The Aging Mind Foundation supports scientific research focused on Alzheimer's disease and other dementias—conditions that affect not only individuals, but also families, caregivers, and entire communities. Founded by Laree Hulshoff and Bill Booziotis, the foundation is shaped by personal experience and a practical conviction: targeted philanthropic funding can help researchers generate early evidence, accelerate promising ideas, and move closer to better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
This post draws from PPF's case study to highlight how the foundation got started, how it approaches research funding, and how nonprofit fiscal sponsorship through PPF helps keep operations strong while the team stays focused on mission delivery.
The Aging Mind Foundation grew out of the founders' experience watching close friends navigate the devastating realities of Alzheimer's disease. In 2013, Laree Hulshoff and Bill Booziotis came together to raise money for the Center for Vital Longevity at the University of Texas Dallas, a research center dedicated to studying the cognitive neuroscience of aging. That effort culminated in "Living with Bob: A Salute to Robert A. Wilson," a fundraiser honoring Bob Wilson—father of actors Luke, Owen, and Andrew Wilson—and his legacy in Dallas, held in February 2015.
That event brought greater visibility to Alzheimer's and, for Hulshoff, clarified a second, equally urgent issue: Alzheimer's research is often underfunded relative to the scale of the challenge, especially compared to other leading causes of death that have seen funding and outcomes improve over time.
That realization became a catalyst. Rather than treating fundraising as a one-time effort, the founders committed to building a sustained philanthropic vehicle focused on scientific progress—one that has now supported the field for well over a decade.
Alzheimer's and related dementias are complex neurodegenerative diseases, and meaningful breakthroughs require time, rigorous experimentation, and collaboration across institutions. Many promising ideas begin as early-stage hypotheses—at a point when researchers need funding to gather initial data, test feasibility, or validate a new approach.
Unlike many other leading causes of death, Alzheimer's continues to rise rather than decline, making the funding gap especially urgent. The Aging Mind Foundation aims to fill that gap by supporting research that can generate momentum: early evidence that helps scientists publish findings, build larger partnerships, and compete for expanded funding.
The foundation's mission is clear: to raise money for scientific research aimed at discovering the causes of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
Its long-term vision is equally focused: accelerating innovative, science-based solutions that improve understanding, expand treatment possibilities, and advance the search for a cure. The foundation's strategy emphasizes research that can move the field forward, particularly where flexible philanthropic dollars can be catalytic. Notably, the foundation has kept its operating costs below 20% year after year, meaning the large majority of every dollar raised goes directly toward research—a standard of efficiency the team considers core to donor trust.
While the foundation is grounded in fundraising and community engagement, its north star is scientific impact. In practice, that means supporting research that is designed to:
This approach has translated into tangible research collaborations. The foundation partnered with Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute on a study exploring a blood-based inflammation biomarker linked to Alzheimer's disease - work aimed at improving early detection. More recently, the foundation joined the Rainwater Charitable Foundation and CurePSP in funding grants stemming from the Tauopathy Challenge Workshop, a program designed to close research gaps in tau-related neurodegenerative diseases such as progressive supranuclear palsy and frontotemporal dementia. In 2024, that collaboration funded four research projects; by 2025, the partnership had grown to include the Alzheimer's Association as well, expanding the pool of funded research even further. Researchers involved in these projects have credited this kind of early, flexible funding with helping them generate the preliminary results needed to attract larger institutional investment.
The Aging Mind Foundation selected PPF as a fiscal sponsor because of its track record supporting mission-aligned work with strong operational infrastructure. For a growing foundation focused on research outcomes, fiscal sponsorship helps ensure that critical administrative functions, from receiving contributions to handling compliance, are managed transparently and efficiently.
That structure enables the foundation to dedicate more capacity to fundraising, research relationships, and long-term strategy—capacity that matters even more as the foundation takes on multi-year, multi-partner research commitments like the Tauopathy Challenge Workshop grants.
PPF has supported the foundation's evolution by providing the structure and professionalism that donors and partners expect. That includes help with grant disbursements, compliance, donor acknowledgment, and financial reporting—functions that are essential, but time-intensive.
With reliable back-end support, the foundation can stay centered on its mission of identifying promising research opportunities and mobilizing resources to support them, whether that means underwriting a single research grant or coordinating funding across a multi-organization initiative.
Since its founding in 2013, the Aging Mind Foundation has:
Together, these outcomes reflect a dual impact model: accelerating the science while strengthening the community that surrounds it.
The Aging Mind Foundation has grown from a small, passionate effort into a mission-driven organization with a diversified donor base, an expanded board, and a clear focus on research results. In recent years, the team has strengthened its collaboration, working with partners including CurePSP, the Rainwater Charitable Foundation, and, as of 2025, the Alzheimer's Association, to amplify collective impact through the Tauopathy Challenge Workshop and related grant programs.
These partnerships reinforce a core belief shared across many research-focused funders: progress is faster when knowledge and resources move together.
Looking ahead, the foundation plans to deepen its fundraising and stewardship work while continuing to support cutting-edge research, with highlighted goals including:
As the foundation scales, continued partnership with PPF is expected to remain a key operational anchor, supporting donor confidence, strong administration, and the capacity to pursue bigger opportunities.
The Aging Mind Foundation's story reflects a lesson many research-focused philanthropies learn quickly: early support can be pivotal. Funding that helps researchers gather initial evidence, test a bold idea, or prove feasibility may be the work that unlocks the next grant, the next partnership, and the next discovery.