, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
* Neil Johnson, PhD – Dana Farber Cancer Institute
* Amjad P. Khan, PhD - University of Michigan Medical School
* Hyung-Gu Kim, PhD - Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
* James L. LaBelle, MD, PhD – Dana Farber Cancer Institute
* Andrea Lai, Graduate – McGill University
* Jill E. Larsen, PhD - UT Southwestern Medical Center
* Melissa K. McConechy. BS - BC Cancer Agency, University of British Columbia
* Andrew S. Moore, MBBS – The Institute of Cancer Research
* Britney L. Moss, Graduate – Washington University School of Medicine
* Min Ni, PhD – Dana Farber Cancer Institute
* Wen-Bin Ou, PhD – Brigham and Women's Hospital
* John R. Prensner, Graduate – University of Michigan
* Jeanine M.L. Roodhart, MD – University Medical Center Utrecht
* Mike R. Russell, PhD – Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
* Takaomi Sanda, MD, PhD – Dana Farber Cancer Institute
* Prasanna K. Santhekadur, PhD – Virginia Commonwealth University
* Punit Saraon, PhD – University of Toronto/Mount Sinai Hospital
* Timothy K. Starr, PhD - Univ. of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Ctr.
* Li Tao, MD - Univ. of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Ctr.
* Jose T. Thaiparambil, PhD - Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
* Chery Whipple, PhD - Dartmouth Norris Cotton Cancer Ctr.
* Kenichi Yoshida, MD - Cancer Genomics Project, The University of Tokyo
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Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Friday, April 08, 2011
Friday, November 19, 2010
2010 Give Thanks. Walk. for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
The 2010 Give thanks. Walk.™ will be held at Zoo Atlanta on Saturday, November 20 at 7am. Register today and join fellow St. Jude supporters in more than 60 communities across the country for this 5K walk and help raise money for the children of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®. Registration for this family-friendly walk is completely free! Form walk teams with your friends, family and co-workers, as well as recruit sponsors to make donations in support of your efforts and the groundbreaking work done at St. Jude. Register today at www.givethankswalk.org and take the first step and help give hope to St. Jude patients.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Who Gives, Why do They Give, How do They Give to Nonprofits?
/PRNewswire/ -- A new research study was released Tuesday that may change the way many nonprofits approach their fundraising budgets. The report, Heart of the Donor, Insights into Donor Motivation and Behavior for the 21st Century, uncovers valuable insights on donor behavior and preferences as well as insight into age, demographic and other factors.
The report will be unveiled at the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation conference at the Sheraton New York City. The research was commissioned and created by Russ Reid and conducted by Grey Matter Research & Consulting. The survey took place in June of this year.
As many would expect, the study finds that today's most valuable donors - boomers and older donors - primarily give through the mail. But those in the 25-54 age range tended to give both online and through the mail. "One thing we find interesting is this nexus in the 25-54 year old group," said Lisa McIntyre, Russ Reid Senior Vice President, Strategy Development. "The donors who will be most important to us in the coming decade seem equally facile with both mail and online."
But according to the study, older donors are more generous.
"The point is this: if the goal of a nonprofit is to effectively target today's best donors, then they should focus significant and smart attention on the donors giving the most money - seniors and boomers," said McIntyre. "For example, the number of donors in the 18-24 group and 70-plus are comparable, but the 70-plus donor gives three times as much."
"Does that mean nonprofits should turn a blind eye to the younger segments?" McIntyre continued. "Of course not. Their value will likely increase as they age. But fundraising expenditures must be weighted according to a strategy that maximizes those who are giving now."
The report suggests that fundraisers should focus their money on the channels that perform the best. While social media is an exciting means of reaching the younger community, the report indicated those who are active there don't use it for donations.
Another striking result of the survey shows that people want to give to charities that spend money on good management. Given a choice, the respondents preferred organizations that hire top-quality managers, even with higher salaries, over hiring less experienced managers and spending fewer dollars on salaries. An even greater percentage would rather support an organization that spends more on fundraising and brings in more money to help the cause than would support an organization that spends little on fundraising but raises less money. "Only 28 percent would opt for efficiency over effectiveness," said McIntyre.
"Nonprofits are under relentless scrutiny for their fundraising costs," said McIntyre. "The questions on costs tell us that what donors want more than anything else is value for their money. Spending money on salaries is fine, as long as your leaders are effective. If you spend more on fundraising, it's fine as long as it effectively raises more money for the work."
