Mission:

To reduce the innovation deficit by providing a new and scalable funding channel for research and help potential donors enhance their impact, reduce overhead costs, and increase their engagement with the research community.

Background:

Benefunder was created in 2014 by financial management, business, research, and academic leaders to address the nation's growing innovation deficit and provide a new and scalable funding channel for research. The need for such a site became apparent after the site's co-founders realized the scale of the research funding challenges at a time when the equity markets and philanthropic giving were at their peak. By combining their research and wealth management expertise, the site's founders were able to provide scholars and scientists with a new funding platform. Since its launch, the site has signed up leading researchers from top schools across the nation, including all nine Ivies, as well as the nation’s top medical and technological schools.

Outstanding Web Features:

"Causes" on the site are grouped into four main categories: Life, Technology, Environment, and Humanities. After selecting a category, prospective donors are presented with a series of individual project tiles that, when clicked on, lead to a variety of additional information, including project details, researcher bios, related news articles and/or publications, awards won, project-related videos, and a form for requesting more information from the researcher(s) in question. Once a prospective donor has identified a project that interests him, he can Create a Fund on its behalf through Benefunder's Charitable Innovation Fund, which, like any donor-advised fund, provides the donor with an immediate tax deduction at the time of his or her contribution and allows him or her to make recommendations for disbursements from the fund over time. In addition, researchers create and manage their own profiles on the site and keep donors updated on the progress of their work.