Since January 2012, $5 million in new commitments have been contributed to the Foundation. These contributions include leadership gifts of $1 million or more from the Robertson Foundation and two anonymous donors. The total amount contributed since the Foundation’s inception in 2006 is nearly $40 million.
These funds are being invested in high-potential research projects and programs and are helping to fill the funding gap between early-stage research and commercialization. This gap, sometimes called “the valley of death,” can cause life-saving ideas like focused ultrasound technology to languish.
The challenge ahead is to raise $20-25 million during the next three years. The majority of these funds will be invested in research with an emphasis on Parkinson’s disease, brain tumors and liver cancer. Our immediate goal is to raise $5 million to continue the current pace of progress.
The Foundation is extraordinarily grateful for the generosity and vision of its supporters who exemplify how venture philanthropy can advance medical research and embody the entrepreneurial spirit of the Foundation and of the pioneering researchers, manufacturers, physicians and others in the focused ultrasound community.