THE JOHN MERCK FUND TO SPEND OUT, REFOCUS PROGRAMS

October 17, 2011

The John Merck Fund has announced it will spend all of its assets over the next ten years to spur progress in clean energy, environmental health, development of a New England regional food system, and treatment of developmental disabilities.

The Boston-based foundation, established in 1970 by the late Serena Merck and now in its third generation of family leadership, currently holds $80 million in assets. Under a plan approved by its board of trustees, The John Merck Fund will begin the spendout in January 2012, award its last grants in 2021 and close its doors in 2022.

Allowing for investment income earned during the ten-year period, the foundation estimates that total grantmaking could approach $100 million.

“The challenges posed by oil dependence, exposure to chemicals, unhealthy foods and developmental disabilities are enormous, but so are the opportunities for progress,” said George Hatch, The John Merck Fund’s board chair and a grandson of the founding donor. “Our board feels the Fund should contribute all it can to help propel extraordinary initiatives taking shape in these issue areas. We believe extra effort today will boost the odds of dramatic improvement down the road.”

In conjunction with its spendout plan, The John Merck Fund is revamping its four grant programs, developing cross-program synergies, and preparing to make complementary mission-related investments in order to achieve maximum impact during the next decade.

Two of the programs, Clean Energy and Regional Food Systems, will focus exclusively on New England, while the Environmental Health and Developmental Disabilities programs will remain national in scope.

Clean Energy Program grants will promote the development of a clean-energy economy in the six-state New England region. Specifically, the program will seek improved air quality and a ten-year, region-wide greenhouse-gas emissions reduction of 20 percent by supporting projects to boost energy efficiency, reduce use of coal and other fossil fuels, and expand the New England’s clean energy market. One of the Fund’s objectives is that the region becomes coal-free within ten years.

Regional Food Systems Program grants will help strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship in New England’s expanding market for regionally and sustainably grown food by funding initiatives to develop institutional demand and the regional supply network.

Environmental Health Program grants will support development and implementation of market signals and government policies that encourage a transition away from petroleum-based chemicals linked to preventable diseases.

The Developmental Disabilities Program, the Fund’s original grantmaking area, will shift its focus from basic research to clinical and translational research, with primary emphasis on children who have Fragile X or Down syndromes. The goal is to help these children and their families by encouraging research collaborations that bridge basic and clinical science, more rapid translation of findings into treatment settings, and promulgation of best clinical practices.

“The board and staff of The John Merck Fund have spent almost a year developing what we believe to be an ambitious yet realistic set of goals and funding strategies,” said Ruth Hennig, the foundation’s executive director. “We are all excited about embarking on the next decade with a sharpened purpose and focus.”

Program Overview

As of January 1, 2010, the John Merck Fund will end the following programs: Reproductive Health, Human Rights and Civic Engagement. In addition, the Environment Program’s Genetic Engineering component is being eliminated. These changes are a result of a decrease in the Fund’s endowment. With fewer resources available, the Fund is seeking to maximize its impact by addressing a smaller number of issues.

Despite closing the Reproductive Health Program, the Fund will continue the effort to explore the links between reproductive health and exposures to toxic chemicals within the Environmental Health Program. An additional programming change in 2010 will be the launch of the new Rural New England program that combines aspects of both the Vermont Farms and Job Opportunities programs into grantmaking to expand economic opportunities in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont for women, older youth and those involved in sustainable agriculture.

Overview

The John Merck Fund fosters advancement of knowledge and development of innovative solutions in the fields of Developmental Disabilities, Climate and Clean Energy, and Environmental Health; and workforce development and sustainable agriculture in Rural New England. The Fund’s objective is to catalyze constructive and measurable changes in each of these areas by supporting nonprofit organizations that have the capability to create and advance model programs that others can replicate.

The Developmental Disabilities Program reflects the Fund’s longstanding commitment to improve the lives of children who have both intellectual disabilities and emotional disturbances. At the heart of this effort is the John Merck Scholars Program, which provides four-year grants of $300,000 to outstanding young researchers in the fields of neurobiology and cognitive science.

Through the Climate and Clean Energy program the Fund encourages policy changes that simultaneously target the challenges of reversing climate change, reducing fossil fuel consumption and accelerating the switch to cleaner, renewable energy sources.

The Fund’s Environmental Health program supports efforts to boost public awareness of persistent bioaccumulative toxins, reduce public exposure to these chemicals and, ultimately, curtail their use.

With the new Rural New England program area, the Fund seeks to improve the health and vitality of rural communities in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont by developing the food systems sector in the region, with a special emphasis on expanding points of entry into the sector for low-income, traditionally underserved populations such as women and older youth.

See grants under each program area (listed on the left)
and by Program for all previous years