Livestrong resurrection via path taken by Howard Hughes Medical Institute

[soverylarry]

I've wrestled with trying to free, in my head that is, the stench of Wonderboy on Livestrong and all the good I'm sure almost all are trying to do there. After much thought it occurred to me there is a template for all that Livestrong is dealing with and will deal with to a certain extent. It's not exact but the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is instructive.

The full story is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes_Medical_Institute

It started out in 1953 as nothing more than a tax haven for HH's vast fortune of Hughes Aircraft stock and a piddling amount of medical research. It was much maligned, struggled with it's identity as a true non-profit and was almost shut down numerous times. After Hughes death in 1976, it began to thrive. It's now has a $16 Billion dollar endowment and awards $800 - $900 million a year in research grants.

I guess my hope is that the mission of Livestrong can endure the oh-so deserved destruction of it's founder and carry on it's good work free of the stigma of a truly ego maniacal conniving founder. It's happened before.

 

[KayLow]

I don't think that it is likely that Livestrong will survive Lance's fall from grace, and the comparisons to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute are not particularly apt.

First off, HHMI had a massive endowment at the time of Howard Hughes' death. Livestrong still relies heavily on continued donations, sales of branded apparel and other products and special Lance Armstrong hosted events, all of which are likely to dry up as a source of revenue over time. In 2011, Livestrong only had about $2 million of investment generated income. Good luck surviving on that for very long.

Second, Howard Hughes was never a reviled figure as Lance Armstrong is likely to be in five or ten years. Eccentric yes, but an object of public scorn, no.

Third, Lance Armstrong is still alive to interfere with Livestrong's transition to life after Lance and will likely be for decades to come. HHMI, by contrast, was never a legitimate charity until after Howard Hughes died.

 

[BotanyBay]

Are you f'ing kidding me? "Carry on the good work?"

The LAF is a total joke of a feel-good foundation. So that it doesn't have to deal with actual accountability in the eyes of donors, it has an ultra-simple mission. Cancer awareness.

Cancer exists. People get it. Congratulations, now you're aware.

 

[BotanyBay]

HHMI also was the unintended and almost accidental beneficiary of Howard Hughes' lack of a will. When they couldn't find any legitimate heirs, the courts ultimately decided to hand it all over to the HHMI.

 

[ElChingon]

I find the comparison offensive!

 

[BotanyBay]

I find the comparison offensive!

The HHMI has actually been responsible for significant medical research breakthroughs. The LAF has been responsible for fun-rides and photo ops.

 

[mastersracer]

Not sure why you singled out HHMI. I did my PhD in a Hughes lab - their approach to funding is innovative in the sense that it is investigator-funded rather than project-based and the funding typically lasts throughout the investigators career. This allows lab PI's to focus on research and not grant writing (investigators are selected to become HHMI investigators, rather than applying). It works in part because of the size of their endowment.

There's not much applicable to LAF from HHMI.

 

[Willy_Voet]

HHMI dwarfs anything LA could put together.

 

[snackattack]

Livestrong donations skyrocket in wake of Lance Armstrong’s decision to stop fighting charges.

On Friday, Armstrong said that donations to Livestrong were up 25 times over the day before. "Thank you thank you thank you!" he wrote on Twitter.

How x will the till be flooded this time ? and what will the tweet sound like ?

Gaming the press and networks (interviews, call back etc.) must bring the boss a pretty penny hey ?

 

[pelodee]

Organizations similar to this:

"Livestrong raised $400m from 1997-2011. http://blog.livestrong.org/2011/05/02/where-the-money-goes/ … Cancer Research UK raised £433m in 2010-11 alone. http://aboutus.cancerresearchuk.org/how-we-fundraise/how-much-we-raise/ …"
Lionel Birnie

 

[cineteq]

Shocking. Not really.

"If Lance Armstrong went to jail and Livestrong went away, that would be a huge setback in our war against cancer, right? Not exactly, because the famous nonprofit donates almost *nothing to scientific research."

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoo...strong/Its-Not-About-the-Lab-Rats.html?page=1

 

[Tinman]

I guess my hope is that the mission of Livestrong can endure the oh-so deserved destruction of it's founder and carry on it's good work free of the stigma of a truly ego maniacal conniving founder. It's happened before.

I think you set out with the right intent, but you may not fully appreciate the way Livestrong is set up, and why and how team Lance is so desperately trying to retain "Lance & Livestrong" brand identity.

In essence, Livestrong.com provides a great revenue and expense stream for Team Lance via the sale of product and endorsed brands. Livestrong.org provides additional expense off set, as well as donation based revenue generation. Livestrong is a significant business and team LAnce will do anything to protect its customer base. Livestrong overall is actually very little about making a major difference to cancer victims. If they were not there someone else would provide these services. They are not unique in any way.

Most of the Livestrong customers are relatively uninformed on Lance, beyond his TdF victories, his personal cancer story, and his regular media pictures. But they associate with his personal brand and "connect" therefore also with Livestrong.

That is why we are seeing messages like "nothing new in the USADA file, witch hunt, USADA has big tobacco lawyers", etc etc. These messages are designed to keep the customer naive, confused, and retain their loyalty beyond the current "short term" media impact. And it's the same reason why we keep seeing LAnce at triathlon events, to keep up the visibility of the brand. Any picture of him at some triathlon is like an add for Livestrong, Nike, etc. Higher awareness ultimately leads to more likely purchase.

For Team Lance this is no longer about cycling, other than the major issue that cheating in cycling has provided him with the brand equity platform to build Livestrong (and other businesses).

 

[snackattack]

Take a ride `Race for the Roses´- Livestrong Challenge Friday, October 19, 2012

Rider registration is $50. Can't attend, but still want to show your support?
Virtual Challenge registration is always appreciated.

Our goal is to have over 4,000 cyclists raise $2 million to support our programs and services. Cyclists can choose from distances ranging from 20–100 miles.
Every cancer survivor who crosses the finish line will receive a yellow rose to celebrate their accomplishment.

Austin Marathon and Half Marathon will be come February "13

http://www.livestrong.org/Take-Action/Team-LIVESTRONG-Events/Ride/Team-LIVESTRONG-Challenge-Austin