Established in 2020, FasterCures, a Center of Milken Institute's  LeadersLink Program is a capacity-building program to support the personal development of an emerging cadre of leaders of nonprofit organizations that fund or conduct biomedical research. LeadersLink focuses on building participants’ leadership skills and professional network and addressing their top priorities through mentorship, a capstone project, a series of convenings, virtual collaboration, and access to Milken Institute events and networks.  

"Leaderslink and its inaugural venture philanthropy theme were perfect for us to 1) stress test our model with the best innovators, 2) increase awareness of our model through MI and FC networks, and 3) Share the resources that we would develop with as many fellow charities as possible."
 
Wen Hwa Lee, PhD, is the CEO and Chief Scientist at Action Against Age-Related Macular Degeneration, a London-based research charity focused on tackling the leading cause of legal blindness in the developed world at its earliest stages with maximum affordability and accessibility. As part of his capstone, Lee explored the use of suitable financial instruments to advance his research initiatives forward, ended up securing over £1,000,000 in new funding, and established a for-profit trading subsidiary of his non-profit charity, known as a Charitech™, a model which Lee later trademarked in the UK, EU, and US.

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