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The Patrick And Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation

Annual Giving
$3.2M
Grant Range
$80K - $0.8M
Decision Time
8mo

The Patrick And Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $3,185,692 (2024)
  • Total Assets: $81.7 million (2024)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: Varies by program; approximately 8-9 months from LOI to award
  • Grant Range: $87,000 - $800,000 (varies by program)
  • Geographic Focus: United States (some historic Connecticut focus)

Contact Details

Address: 18 North Main Street, West Hartford, Connecticut 06107-1998

Phone: 860.521.9011

Email: office@donaghue.org

Website: https://donaghue.org

R3 Program Inquiries: r3@donaghue.org

Program Manager: Shamira Chappell, MPH - chappell@donaghue.org

Overview

The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation was established in 1989 with a $53 million bequest from Ethel Donaghue, who directed her wealth "to promote medical knowledge which will be of practical benefit to the preservation, maintenance and improvement of human life." With total assets of $81.7 million and annual giving of approximately $3.2 million, the foundation operates under the tagline "Making Research Relevant & Ready." The foundation emphasizes research with near-term potential for adoption by policymakers, practitioners, and the public. It has evolved to maintain focused grant programs including the Greater Value Portfolio (reducing low-value care), Another Look (long-term care for adults 65+), and R3 (implementation support for past grantees). The foundation is guided by five key principles: practical benefit, engagement with stakeholders beyond research communities, inclusivity in recruiting underrepresented groups, integrity in selection processes, and innovation in piloting new approaches.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Greater Value Portfolio 2025

  • Amount: Up to $500,000 plus 10% indirect costs
  • Duration: Two years
  • Focus: Testing approaches to achieve higher-value healthcare by addressing symptoms of low-value care including high costs, pricing variations, racial/ethnic disparities, patient financial burden, and lack of price transparency
  • Application: Two-phase process (LOI April 29, Full application August 15)
  • Status: 2025 cycle closed; opens annually

Another Look 2025

  • Amount: Approximately $120,000-$220,000 per award (total program investment ~$1.3 million)
  • Duration: Up to two years
  • Focus: Health research improving care quality and equity in long-term care facilities for adults 65+
  • Requirements: Must use existing datasets; must include stakeholders from clinical, programmatic, or policy settings
  • Application: Two-phase process (LOI April 9, Full application July 15)
  • Grant start: January 1, 2026

R3 (Research Relevant & Ready) 2025

  • Amount: $80,000 plus 10% indirect costs
  • Duration: 18 months
  • Eligibility: Current and past Donaghue grantees ONLY
  • Focus: Preparing health interventions for real-world adoption; does NOT fund new research
  • Application: Rolling basis year-round
  • Contact: r3@donaghue.org

Opportunity Awards (sporadic)

  • Amount: $328,000-$436,000 historically
  • Status: No regular cycle; awarded periodically

Priority Areas

  • Long-term care improvements: Nursing home quality, hospice care, staffing innovations, palliative care
  • Health equity: Maternal health disparities, racial/ethnic inequities, care for underserved populations
  • Low-value care reduction: De-adoption of unnecessary treatments, identifying wasteful practices
  • Patient-centered approaches: Shared decision-making, patient voice in research design, patient priorities care
  • Technology and innovation: Telemedicine, artificial intelligence in healthcare, virtual reality for patient engagement
  • Implementation science: Scaling evidence-based interventions, translating research to practice
  • Family caregiver support: Roles and needs of caregivers in healthcare settings
  • Social isolation reduction: Addressing loneliness and isolation, particularly in long-term care

What They Don't Fund

The foundation does not explicitly list exclusions on their website, but based on their mission and program requirements:

  • Basic science research without clear pathway to practical application
  • Research without stakeholder engagement component
  • Non-U.S. based institutions (applicants must be at U.S. tax-exempt research institutions)
  • New research under R3 program (implementation support only)
  • Projects without 501(c)(3) institutional backing
  • Research without potential for near-term adoption by practitioners, policymakers, or public

Governance and Leadership

Trustees

Lynne Garner, PhD - Individual Trustee (garner@donaghue.org)

  • Background in medical sociology; appointed Trustee in 2008
  • Served as President until retirement at end of 2021
  • Works "closely with the Institutional Trustee, Bank of America, to establish the mission and policies of the Foundation"

Amy R. Lynch - Bank of America, Institutional Trustee (amy.r.lynch@bofa.com)

  • Senior Vice President and Philanthropic Client Manager with Bank of America, Private Bank
  • Over 20 years of experience in banking, personal trust, estate settlement, and philanthropic solutions

Staff

Stacy Cloud - President (cloud@donaghue.org)

  • Over 15 years in philanthropic sector
  • Joined Foundation in January 2008
  • Oversees overall Foundation operations and program development

Shamira Chappell, MPH - Program Manager (chappell@donaghue.org)

  • Joined Foundation August 2021
  • Previously scientific research associate at UConn Health
  • Master of Public Health from UConn Health; Spelman College alumna

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

For Greater Value Portfolio and Another Look Programs:

  1. Letter of Intent (LOI): Submit one-page letter via online portal (email submissions NOT accepted) describing the study's purpose and how findings could be incorporated into practice. The LOI is evaluated "only on the research idea" without identifying information about applicant or institution.

