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A major US non-profit group focused on improving child health has abruptly terminated US$3 million in research grants — leaving nearly 40 scientists confused, angry and scrambling to secure new funding.
On 24 July, 37 grant recipients received an e-mail from the March of Dimes Foundation in New York City informing them that their 3-year grants had been cut off, retroactively, starting on 30 June. Many of the researchers were only a year into their projects, and had had just enough time to hire and train staff, purchase supplies and generate preliminary results. Now, several say that they might need to lay off employees, euthanize lab animals and shelve their research projects if they cannot find other funding — fast.
The March of Dimes, which is supported largely by individual donations, made the decision to revoke the grants because of a budget shortfall, says Kelle Moley, the group's chief scientific officer. "I know this is harsh news," Moley says. "As a former grantee, this would be devastating to me as well."
That is small consolation to many researchers whom Nature spoke to.
Source: Nature
(Score: 1) by CZB on Monday August 06 2018, @03:21AM (6 children)
This is terrible. If you're ship is sinking, you don't lock people in the hold.
Grounds for a lawsuit is small consolation.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @04:30AM
Food, water, shelter, and sleep. These things are, of course, human needs. But for men, there was one more need, arguably more important than any of those: Rape.
Telling a man not to rape would be like telling him not to eat; in other words, nonsensical, cruel, and bigoted. This was because men rape like men breath: Unconsciously. Perhaps this was why Willyham had begun bouncing around so jubilantly before he even realized it.
Flesh slapping against flesh. Fists slamming against a face. Moans of pleasure and screams of agony and terror echoing throughout the surroundings. Anyone could guess what this was. It was a common scene, so much so that no one would think anything of it. You see, just several minutes ago, Willyham had spotted a woman; before he knew it, he was on top of her and she was screaming.
The way that it happened completely unconsciously perplexed the man, but he dismissed those thoughts and strived to enjoy himself to the fullest. Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! The fists collided endlessly with the woman's face, and Willyham's grin became ever more wicked as he watched the once-beautiful woman become a shadow of her former self before his very eyes. Just a few more. Just a few more slams...! Then, loud, sticky mashing sounds were heard; he had broken right through her skull. The fun was over, and the area had returned to its former silence.
Willyham hopped off of the husk and traveled elsewhere, to parts unknown. There, he continued to fulfill all of his needs, leaving behind mountains of corpses as he did so...
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @12:29PM (4 children)
Sometimes you have to blame the victim.
Grant-based research is a stupid idea; certainly, leads to evermore dependence on shady organizations such as governments.
It would be better for researchers to attach themselves to self-sustaining, profitable organizations instead.
(Score: 2) by opinionated_science on Monday August 06 2018, @01:13PM (2 children)
That's called corporate research. Then it's not grant , it's an investment.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @01:15PM
Thanks for the input...
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday August 07 2018, @04:27PM
They're like politicians. When you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do!!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @04:15PM
> Grant-based research is a stupid idea; certainly, leads to evermore dependence on shady organizations such as governments.
> It would be better for researchers to attach themselves to self-sustaining, profitable organizations instead.
You do know that the computers and internet have developed from government programs? Also stuff like modern medicine, rockets, satellites, GPS...
If you think governments are that bad, please stop using all those things. Thank you.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @03:33AM (2 children)
Perhaps they should become March of Quarters.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @08:40AM
My guess, the charity ran out of money to pay the bosses.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday August 06 2018, @12:00PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @03:46AM (1 child)
How did they promise money they didnt have? I remember the kars 4 kids charity lost millions to some kind of ponzi scheme...
(Score: 3, Informative) by slap on Monday August 06 2018, @03:59AM
"In CharityWatch’s view, the Kars4Kids ads deceive potential donors by failing to inform them that donated cars will benefit a Jewish organization and kids of Jewish faith. Furthermore, the youth programs Kars4Kids supports promote an Orthodox Jewish lifestyle, which CharityWatch believes compounds the deception perpetrated by the Kars4Kids ads."
https://www.charitywatch.org/charitywatch-articles/costly-and-continuous-kars4kids-ads-disguise-charity-39-s-real-purpose/179 [charitywatch.org]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by takyon on Monday August 06 2018, @03:52AM
You say that like it's aSounds bad, but maybe less painful than the medical research.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by slap on Monday August 06 2018, @04:01AM (1 child)
I wonder how much the drop in donations are due to Jerry Lewis passing, so the Telethon no longer is as effective raising donations.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @09:36AM
The Jerry Lewis telethon benefitted the Muscular Dystrophy Association, not the March of Dimes.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by pkrasimirov on Monday August 06 2018, @09:14AM
Did their funding contract say it can be cancelled retroactively?
(Score: 5, Informative) by bradley13 on Monday August 06 2018, @09:48AM (1 child)
TFA says that their auditor determined that "the group’s expenses exceeded its income by almost $11 million in 2017 and $13 million in 2016". However, their annual report [marchofdimes.org] says that their net loss in 2016 was only $7.4 million, and that they had a net gain of $3.6 million in 2017. Maybe there are some odd shell games of organizations-within-organizations, and I'm not comparing the right figures, but this is a strange disconnect.