The report also focused on the impact of the disaster in Haiti on nonprofit fundraising. 38 percent of Americans gave to help Haiti. 52 percent of active donors - those who regularly give to nonprofits - donated. Very surprisingly, nearly 30 percent of Haiti donors say they did not support any nonprofits in the last year, including 16 percent of fairly determined non donors. Most likely to give to Haiti were African Americans (51 percent), Latinos (53 percent), Asians (59 percent) as were people not born in the US (59 percent).
Four out of ten donors said that if they had not given to the Haiti disaster, the money would have gone elsewhere. Still, 58 percent of donors believe that what they gave to Haiti was unique - it was over and above what they normally give. Haiti was a first-time giving impetus for 3 percent of all Americans, 6.7 million people.
Haiti donations saw massive channel donation differences, with text-to-give having a big impact. While 32 percent of donors said they gave to nonprofits working in Haiti through places of worship, another 22 percent gave online, and 19 percent through texting. Questioned if the limits on text donations resulted in lower donations, 90 percent of text donors claim they would have donated through another channel had texting not been provided.
"The Haiti experience reminds us that emergency donors and everyday donors are different," said McIntyre. "And the best donors will give over and above what they normally do, not instead of what they typically give."
DMANF participants were able to review portions of the study at the conference, and more elements of the study will be released in the coming months.
More than two-thousand respondents participated in the study. It was conducted both by phone and through a pre-recruited online research panel. The study was also conducted in English and Spanish.
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The report will be unveiled at the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation conference at the Sheraton New York City. The research was commissioned and created by Russ Reid and conducted by Grey Matter Research & Consulting. The survey took place in June of this year.
As many would expect, the study finds that today's most valuable donors - boomers and older donors - primarily give through the mail. But those in the 25-54 age range tended to give both online and through the mail. "One thing we find interesting is this nexus in the 25-54 year old group," said Lisa McIntyre, Russ Reid Senior Vice President, Strategy Development. "The donors who will be most important to us in the coming decade seem equally facile with both mail and online."
But according to the study, older donors are more generous.
"The point is this: if the goal of a nonprofit is to effectively target today's best donors, then they should focus significant and smart attention on the donors giving the most money - seniors and boomers," said McIntyre. "For example, the number of donors in the 18-24 group and 70-plus are comparable, but the 70-plus donor gives three times as much."
"Does that mean nonprofits should turn a blind eye to the younger segments?" McIntyre continued. "Of course not. Their value will likely increase as they age. But fundraising expenditures must be weighted according to a strategy that maximizes those who are giving now."
The report suggests that fundraisers should focus their money on the channels that perform the best. While social media is an exciting means of reaching the younger community, the report indicated those who are active there don't use it for donations.
Another striking result of the survey shows that people want to give to charities that spend money on good management. Given a choice, the respondents preferred organizations that hire top-quality managers, even with higher salaries, over hiring less experienced managers and spending fewer dollars on salaries. An even greater percentage would rather support an organization that spends more on fundraising and brings in more money to help the cause than would support an organization that spends little on fundraising but raises less money. "Only 28 percent would opt for efficiency over effectiveness," said McIntyre.
"Nonprofits are under relentless scrutiny for their fundraising costs," said McIntyre. "The questions on costs tell us that what donors want more than anything else is value for their money. Spending money on salaries is fine, as long as your leaders are effective. If you spend more on fundraising, it's fine as long as it effectively raises more money for the work."
The report also focused on the impact of the disaster in Haiti on nonprofit fundraising. 38 percent of Americans gave to help Haiti. 52 percent of active donors - those who regularly give to nonprofits - donated. Very surprisingly, nearly 30 percent of Haiti donors say they did not support any nonprofits in the last year, including 16 percent of fairly determined non donors. Most likely to give to Haiti were African Americans (51 percent), Latinos (53 percent), Asians (59 percent) as were people not born in the US (59 percent).
Four out of ten donors said that if they had not given to the Haiti disaster, the money would have gone elsewhere. Still, 58 percent of donors believe that what they gave to Haiti was unique - it was over and above what they normally give. Haiti was a first-time giving impetus for 3 percent of all Americans, 6.7 million people.
Haiti donations saw massive channel donation differences, with text-to-give having a big impact. While 32 percent of donors said they gave to nonprofits working in Haiti through places of worship, another 22 percent gave online, and 19 percent through texting. Questioned if the limits on text donations resulted in lower donations, 90 percent of text donors claim they would have donated through another channel had texting not been provided.
"The Haiti experience reminds us that emergency donors and everyday donors are different," said McIntyre. "And the best donors will give over and above what they normally do, not instead of what they typically give."
DMANF participants were able to review portions of the study at the conference, and more elements of the study will be released in the coming months.
