SILVER2023

Male Contraceptive Initiative

Reproductive Autonomy for All.

aka Male Contraception Initiative   |   Durham, NC   |  https://www.malecontraceptive.org/

Mission

MCI's mission is to facilitate research & development of male contraceptives for people around the world and to build awareness among researchers, donors and the general public about the demand for and status of novel male contraceptive methods.

Ruling year info

2014

Executive Director

Heather Vahdat

Main address

811 Ninth St Suite 120 #255

Durham, NC 27705 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

47-1124856

NTEE code info

Family Planning Centers (E42)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Across the world unintended pregnancy is still widespread, with over eighty five million unplanned pregnancies (approximately 40% of all pregnancies) occurring in 2012. In a recent publication, Male Contraceptive Initiative-led researchers found through mathematical modeling, that the deployment of a male contraceptive would lead to more shared family planning and fewer unintended pregnancies in the U.S. and Africa. Yet, innovations in male birth control have remained stagnant for decades. As one researcher notes, “We've been five years away from male contraception for the last fifty years."

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Research Support

MCI directly funds research into the development of novel non-hormonal male contraceptives by supporting academic labs, young researchers, start-ups, and pharmaceutical companies through a robust grant-making practice. In addition, equity investments are available to more mature programs, with returns tapped for reinvested into the product development pipeline.

MCI's highly qualified staff, working in conjunction with our research committee of subject matter experts, carefully vet proposals and fellowship applications to ensure that programs and investigators with the greatest potential for impact are given an opportunity to succeed. We welcome high-risk investments understanding that they may offer the greatest impact.

MCI works diligently to allocate the largest percent possible of funds raised directly to our grantmaking and advocacy efforts with the goal of getting new methods of non-hormonal male contraception to market as quickly and safely as possible.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Academics
Adolescents

MCI performs market research to better understand the attitudes of men and women towards male contraceptives, and to dispel the conjecture around the acceptability of male contraceptives. These data are used in our funding decisions, ultimately guiding contraceptives that have the best chance to succeed through the pipeline.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Average grant amount

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Research Support

Type of Metric

Other - describing something else

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

MCI assesses the needs of the field through responses to calls for proposals & engagement with researchers. Our annual grants vary from single, large to smaller, seed-funding grants to travel grants.

Total dollar amount of grants awarded

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Research Support

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

MCI assesses the needs of the field through responses to calls for proposals & engagement with researchers. Our annual grants vary from single, large to smaller, seed-funding grants to travel grants.

Total number of grants awarded

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Research Support

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of research studies funded

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Research Support

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of organizations applying for grants

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Research Support

Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

MCI assesses the needs of the field through responses to calls for proposals & engagement with researchers. Our annual grants vary from single, large to smaller, seed-funding grants to travel grants.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Male Contraceptive Initiative seeks a choice-maximized, inclusive world where men and women have access to the contraceptive options that fit their lifestyle. We envision a menu of contraceptives with characteristics that range from on-demand contraceptives to long acting, set it and forget it methods.

We fund researchers working on a variety of early-stage methods who just need a little help. Using the expertise of our scientific advisors, we strategize and ensure that we have a broad impact that moves the whole field of male contraception forward one step at a time.

Additionally, we educate the public and help regular people understand that men are interested in contraception, and want to take a larger role in the conversation.

Male Contraceptive Initiative is staffed by researchers and public health professionals with passion and expertise. Our board is comprised of world-class urologists and former researchers with combined decades of experience in the field of male contraception. Additionally, our scientific advisors provide nuanced viewpoints into the field and where our efforts can make the most impact. We work with startups, academic institutions, and other entities and are able to objectively help researchers push towards their next big goal.

Our nonprofit model is eminiently scalable, and as our funding grows, we have detailed plans for funding models that not only fund bench science, but create enthusiasm in the field and support young researchers.

MCI has awarded over $3M in funding since 2017, and has also sponsored researchers in the field with fellowships and travel grants. We’ve published a paper in the prestigious journal Contraception that details the impact of a male contraceptive on the unintended pregnancy rate, and make appearances in worldwide media outlets such as The Guardian, NPR, Scientific American, Bloomberg, and VOGUE.

As we expand our programs, we're funding more exciting research that pushes promising work towards clinical and animal trials. We also will continue to work with the research community to highlight male contraception, and make this topic a central focus. Finally, to address global misconceptions around men’s attitudes towards contraception, we will expand on our market research data to understand more about how men and their partners would use and feel about male contraception.

Financials

Male Contraceptive Initiative
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Male Contraceptive Initiative

Board of directors
as of 04/06/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Ms. Connie Moreadith

Carolyn Jenkins

Gregory Kopf

Michael Rusnak

Karen Blyth

Connie Moreadith

R. E. Ted Benson

Pat Sadate-Ngatchou

John DeCaro

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/2/2021

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.