In This Newsletter

Reports and Resources
Program Updates
CSP and Partners in the News

So far this year, the Center for Strategic Philanthropy (CSP) has worked with our partners to direct $25 million in philanthropic capital to advance medical research and access to care, and to entrepreneurs who are trying to solve big challenges in agriculture.

Later this fall, we will be announcing the second Milken-Motsepe Prize. This prize competition will bring together game-changing innovators and their ideas to address climate change, arguably the biggest global challenge facing us all. In the meantime, you’ll find below a roundup of our work from the past few months. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. And keep an eye on our Giving Compass blog and the Milken-Motsepe Prize Portal for real-time updates and information.

Reports and Resources

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Giving Smarter Guide: Commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects an estimated 20,000 people in the United States at any given time. CSP partnered with Tambourine Philanthropies for this landscape analysis to understand the state of ALS research and identify where additional focus and philanthropic investment are needed to accelerate progress.

• Stories from the Field: The 25 Finalists for the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech are deep in the process of field-testing their innovations for increasing economic value for smallholder farmers in Africa. Learn more about who they are, what inspired them, and what they hope to gain from the experience in this special Milken Institute series. Winners will be announced in April 2023.

Program Updates

• CSP has been convening and leading a new organization called Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder, or BD². BD² brings together the Basucki, Brin and Dauten families with researchers and patient advocacy groups to advance understanding of bipolar disorder and facilitate better treatments and care. To learn more, read this article in Forbes magazine and visit the BD² website.

• The Baszucki Brain Research Fund and CSP announced the launch of the Metabolic Mind Award Program, recognizing champions working at the intersection of metabolism and mental health in the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry. The program, administered by CSP, intends to honor up to 10 individuals with a one-time award of $100,000 to recognize exceptional commitment to advancing Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy for neuropsychiatric conditions.

• Following the release of the Giving Smarter Guide and the dissemination of the sarcoidosis grant program in October 2021, CSP and the Ann Theodore Foundation brought the researchers who received funding together for a two-day meeting in Chicago. This meeting provided an opportunity for attendees to discuss their projects and share their thoughts on what else can and should be done to accelerate progress in the sarcoidosis space. A request for proposals for the second round of funding will go live on the CSP website on September 19.  

• CSP’s partnership with the Misophonia Research Fund is one of our longest-standing engagements. This month, six proposals received funding to advance fundamental understanding of and treatments for misophonia. This will be the fourth cohort of funded research supported by the fund. This initiative has supported 26 research grants for a total of over $9 million in an otherwise drastically underfunded space.  

• The Milken Institute and Truepic, the leader in digital image provenance and authenticity, announced a partnership to enhance the monitoring and evaluation of prize competition programs starting with the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech.

CSP and Our Partners in the News

• The Baszucki Brain Research Fund (BBRF) announced that five teams from around the world have been funded to study ketogenic metabolic interventions for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder. BBRF’s comprehensive work was also featured in Inside Philanthropy.

• Executive Vice President Melissa Stevens was featured in this Chronicle of Philanthropy article about the pressures the nonprofit sector is facing as it plans year-end giving appeals.

• Melissa Stevens wrote articles about the need for attention to youth mental health and the philanthropic “moonshots” that will make the difference, and the need for philanthropy to invest in pediatric biomedical research. 

• Melissa Stevens and Associate Director Hilary McConnaughey wrote an article featuring the ultra-high-net-worth philanthropists who are stepping up and modeling best practices in strategic philanthropy.

• Melissa Stevens spoke with the Female VC Lab about her journey into philanthropy and the ways in which philanthropy can create change.