In August 2012, after providing all the funding for The Brain from Top to Bottom for over 10 years, the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction informed us that because of budget cuts, they were going to be forced to stop sponsoring us as of March 31, 2013. Ever since we got this news, the little team that produces this web site has been looking for a new source of stable institutional funding so that we can continue our mission of providing the general public with the best possible information about the brain and neuroscience.

We have approached a number of organizations, all of which have recognized the value of our work. We are still in negotiations with some of them, which may prove fruitful within the next few months. But so far, we have not managed to find the funding we need. For the moment, we must therefore ask our readers for donations so that we can continue updating and adding new content to The Brain from Top to Bottom web site and blog.

The “fundraising thermometer” that you see below shows, in order of priority, from the bottom up, what work we plan to do with the money that we raise and how much money we still need to raise to meet our annual budget. We will update this thermometer regularly, so that readers always have an accurate picture of our finances.

Please rest assured that we are doing our utmost to keep this site accessible in the original spirit of the Internet: the desire to share information free of charge and with no advertising.

WORK TO BE DONE

Here is the work we will do with the funding received, starting from the bottom of thermometer and working up.

Minimum site maintenance
1-2 hours/week ($1 875/year)
Answer e-mail every day, correct outdated links and typographical errors, update scientific information, mail out promotional posters and brochures, etc. In other words, keep the site from deteriorating and project the sense that there is still someone taking care of it.

Weekly posts on the French blog
3-4 hours/week ($5 650/year)
Add new content in French every week, in the form of a blog post summarizing recent neuroscientific research. Each post includes links to the study or studies discussed, as well as to selected pages of The Brain from Top to Bottom that will help readers to place this new research in context. On these same pages, links will be added pointing back to the blog post, so that the blog and the site content truly form an organic whole.

Translation of French blog posts into English
2-3 hours/week ($4 250/year)
Translate each blog post from French to English so that readers of the English version enjoy the same new content every week as readers of the French version do.

Production of new content for the French version of the site
12 hours/week ($17 925/year)
Research, write, edit, and proofread one new sub-topic in French for the site each year. Create accompanying graphics and lay out the web pages. (The content of The Brain from Top to Bottom is organized into 3 major subdivisions—Brain Basics, Brain and Mind, and Brain Disorders—comprising a total of 12 main topics, each of which comprises one or more sub-topics. All of the sub-topics are closely interconnected with one another by the site’s internal links. Each sub-topic is presented at 3 levels of explanation and 5 levels of organization, which is what makes this site unique.)

Translation of new content for the English version of the site
9 hours/week ($13 900/year)
After each new sub-topic is posted on the French version of the site, translate it into English as soon as possible, so that readers of the English version have access to all the same content. Relabel the graphics in English and lay out the English web pages.

Distribution
1 hour/week ($1 400/year)
Mail out promotional posters and brochures for the site and arrange for them to be reprinted as necessary.