WHY the FND?

The Michael J. Fox Foundation has been gaining great stature in the fight for a cure to Parkinson's. When I started the ride, only a few short years ago, support for Parkinson's research and patients struggling with the disease seemed, at best, splintered. The Fox Foundation has grown to me a core of Parkinson's support and, of course, fundraising.

So why have we chosen the Foundation for Neurological Disease?

There are many reasons... and they all relate back to the special character of this ride. First, they are local. It means a lot when the people who are the ones using your sponsorship dollars for their research are actually working the volunteer stands, handing out sandwiches, or riding along with you. Also, this year, Dr. Lavoie has offered to give personal tours of the Lab to the "top" riders and volunteers... (details to come!) You, and your sponsors can see exactly what their dollars are going to support.

Second, and most importantly to a lot of people, every dime you raise goes to research. The Fox Foundation has huge expenses... last I checked 85-90% of contributions went to research, and the rest goes to running the Micheal J. Fox Foundation. With respect, this is a great, and very efficient organization and that is a very high percentage compared with other charities...

Finally, and this is near and dear to my heart, our money goes into research as quickly and efficiently as possible. Let me offer this example.

Dr. LaVoie told me about the research he is currently working on... he needs to establish a better model for running various experiments, and that model requires over a year to develop. After lengthy consultation with his colleagues, the conclusion was that this was a viable, and essential, plan. Dr. LaVoie immediately put the wheels in motion to develop this model... using some funds from boston2portland.

The normal process would have been to start working on a grant... generally, something that takes a month or so. The next step is to simply wait. For the most part, the grant review process takes over a year. Only after that, would Dr. Lavoie know if he had the funding to start this project. Using b2p funding he can, after review and consideration by his colleagues and the FND, start work immediately.

The grant process has its purposes and advantages... every grant awarded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation goes through a lengthy and detailed review by some of the best in the field. But... at the cost of time.