Anyway, abruptly terminating $3 million in grants seems counterproductive, in terms of public relations. This is only about 2% of their annual budget; since we're talking about multi-year grants, it's even less than 2% on an annual basis. An odd decision...
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Monday August 06 2018, @01:39PM
Well, the same report you linked to showed a net loss in assets of over $26 million in 2016, which, for an organization that had less than $100 million in assets, is pretty significant. (You seem to only be looking at operating expenses in your figures, but clearly other stuff is going on.)
Other articles that came up quickly in a search indicate that they've lost money steadily 2012-16, and they had to put their national headquarters up for sale.
I can't quite sort out the details from the limited financial statements, but from them and the news coverage, it seems their pension liabilities have skyrocketed while some investments tanked. And donations have apparently been decreasing over the past several years.
I agree that it seems weird that they would award too many grants when they were experiencing this downturn and then have to pull them suddenly like this. It seems like an odd decision, yes. Maybe there's some mismanagment going on. But clearly they're also experiencing significant changes in fincances in recent years.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @01:33PM (2 children)
"Non-profit March of Dimes abruptly cuts medical R&D grant retroactively"
More relevant information in fewer words.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @03:28PM
Nice wording. Please volunteer to help the SN editors, your help (even at a low level) would be appreciated.
(AC goes off to submit another possible story)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @03:41PM
grantS
(Score: 3, Interesting) by jmorris on Monday August 06 2018, @05:17PM (3 children)
Go look em up on CharityNavigator [charitynavigator.org] and it was easy to see this coming, something any researcher should have done. Any researcher who didn't do due diligence on their funding sources has learned a valuable lesson in realizing that resources are not unlimited and freely available. Most reputable ones are rated four stars, March of Dimes has been two for years.
The truth is March of Dimes accomplished their mission a very long time ago, and like so many other organizations, refused to die. Don't have hard details but keep hearing bad rumors about em being 'pozzed out the wazoo.' Listing 110 'Federal, State and Territorial Advocacy Victories' as the biggest tangible accomplishment in their most recent (2016) full report on CharityNavigator has a unique odor of an organization forgetting its original purpose and going political advocacy group. Now notice research grants are NOT listed as an accomplishment so probably was a smaller part of their budget (yup, found it. 19.1% of program (i.e. not overhead) expenses are Research AND Medical Support so research is less than 19.1%), one not considered "core" and thus subject to being eliminated.
Ok, enough background info lets get the primary source. Click. Front and center on the homepage right now "WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST
PREGNANT WOMEN AND MOMS" and a button to "TAKE ACTION NOW". Scroll down and there three more links, what do we see as the middle one?
"Without ACA protection, maternal care would be unaffordable for most families." and it is the only one that has a "Learn More" link. Called it, SJW political action group wearing the skin of the March of Dimes. Time for them to die.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @06:38PM (1 child)
The left is fond of saying that LGBT are "born that way". Well OK then, we should research how to prevent it.
We have a cause and mechanism for some homosexuality in males. The mother's immune system reacts to a protein that is required for proper male development. This especially hits males that are born after other males from the same womb. It's like that issue with Rh factor; perhaps we can give mothers of boys a similar treatment.
We have shown that minute amounts of hormone-mimicing chemicals can have serious sexual effects on lab animals, and that humans are frequently exposed to higher levels. The conclusion should be obvious, but one will have to fight all sorts of industry because these chemicals are mighty useful: plasticizers, herbicides, flame retardants, etc.
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Monday August 06 2018, @07:20PM
Cure homosexuality? You fool, it is heterosexuality they want to cure. Homosexuality is superior in every way! Once everyone is gay toxic masculinity, the patriarchy and all the evils of the Prog's worldview will be cured. Since humanity itself will go extinct the eco-warriors will even be happy.
Seriously though, as with most things SJWs are lying their asses off. They will loudly proclaim homosexuals are "born this way" as they actively 'recruit' as they normalize pedophilia and NAMBLA. "Sex before eight or its too late!" kinda gives NAMBLA's game away. Vast majorities of homosexuals report being molested as children by adult homosexuals. The truth is some are almost certainly "born that way", others can't be turned from preferring the opposite sex and there is a middle that CAN be turned with aggressive efforts. Of course I just pulled a -1 Troll or Flamebait mod for saying it.
But to really get the Triggering turned up to 11.... Imagine pre-natal testing that showed odds of being homosexual. Now imagine how fast every homosexual advocacy group becomes staunch Pro-Life zealots if such a test were developed.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by wisnoskij on Tuesday August 07 2018, @12:52PM
And what would you expect the researchers to do, turn down the free money?
Honestly, it sounds like the ideal situation to me.
> Identify Research Grant that is obviously going bankrupt in a few years.
> Get awarded grant for multi year project.
> Collect money.
> Get grant canceled, absolving you of showing any results.
(Score: 2) by wisnoskij on Tuesday August 07 2018, @12:46PM
I honestly didn't think that science was done that cheap any longer.
$80K to hire employees, buy lab equipment, and pay yourself over multi year long projects?