More than two-thousand respondents participated in the study. It was conducted both by phone and through a pre-recruited online research panel. The study was also conducted in English and Spanish.
-----
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Thursday, July 29, 2010
How Shopping Smart Can Help Your Favorite Charities
(StatePoint) How do you shop? When faced with aisles of cleaners that all claim to do the same thing, electronics that play the same content or cars that all get you where you need to go, most people choose products based on quality and price.
But a new trend is developing as more consumers are taking into account a company's charitable contributions or standing in the community.
Now more than ever, shoppers want to buy products from good corporate citizens. Especially in light of recent worldwide crises, many companies are providing assistance quickly -- and consumers are taking note. For example, Wal-Mart financially supported Red Cross emergency relief efforts in Haiti after the earthquake and sent pre-packaged food kits, helping to raise its standing in the eyes of many.
But corporate social responsibility isn't limited to international disasters. Many organizations contribute to their local communities daily, supporting such efforts as education, environmental sustainability, disease prevention, animal care and rescue, and safety programs.
If educational causes are important to you, for example, look for products from companies such as Honeywell or Toyota, that have long sponsored programs to assist teachers and students. By providing science education grants to teachers and scholarships to minority and disadvantaged students, Toyota is among many corporations helping enhance community schools, while Honeywell supports classroom safety programs.
Here are some other tips for becoming a more conscientious shopper:
* Do Your Research: There are several publications that report on companies' corporate social responsibility, but you can also go straight to the source and check the Web sites for your most frequently bought purchases. Search "environment" or "corporate social responsibility" to learn what companies are doing to make the world a better place.
* Switch Teams: If a company doesn't give to any charities or causes, or you don't like the ones to which they give, switch products and start buying from a company whose charitable work you support.
* Start with the Cause: Instead of researching companies, you can research causes and organizations to learn which companies are supporting them. You can usually find this information on a nonprofit's Web site or in its annual report. For instance, by visiting the National Safety Council's Web site, you can find lists of corporate partners and the initiatives they co-sponsor, such as free teen driving programs.
* Participate: Take part in corporate-sponsored events. For example, National Public Lands Day is the largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance U.S. public lands, and has been made possible by a 10-year sponsorship from Toyota. In 2009, 150,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, removed trash and invasive plants, planted trees and restored water resources. If you're interested in attending this year's event, visit publiclandsday.org.
Remember, actions speak louder than words. Buying products benefiting causes and charities close to your heart is more powerful than talking. With every purchase, you can change your community or even the world!
-----
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But a new trend is developing as more consumers are taking into account a company's charitable contributions or standing in the community.
Now more than ever, shoppers want to buy products from good corporate citizens. Especially in light of recent worldwide crises, many companies are providing assistance quickly -- and consumers are taking note. For example, Wal-Mart financially supported Red Cross emergency relief efforts in Haiti after the earthquake and sent pre-packaged food kits, helping to raise its standing in the eyes of many.
But corporate social responsibility isn't limited to international disasters. Many organizations contribute to their local communities daily, supporting such efforts as education, environmental sustainability, disease prevention, animal care and rescue, and safety programs.
If educational causes are important to you, for example, look for products from companies such as Honeywell or Toyota, that have long sponsored programs to assist teachers and students. By providing science education grants to teachers and scholarships to minority and disadvantaged students, Toyota is among many corporations helping enhance community schools, while Honeywell supports classroom safety programs.
Here are some other tips for becoming a more conscientious shopper:
* Do Your Research: There are several publications that report on companies' corporate social responsibility, but you can also go straight to the source and check the Web sites for your most frequently bought purchases. Search "environment" or "corporate social responsibility" to learn what companies are doing to make the world a better place.
* Switch Teams: If a company doesn't give to any charities or causes, or you don't like the ones to which they give, switch products and start buying from a company whose charitable work you support.
* Start with the Cause: Instead of researching companies, you can research causes and organizations to learn which companies are supporting them. You can usually find this information on a nonprofit's Web site or in its annual report. For instance, by visiting the National Safety Council's Web site, you can find lists of corporate partners and the initiatives they co-sponsor, such as free teen driving programs.
* Participate: Take part in corporate-sponsored events. For example, National Public Lands Day is the largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance U.S. public lands, and has been made possible by a 10-year sponsorship from Toyota. In 2009, 150,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, removed trash and invasive plants, planted trees and restored water resources. If you're interested in attending this year's event, visit publiclandsday.org.
Remember, actions speak louder than words. Buying products benefiting causes and charities close to your heart is more powerful than talking. With every purchase, you can change your community or even the world!
-----
Community News You Can Use
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter: @GAFrontPage
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