The Heffter Research Institute
Research at the Frontiers of the Mind
Summer 1997

The Heffter Research Institute has now been officially incorporated for four years. Our major obstacle continues to be the lack of adequate funds to help support many deserving research projects. As the readers of this newsletter already know, one of the goals of the Heffter Institute is to develop a significant endowment so that the interest income from the endowment can be used to fund research in perpetuity. We still search for "angels" who can provide large gifts. On the one hand, there is a n immediate need to fund research. Yet, on the other, our commitment to building an endowment means that some portion of every donation must be put aside. Hopefully, short term sacrifice will lead to long term funding stability, where fundraising will cease to be a necessary function of the board. During the past year, we did receive two donations totaling $100,000 from donors who wish to remain anonymous. (While this seems like a great deal of money, credible scientific research is quite expensive. Two of the members of the Heffter board who conduct academic research collectively receive approximately $750,000 per year to fund research.) Our last board meeting involved extensive discussion regarding how to utilize most effectively these donations. A small part of the money will be used to seed our endowment fund. We also plan to fund some small research projects, and are considering the possibility of sponsoring a scientific conference next year. It is a difficult decision process, wishing to fund things immediately, while at the same time realizing that long term investment and institute development will ultimately lead to an endowment that provides long-term funding stability.

We have also put into place a mechanism for reviewing research proposals submitted to the Institute. Based on the peer review process employed by government agencies, it will ensure that funded projects meet high scientific standards, so that no funded pr oject can be subjected to the criticism of flawed design, or improper controls, etc., the sorts of issues that destroyed the value of much of the LSD research carried out in past decades. This is a serious business to us, and it is our goal to get past th e ridicule that this field suffered in the past and bring respectability, so that new young scientists, eager to venture into this exciting area, will not be deterred by fear of social and political pressures, or discouraged for lack of funds.

On that note we make a plea to you, that if you know folks who are sympathetic to this work, and who have expressed the wish to help create something that will continue on indefinitely as a powerful force in our society, a gift to the Heffter endowment m ay be the answer. Remember, The Heffter Institute is not just talking about research in our lifetime, but in the lifetimes of our children, and our children's children. Think of the incredible power of a gift that spans generations! Clearly we have survived our formative phase and donors may have confidence that their trust in the Heffter is well founded. Our "point man" for fundraising is presently Dennis McKenna, who can be reached at Dennis@heffter.org.

David E. Nichols, Ph.D., President, Heffter Research Institute
E-mail: drdave@pharmacy.purdue.edu

Heffter Research Institute
330 Garfield, Suite 301
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
E-mail: george@heffter.org