Major steps are in the works for creating an advisory board in Ohio to allocate the $3 million in SCI funding our CAN activists helped pass there in July of this year. And the $10 million SCI Research Bill we introduced in Wisconsin (also this past July) with Rep. Jimmy Anderson is ramping up as we monitor its progress through the committees of the Wisconsin legislature, to eventually be voted on in the Senate and Assembly floor.

Matthew (U2FP’s Executive Director) joined our CAN advocates, along with researchers and clinicians in Ohio for the first meeting of the SCI Research Advisory Board with the Chancellor of Higher Education, Randy Gardner. The meeting will establish guidelines, processes and priorities for funding.

Matthew also attended the Minnesota SCI/TBI Research Grant Advisory Board’s first meeting of this fiscal year. This meeting was also to confirm our guidelines and processes as well as meet some of the new advisory board members. Requests For Proposals (RFPs) will go out soon, and we will meet again in the Spring to award $1.5M in grants to SCI projects.

As manager of the Cure Advocacy Network, I continue to support the in-state advocates with their on-the-ground efforts in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin. This includes organizing and scheduling monthly meetings with our advocates in each of the above mentioned states; as well as securing meetings with state legislators who are critical to our success in Wisconsin.

On top of that, I have been creating an Advocacy Toolkit that will layout the step-by-step process the Cure Advocacy Network takes when trying to pass a new funding Bill in a new state.

Lastly, I am beginning to pursue grant applications for this next year as we explore ways to help fuel the fire of U2FP and the Cure Advocacy Network. We've been on a roll this last year ($4M in legislation passed in PA and OH!) and we want to continue to ratchet up our influence and increase our impact in the world of funding SCI research!

Jake Beckstrom, CAN Manager