The 100-Miles for QVOICES (Queer Voices in Oncology Igniting Change Through Empowered Stories of Survivorship) Campaign: Overview of the Benefits and Costs of Crowdfunding as a Funding Mechanism for Research

TL;DR

This paper discusses crowdfunding as a viable funding option for LGBTQ+ cancer research, highlighting its benefits and challenges for early-stage researchers.

Contribution

The paper introduces crowdfunding as a novel funding mechanism for LGBTQ+ cancer research, particularly for early-stage investigators.

Findings

Crowdfunding has raised over $12 million for research since 2012.

Crowdfunding can support rigorous research on health disparities in excluded communities.

Challenges exist when using crowdfunding as the sole funding mechanism for studies.

Abstract

In today’s unstable funding climate, alternative research funding mechanisms are essential. Investigators are facing novel barriers to acquiring funding for their research. Early-stage investigators, in particular those who are beginning their careers in research, are especially vulnerable to these funding disruptions. Currently, finding alternative funding is especially relevant for scientists studying historically and intentionally excluded communities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or other sexual and/or gender expansive (LGBTQ+) populations, as many investigators have had their LGBTQ+ grants revoked by the Trump administration. Crowdfunding for research studies is a potential funding avenue that has grown in popularity, with more than US $12 million raised since 2012. This Viewpoint highlights crowdfunding as a potential funding model for LGBTQ+ cancer research, specifically to support the collection of preliminary data for predoctoral students and early-stage investigators. We describe the benefits and challenges of using crowdfunding as the sole funding mechanism for a mixed methods observational study among LGBTQ+ survivors of cancer. Despite challenges, crowdfunding can fund rigorous research on health disparities, notably in historically and intentionally excluded communities.

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