  2. Full Application: Invited applicants submit detailed proposals through the foundation's online system.

For R3 Program:

  • Email r3@donaghue.org to express interest and receive application information
  • Applications accepted on rolling basis throughout the year
  • No standing review committee; external reviewers selected based on expertise for each application

Decision Timeline

Greater Value Portfolio:

  • April 29: LOI deadline
  • Invitations to full application: ~6-8 weeks after LOI deadline
  • August 15: Full application deadline
  • Decision notification: Fall/Early Winter
  • Grant term begins: January 1 following year
  • Total timeline: Approximately 8-9 months from LOI to grant start

Another Look:

  • April 9: LOI deadline
  • Invitations to full application: ~6-8 weeks after LOI deadline
  • July 15: Full application deadline
  • Decision notification: Fall/Early Winter
  • Grant term begins: January 1 following year
  • Total timeline: Approximately 8-9 months from LOI to grant start

R3:

  • Rolling applications with individualized review timelines
  • Timeline varies based on proposal complexity and reviewer availability

Review Process

Standing committees composed of experts in clinical research, public health, policy, and statistical methods evaluate applications. Each application receives approximately 15 person-hours of review. At least three reviewers assess each application and present critiques during committee meetings, followed by full committee discussion and scoring.

Review criteria focus on:

  • Scientific merit of the research
  • Potential for impact
  • Implementation potential for practice integration
  • For R3: "The potential for the future use of the intervention previously tested"

Success Rates

The foundation does not publicly disclose application volumes or success rates. However, financial data shows they awarded approximately $3.2 million across all programs in 2024, funding roughly 15-20 projects annually across all grant streams.

Reapplication Policy

Not explicitly stated on website. Contact the foundation directly to inquire about reapplication policies for unsuccessful applicants.

Application Success Factors

Foundation-Specific Priorities

Practical Benefit: The foundation's founding mission emphasizes research with "near-term potential for adoption by policymakers, practitioners, and the public to improve health outcomes." Applications must clearly articulate the pathway from research to real-world implementation.

Stakeholder Engagement: Multiple programs explicitly require partnerships with clinical, programmatic, or policy organizations. The foundation values "active collaboration with stakeholders beyond the research community to optimize research capacity and relevance."

Use of Existing Data (Another Look program): The foundation specifically requires that "the majority of the data analysis must use already existing datasets rather than new data," demonstrating their interest in maximizing value from available resources.

Partnership Requirements: Both Greater Value Portfolio and Another Look require partnerships with healthcare delivery organizations. Crucially, "the partner cannot be the applicant's own institution" - demonstrating commitment to real-world application settings.

Equity and Inclusivity: The foundation deliberately recruits "underrepresented groups as advisers and grantees while assessing how grant programs might unintentionally perpetuate health disparities." Applications addressing health equity gaps align with stated values.

Review Process Insights

The foundation emphasizes that the LOI phase is evaluated "only on the research idea" without identifying information, suggesting they prioritize merit over institutional prestige during initial screening. The extensive review (15 person-hours per application) indicates thorough evaluation beyond surface-level assessment.

Recent Funding Examples

Recent Greater Value Portfolio grants have funded:

  • Bioethics and AI in healthcare ($800,000)
  • Palliative care research ($440,000)
  • De-adoption of unnecessary treatments across specialties
  • Maternal health disparities interventions

Another Look grants have supported:

  • Nursing home quality improvement tools
  • Hospice care innovations
  • Workforce innovations in long-term care
  • Family caregiver role research

R3 grants have enabled:

  • Patient priorities care scaling initiatives
  • Pressure-injury risk identification implementation
  • Evidence-based program spread and adoption support

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Lead with practical benefit: Every section of your application should clearly connect research activities to real-world implementation and health improvements. The foundation's tagline "Making Research Relevant & Ready" should guide your narrative.

  • Emphasize partnerships beyond academia: Successful applications demonstrate authentic collaboration with healthcare delivery organizations, policy entities, or community stakeholders - not just letter-of-support relationships but genuine co-design and implementation partners.

  • Use existing data when possible: For Another Look applications, leveraging existing datasets is mandatory. For other programs, demonstrating efficient use of available resources aligns with the foundation's values.

  • Focus your LOI on the idea, not credentials: Since the LOI is evaluated "only on the research idea" without identifying information, concentrate on articulating the research question, practical significance, and implementation pathway rather than emphasizing institutional prestige.

  • Demonstrate understanding of "low-value care": For Greater Value Portfolio applications, show familiarity with symptoms of low-value care including pricing variations, racial/ethnic disparities, patient financial burden, and lack of price transparency.

  • Consider the R3 pathway: If you've previously received Donaghue funding and need implementation support, R3 offers an accessible mechanism ($80,000, rolling applications) to advance your work toward real-world adoption.

  • Allocate substantial time for review: With 15 person-hours of review per application and standing committees of experts, expect rigorous evaluation. Ensure your methodology is sound and your implementation plan is detailed and feasible.

References

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