The majority of charities that fund medical research are bracing for the impact of the current economic recession, and they're making an early call for help.

According to a survey released on 27 May by the UK-based Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), three-quarters of the organization's affiliated charities expect the economic downturn to have a marked impact on their income. A quarter of the charities expect to cut funding for research between 10% and 40% this year.

Income sources for the charities are many and varied, thus few of the organizations have good estimates as to how much their income will drop for the 2009–2010 year, said Sophie Petit-Zeman, head of external relations for the AMRC.

The biggest drop probably won't come from public citizens feeling the pinch. According to the UK-based Institute of Fundraising, public donations for all charities are only down 3–4%. In the US, meanwhile, information gathered by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University shows that public donations have been affected very little by past recessions.

The most substantial impact will instead come from a devaluing of investments. Many medical research charities survive primarily on this income.

In the US, charities provide about 3% of the amount spent on medical research (J. Am. Med. Assoc. 294, 1333–1342; 2005), whereas 30% is delivered by the National Institutes of Health. In the UK, however, the amount from charities is on par with that distributed by the government.

Along with its call for continued public support, the AMRC is requesting that the UK government increase funding for medical research while offering tax breaks and regulatory initiatives that would make funding easier, Petit-Zeman said.

Tough times: Nonprofits ask for help Credit: istockphoto

“We know funding is down,” says Ron MacInnis, director of policy and programs at the International AIDS Society. “But, with the way grants and funding work, right now we're working with money from a year and a half ago when the giving was good. We have a time lag, and we have to take action now to take advantage of that.”