The McKnight Foundation and The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience have played a significant role in the field's evolution, giving more than $100 million over 30 years to support brain research. The story of how this funding program has deftly identified funding gaps offers lessons for philanthropy in general, particularly to new donors interested in setting up their own programs.

A new book commissioned by the Endowment Fund explores the history and effectiveness of the McKnight program. Research Funding in Neuroscience: A Profile of The McKnight Endowment Fund has been published by Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier.

The story unfolds in three parts: (1) origins — the funder and the scientists who shaped the program, including an interview with the late Julius Axelrod, a Nobel Laureate who advised McKnight in the early days; (2) a review of the science to show how McKnight awardees have opened up the field; and (3) 10 principles for success, along with stories of how awardees used their McKnight grants.

Founding wisdom

The McKnight Foundation established a program of support for neuroscience in 1976 to honor its founder, William L. McKnight. A brilliant businessman who had led the 3M Company for 50 years, McKnight was troubled late in life by his own memory loss and that of his friends. He believed support for brain research would be a great gift to humanity.

After seeking Axelrod's advice, the Foundation, led by his daughter, Virginia McKnight Binger, created an awards program solidly committed to basic science. Its fundamental goal is to allow excellent scientists to pursue their own ideas as they seek to discover the workings of the brain. The fund exists strictly to give awards and create a community of peers through an annual conference dedicated to research.

The Endowment Fund is funded solely by The McKnight Foundation but operates independently, with a board and awards committees made up of leading neuroscientists from around the country. "Those of us who steward the program today are still guided by the principles of its founders," said Carla Shatz, president of The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience, and professor and chair of Harvard University's Department of Neurobiology. "Our goal is to support scientists who are willing to work at the frontiers to push the field of neuroscience forward."

In near unison, scientists who have received awards say they were able to test a risky idea, get their career off the ground, or make a significant change in their career because of McKnight's flexible dollars. According to one of the scientists cited in the book, "By funding many ... investigators early in their careers and giving them the freedom to pursue their ideas, The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience has had a major impact on brain research in the United States, an impact far beyond the monetary value of the funds that have been disbursed."

Lessons learned

The book outlines 10 lessons about funding scientific research. They are:

1. Identify excellence: Maintain high standards for applicants as well as board and committee members to foster scientific lineages and nurture future leaders.
2. Find your niche: Target funds so they will be leveraged to have disproportionate impact.
3. Recognize timely opportunities: Support young scientists with fresh ideas as well as established scientists who want to investigate a new line of study.
4. Follow through: Allow momentum to continue by funding "descendants" and colleagues of those who have opened up a promising vein of exploration.
5. Attach no strings: Provide flexible funding, allowing awardees to use their grants for whatever their research requires at the time.
6. Mix it up: Incorporate innovation from other fields by encouraging collaboration and allowing open applications.
7. Think broadly: Rather than focusing on a single disease, look at underlying mechanisms and seek to understand their interactions.
8. For returns, expect the unexpected: Understand that clues to diseases can spring up from surprising places.
9. Create a community of peers: Foster collaboration by developing a formal way to bring awardees together to share their work and talk about ideas.
10. Practice transparency, balance and meritocracy: Create an organization that is open, fair and free of conflict of interest.

Research Funding in Neuroscience: A Profile of The McKnight Endowment Fund was written by Gabrielle Strobel, a highly regarded science journalist and managing editor of the Alzheimer Research Forum, and edited by Sylvia Lindman, the former communications director of The McKnight Foundation. It is available online from the publisher, Elsevier, and several commercial booksellers.

About The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience

The Endowment Fund, an independent organization funded solely by The McKnight Foundation of Minneapolis, Minnesota, makes three types of award each year: Scholar Awards, supporting neuroscientists in the early stages of their research careers; Neuroscience of Brain Disorders Awards, supporting innovative efforts aimed at translating basic laboratory discoveries in neuroscience into clinical benefits for patients; and Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Awards, providing seed money to develop technical inventions to advance brain research.