Help the SENS Research Foundation Raise $100,000 By Year End
The SENS Research Foundation is presently the leading scientific and advocacy organization when it comes to rejuvenation research. Foundation staff coordinate, fund, and carry out the most promising fundamental research into ways to repair cellular and molecular damage that causes degenerative aging. Success in this line of research will result in therapies that can reverse the course of aging, restoring vigor and health to old, frail people, and preventing everyone else from ever becoming old and frail.
The Foundation has grown to a $4 million yearly budget since its creation, these funds provided by philanthropic and grassroots donors. Most of this is used to fund research projects that will advance the state of the art in areas vital to human rejuvenation that are neglected by the mainstream research community. To continue to advance this aim, the Foundation leadership is setting an ambitious community fundraising goal for the remainder of the year, as outlined in an email that arrived today:
Help Us Meet Our Year-End GoalOn behalf of SENS Research Foundation, we would like to thank you for your support throughout 2013. Thanks to your generous donations of time, money, and encouragement, we have been able to continue advancing our work to cure - not just treat, but cure - the diseases of aging. We are accomplishing this goal by funding promising new research, building a strong, collaborative community, and training the next generation of bright, young scientists. No doubt the best example of all of these aspects of our mission in 2013 was our biennial SENS Conference held at the University of Cambridge in September.
The SENS6: Reimagine Aging Conference attracted a record number of leading scientists, clinicians, students, and other supporters. All were amazed at the progress made since SENS5 and were confident that the current work and newly fostered collaborations of the SRF community would lead to more crucial advances in tackling the debilitating diseases of aging. However, in order to continue to increase our impact on advancing the field of regenerative medicine, we need your help. Simply put, more funding will mean more researchers and more labs making cures for the diseases of aging a reality.
Your support will enable us to:
Accelerate and add new research projects by expanding the SRF Research Center
Make the collaborative effects of the SENS Conference annual rather than biennial
Expand our internship program and add a national student symposium We've set an end-of-year funding challenge to raise at least $100,000 between today and December 31, 2013. If you've been thinking about contributing, this is a great time to show your support. Please consider making your tax deductible donation to us today at http://www.sens.org/donate.
If you are interested in setting up a matching grant please contact us.
Thank you,
Mike Kope, CEO
Aubrey de Grey, CSO
Tanya Jones, COO
Some of the items added to the SENS Research Foundation website in the past months were also featured, illustrating the work of the Foundation scientists and allied researchers over the past year. It is well worth looking through to see the tangible results that emerge from directly funding targeted research.
New SENS6 Highlights VideoPlease take a few minutes to enjoy our latest video featuring highlights of the SENS6 Conference. We hope that you will enjoy the opportunity to experience the sights and sounds of this amazing event. SENS6 brought together leading research scientists and other visionaries in the field of regenerative medicine from around the world.
The Science Behind SENS
Curious about what SRF's work actually entails? Interested in the technical details of cutting-edge rejuvenation biotechnology research? If so, you'll definitely want to visit our Research Blog. This section of our website features project updates, descriptions of the concrete actions we are taking to eradicate age-related disease, and in-depth discussions of significant biogerontology topics from our CSO team.
Check back often for more news about what we're up to in the laboratory, and be sure to take a look at our downloadable Research Report (PDF) if you haven't already.
New and Better Clinical Trials for Rejuvenation Biotechnologies - July 31, 2013
2013 Research Report (part 1 of 12): Lysosomal Aggregates - September 01, 2013
Unbinding the Mummies: Human Testing of Rejuvenation Biotechnology Targeting α-Synuclein Begins - October 02, 2013
2013 Research Report (part 2 of 12): Mitochondrial Mutations - October 09, 2013
2013 Research Report (part 3 of 12): Cancerous Cells - October 18, 2013
2013 Research Report (part 4 of 12): Extracellular Matrix Stiffening - November 01, 2013
2013 Research Report (Part 5 of 12): Lysosomal Aggregates - November 8, 2013 Staff at the SRF Research Center
Summer Internship Applications: Coming In January 2014. Each year the SENS Research Foundation Summer Internship Program supports training the best undergraduate researchers at leading research institutions around the world. Applications will be available on the SRF website starting January 2014. Mark your calendars, so you can be the first to apply for these amazing research opportunities.
You can learn more about the internship program and the research projects of past interns in our video spotlights and Education Blog posts.
SRF's Mitochondrial Mutations Project Awarded LongeCity Grant
The Mitochondrial Mutations project team, led by Senior Research Scientist Dr. Matthew O'Connor at our Mountain View Research Center, was awarded a LongeCity Research Grant last month. LongeCity is an international non-profit organization that, among other things, supports small-scale science initiatives "to conquer the blight of involuntary death." In two short months, seventy supporters donated over $7,500 which was matched with a $14,000 grant from LongeCity to fund SRF's work to rescue mutated mitochondrial DNA.
To help fund this and other research projects, please visit http://www.sens.org/donate. As a 501(c)(3) public charity, SENS Research Foundation relies on your support to continue our mission to change the way the world researches and treats age-related disease.
Thank-you all for your efforts on behalf of humanity.
I donated twice to your recent $7000 mitochondrial Longecity project.
With respect to your desire to raise $100,000 by year's end, might I suggest you post a running Tote Board showing the real-time amount raised toward your goal.
Real-time Tote Boards appeal to the instant gratification (i.e. action-reaction) aspect of human nature whereby seeing an individual's impact encourages more frequent, larger, donations.
Best of luck with your raise, and god-speed in your efforts to rid the human experience of the scourge of aging.
Sincerely,
Bruce
This is a really bad time of year for a fundraiser. But hopefully I will have a small amount of money left to donate.
@Carl: Possibly true for the grassroots, especially given the very recent fundraisers. But the end of Q4 is a good time to approach mid-level donors who are still on the fence about their year-end charitable donations.